Are P.E. classes asking too much of us or is it just for our benefit?

I’m not complaining. Well, I am, but it’s more of an investigative complaint. Answer me this: Why do I wake up sore every Friday morning?

Just kidding, I’ll answer. Because of weightlifting. Weightlifting that I am required to do for P.E. credit. 

And perhaps the most difficult part about weightlifting is that it never becomes any easier. We use different types of lifts and increase the weight weekly. But with every increase my calves and knees are deader than a drowned rat, so much so that there was a time I couldn’t even walk for a day due to the pain in my calf. So when do we stop? 

Without taking the right precautions, like maintaining the right form and not lifting more than your body can handle, weightlifting can be hazardous to a 15-year-old girl like me. I’m always worried that one wrong lift will cause this soreness to never leave.

My P.E. teachers say that constantly working out by pacing out my accomplishments, not doing too much at one time and stretching often will alleviate the soreness. They say that my body will get used to my lifting so much at one time. But my sore body begs to differ. I’ve been lifting for one and a half years and the soreness always comes back the following day. 

Although there is no specific evidence, there has been much speculation that weightlifting can actually stunt the potential human growth. The belief comes from the fact that growth plates at the end of bones are the last part of bones to harden, which makes them more vulnerable to fractures. These fractures, which can occur when doing exercises like squats, may cause problems like unequal bone length.

But in a way, weightlifting can also be the safest of sports considering that eliminates the dangers of the more aggressive sports. You can’t get collisions or major bruises in weightlifting  like you can get playing football, soccer or basketball.

There are definite benefits to weightlifting as it can strengthen muscles, promote healthy blood pressure and cholesterol level and even help growing teenagers maintain a healthy weight. Plus, there’s the psychological aspect of it. Weightlifting boosts my confidence and self-esteem, and there comes a sense of self-accomplishment as I weekly increase the amount of weight I lift.

After researching all the pros and cons of weightlifting, I concluded that I need to stop worrying. In the long run, weightlifting can benefit me in numerous ways, and I wasn’t able to find a source that definitively proved it was dangerous. So to my fellow struggling-to-lifters: Learn to embrace the soreness and think of the positives of weightlifting.