Attempting to break his former bench press personal record, sophomore David Loeffler loads the bar with two 45-pound plates. Fellow classmates encourage Loeffler and suspense builds in the training room. Breaking a personal record is just one of the many moments that occur inside JDS’ training and weight room.
JDS’ training room is used primarily after school until 5:30 p.m., as well as for the strength and conditioning classes during school hours. The facility is located in room 711 and is next to the gym and men’s locker room.
There is a variety of equipment in the gym, including four squat and bench racks, cable machines and cardio equipment. There are also certain machines that target specific muscles, including leg extension, assistant pull up and shoulder press machines.
The weight room is used by both students and faculty members. Assistant Athletic Director Matthew Landy says that the weight room appeals to a variety of students who are not necessarily there for JDS athletics.
“The weight room is a great way for students to either train, improve strength for off-season athletes for sport-specific reasons or just to gain PE credits,” Landy said.
Students are required to collect one full sports credit in order to graduate. By spending 25 hours in the weight room after school in a quarter quarter, a student can earn 0.25 credits. This system allows students who don’t participate in team sports to earn their required credits. In addition to the after-school hours, students who take the Strength and Conditioning class earn half a credit per semester.
“A lot of students opt to either join the high school Strength and Conditioning course because they’re not an athlete or they don’t participate on a sports team or outside teams. That way, they can gain sports credit,” Landy said.
The strength and conditioning class is offered only to students in the high school, not those in the middle school. In the first semester, JDS offered three sections of strength and conditioning. In this class, the students are given the opportunity to lift and work on building muscle. In the class, there isn’t much instruction which allows members to try new exercises and lets each student do their own workout.
High School Jewish Life Chair Robbie Shorr prefers organized sports like basketball, but he believes lifting is a great supplement to stay active. Shorr works out at the JDS gym almost every day after school and really appreciates the training room.
“Our gym is really nice,” Shorr said. “It has everything that I would want it to have. It’s in good shape. The equipment’s updated. That’s just why I think [lifting] is a really good thing to try to do; if I can, I try to lift every week, I definitely try to go pretty regularly.”
Shorr is also grateful for the opportunity to work at a job that provides free access to a gym. Most adults have to pay for a gym membership, but since Shorr works at JDS, he can use the gym at his leisure. The gym is also a very quick walk from his office, which maximizes his time to exercise before he goes home.
Shorr has noticed improvement and credits Athletic Director Becky Silberman’s desire to make the training room better.
“Becky obviously committed a lot into the training room,” Shorr said. “It was not nearly this nice when I was a student here, and even when I started working. She really looks out for new machines that are available, making sure it’s staffed, keeping the equipment physically clean and also organizing the room so it’s ready for the classes.”
In terms of the number of students working out at the training room, it varies depending on the time of year. Since many people are excited to workout at the beginning of the school year, Shorr noticed more people in the very beginning of the year, but attendance dies down over time. Shorr also noticed that winter is a busier season since people are reluctant to go outside.
“Winter is a great time to workout and stay locked in because the weight room is always open,” Loeffler said. “I can still manage to get a run in with one of their treadmills without being cold or worrying about the snow.”
Even though he is very satisfied with the equipment in the weight room, Landy hopes to add kettlebells to the equipment collection, which he believes will help sport-specific training, especially for sports like baseball and basketball.
“The weight room should definitely not be taken for granted,” Landy said. “I see many students using it after school and during Strength and Conditioning class. We are really lucky to have such a nice training room.”
