TPHS students find a second home at the gym

Martin Lee STAFF WRITER

From an outsider’s perspective, gym culture may look like nothing but a hulking combination of steel fortresses and bulging muscles. As powerful rhythmic thumps of weights pummeling the floor resonate throughout gyms, some may even be intimidated by gym culture. But within the snowy chalk and heavy lifting equipment, several TPHS students have found a home in the gym, a safe space for not only improving their bodies and mental health, but a tool for turning their lives around for the better.

When one thinks of gym culture, the thought of a ripped weightlifter filming himself deadlift for Instagram to show off may come to mind. In truth, this perception paints an incomplete picture of what gym culture truly is.

“They’re a few crazy people who post videos of themselves lifting insane amounts of weight while on steroids and if you go to the gym long enough, you might run into some mean people,” Giancarlo Delcore (11) said.

In reality, the majority of gym content on social media is motivational and the last thing most people at the gym think of doing is bothering others.

For TPHS students, gym culture is all about supporting each other in the pursuit of self-improvement and the cultivation of a healthy lifestyle.

“I go to the gym because it’s a safe space for everyone to go and better themselves. Also, whenever I go, I feel like I’m progressing myself and being productive with my time,” Alia Amor (11) said.

The gym is also a place for students to step away from their hectic lives.

“It’s a place that’s just a good stress reliever, you feel a lot more at ease when you’re done,” Daniel Hong (11) said.

The gym has also been a way for students to fix their unsatisfactory routines. During the lockdown from 2020 to 2021, Leo Kong (11) played video games to fight his boredom but before he knew it, Kong had spent countless hours on his newfound pastime. Realizing that he was wasting his time and health, Kong decided it was time to make a change and go to the gym.

“Now, I take the gym seriously because I strive to become the best version of myself…,” Kong said.

Students use the gym as a powerful tool against substance abuse. When he was 14, Max Yu (10), currently on the TPHS Varsity Swim Team, was swept away by stress that came from the demands of swimming, school and his family. To ease the pressures, Yu turned to painkillers.

“I was going through a lot of stress and anxiety from swimming as I was very nervous and even scared of it at the time because of the high expectations my family had for me,” Yu said.

But when the painkillers took a toll on his physical health, Yu decided to put it down for lifting.

“I wanted to take [swimming] to the next level, so I started lifting. This completely changed my life,” Yu said.

For Yu, the gym was a place where he was left unbothered to thrive, a place to do whatever he wanted, the safe space that he lacked in his life.

“A couple weeks after I started lifting, I completely stopped taking pain killers as I didn’t need them anymore,” Yu said.

Additionally, the gym has even helped students recover from surgeries. In January of 2021, Trevor Kalt was recovering from a recent chest surgery for pectus excavatum.

“I was super weak for a while and I felt pretty bad about myself because of that,” Kalt (11), a TPHS track and field athlete, said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a cardiology medical center, pectus excavatum causes a person’s breastbone to sink into one’s chest which can interfere with the function of the heart and lungs.

Ever since he recovered from his surgery, going to the gym has drastically improved how Kalt feels about himself.

“I think going to the gym has really made me happier and stronger physically and mentally,” Kalt said.

In poetic irony, the gym is where one puts physical burdens on the body to release the emotional burdens of the soul. As students work through the chaotic and stressful obstacles of high school, the gym and its supportive culture makes the endeavor lighter and lighter, weight by weight.