Sweat drips down her face as senior Carmine Drohan lifts various heavy free weights, pushing through the pain at Bay Club Courtside, a local gym in Los Gatos. All around her on the sleek and glossy floor are various exercising machines, including treadmills and ellipticals. Though tired and exhausted from the long workout, Sierra, her personal trainer who Drohan describes as “fun and cool,” repeats “you can do it!” over and over. After a few minutes, Drohan moves on to the next exercise.
Drohan is one of dozens of students this year to commit to fitness regimens in local gyms or the school’s weight room either to lose a few pounds or just to get fit.
Motivated by the desire to “feel healthy,” Drohan chose to become a member of Bay Club Courtside, due to its high-tech equipment, hundreds of group body workout classes and personal trainers.
Drohan began training at Bay Club Courtside her freshman year and has continued to go a few times a week all throughout high school. Drohan said she enjoys working out at the gym because it gives her a chance to exert her energy while gaining cardiovascular strength.
A typical visit to the gym consists of a session with her personal trainer that includes assorted exercises that help her build muscular strength.
“I’m all about full body workouts, so I really like lunges and planks,” she said.
Not only do these exercises help Drohan stay fit, but they also help with her dancing career.
Drohan started dance at age 3, doing tap as a young child, and later moving on to jazz. As a dancer, Drohan chooses exercises that help strengthen her body as she moves on the dance floor.
“I do a lot of cardio from dance so I like to focus on muscle and body weight,” Drohan said.
Other seniors, such as Supriya Khandekar, have recently joined gyms second semester to get fit before they leave for college.
Khandekar goes to Total Woman Gym and Spa, located in San Jose, most days for about an hour. At the gym, she usually does zumba and yoga group classes, occasionally running on the treadmill or lifting weights.
“Exercise helps you enjoy the moment as it is, and you are able to appreciate it,” she said.
Exercise has been proven not only to help people physically and mentally, releasing stress from life’s everyday problems. As the academic stress continues to grow and students occupy their minds with schoolwork, Khandekar turns to yoga as a peaceful and relaxing form of exercise.
“Yoga helps me so much. As a result, I’m able to focus on homework a lot more and it doesn’t take me that long,” Khandekar said.
Like Drohan and Khandekar, many athletes, including the senior varsity football players, have also caught onto the workout trend.
These football players, including senior Jordan Vogel, Jonathan Tran, Alec Furlong and a few others,. work out five days a week for an hour and a half at Gold’s Gym, located on Hamilton Avenue in Campbell. According to Vogel, the boys partake in dynamic group exercise sessions and use cardio and strength training machines.
A typical workout includes many Olympic lifts, a series of single barbell weights loaded with weight plates of various sizes. Some of Vogel’s favorites are power cleans and front squats.
Vogel added that exercising helps to strengthen friendships. When working out together as a team, the boys feel a close bond with each other, creating an atmosphere that benefits them all.
“When we’re all in the gym together, it definitely helps [our team bonding],” Vogel said. “It’s just nice for us to spend time with each other.”