McKinley Tigers Hit The Gym

ByChloe Cunningham and Jacky Oasay

Sweat dripsdown your forehead as you clench your entirebody, benching 245 poundsoff of your chest. The peoplearound you areyelling to motivateyou asdopaminestreaks through your veinspopping out of your armsand neck. You smell your handsafterward and they reek of metal. Thesweat escapesyour pores asasigh escapesfrom your lips. You feel great, but you know there?smore weight and pressureto add on.

Working out isapracticethat trains thebody to strengthen itsendurance, ability, and sustainability. McKinley High School studentsneed onecredit of PEto graduate. Physical Education isan important skill for peopleto live healthy lifestyles.

According to theCentersfor DiseaseControl, onein fivechildren in Americahasobesity. Meanwhile, two out of threeadultsin Americaare obese. Thesestatisticsprovethe importanceof physical education, especially for youth.

"I think everybody should work out in someform or fashion. It'sgood for not only physical health, but also mental, social and emotional health," athletic director Bob Morikuni said.

ThePinion sent out apoll asking about thegym experience.Out of 240 responses, 148 peoplesaid that they work out. Of thosepeople, 24%work out threeor moretimesaweek. 22.5%work out at agym and 24%lift.

McKinley isfilled with various sportsliketennis, swimming, basketball, etc. Taking into consideration thosewho do sports and thestatisticsof thepoll, those who do thesesportsareexpected to work out threeor moretimesaweek. Therefore, that iswhy thosewho work out may not do it in agym.

Working out and being fit has alwaysbeen apart of people'sgoals but studiesshow that 50%of gym membersend up quitting in thefirst coupleof weeks. They don't seethe resultsfast enough and eventually losemotivation. Senior Allen Reyes talked about hispositiveexperiences when hestarted going to thegym.

"When I first started going to the gym, I ended up losing fifty pounds," Reyessaid.

Though many peoplefind comfort in being homeand doing nothing, Reyessaid hefindscomfort in working out at thegym.

"It'slikemy comfort spot. If I feel down, I go to thegym," Reyessaid.

Why isworking out so popular among teenagersnow?Thereisalot of talk amongst teenagefriend groups about how much they lift, how many push-upsthey can do, how long they can plank, and overall how athletic they are. Although thisfriendly bickering and comparison may seem harmless, it could get toxic fast.

Something that isvery common in physical-related recreational activitiesiscompetition. Band director,Joseph Nakamoto, expressed hisfeelingsabout thetoxicity of competition in thegym.

?Everybody isdifferent and everybody isunique, so sometimes peoplecan overthink it and say that they?ll never lift asmuch asthat guy,?Nakamoto said.

Thistoxicity of comparison and competition could lead to faltering self-esteem issuesand carelessnessrelating to working out. Morikuni said that thenegativescould berelated to thelack of knowledgeabout working out.

?If you aren?t educated on what you want to do, you could start over-exerting yourself when working out,?Morikuni said.

Thisdownsidecan easily beavoided with good knowledgeof working out and what your body needs. Morikuni suggested to those wanting to work out to talk to their doctor and makeachieveable goals.

However,every downsidehasan upside. When doneright, exercise isamazing for thebody.

"When you seeyour results, it strengthensyou emotionally and socially, not only physically," Morikuni said.

School events, issues, updates and more!

ThePinion Pawdcast isaproject of ThePinion that providesconversationsbetween staff membersand guest speakerson avariety of topics. So far ThePinion Pawdcast hascovered theHall of Honor assembly, given announcementson clubs, teased Pinion articles, and talked about ValentinesDay and thechickensof McKinley High School.

Somemoreinformation on Episode3: Sean Willem A.Giron and JulianaRodden statetheir personal opinion about thechickens.They also talked about theprosand consof thefeathered friendsof McKinley. Lastly, they touch on the problemsthat arisewhen studentsdecideto feed thechickens.

"Stop feeding thechickens," Sean Willem Giron said.