Work Hard, Eat Good

“Team Swole”, a new club at Jones, is runs workout sessions for students to keep themselves fit during the school year

Israel Reyez 16 and Art Teacher Gaberiel Dominguez work on cardio at the former classroom turned fitness center in the north building.

Israel Reyez ’16 and Art Teacher Gaberiel Dominguez work on cardio at the former classroom turned fitness center in the north building.

Working out and getting in shape during the winter is a struggle for many people. The freezing temperatures in Chicago discontinue people’s routines of running and taking the time to go to the gym. However, there are now a few alternatives in and around Jones for students to be able to work on their summer body or just get into shape.

This fall, Serafin Herrera ‘16 and Manuel Ledesma ‘16  took the initiative to start the “Team Swole” club where student can workout out at their own satisfaction.

“It kind of started last year as we would go individually to condition for sports,” said Herrera. “I would go after school with my friends two to three days and then decided to make it official this year.”

Team Swole club runs every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 4:50 in the fitness center in room 213. It is run by art teacher Jake Myers and is attracting dozens of students and even a number of faculty members. However, other sports teams make use of other locations around Jones for conditioning and working out.

Adrian Huerta ‘16 is on the Varsity Basketball team and they are currently conditioning for their winter season. “We run inside and do stair suicides and run laps around the halls,” said Huerta. “It’s painful, but helpful for abs, legs, and lung expansion. There’s definitely a difference on when we play on the court.”

When there aren’t any options in Jones, some students walk across the street to XSport fitness and do their workouts there. Herrera is one of these students.

“Although it [XSport gym] gets crowded, I am still able to get a great workout in. I highly recommend it for students at Jones who can’t make it to workout club. The only obstacle is paying $40 a month. But it’s totally worth it” said Herrera.

Though exercise is an important factor to keeping a fit and healthy body, diets is another factor that ties in with working out. Varsity Soccer Coach Juan Espinoza strongly encourages his athletes to eat healthy food and avoid junk food at all times.

“An athlete’s diet should consist of a right amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and hydration,” said Espinoza. “I always encourage my players to drink lots of water before the game and eat bananas. Then after the game, I urge the to drink chocolate milk.”

Physical Education teacher Rob Heselton is also a supporter of healthy diets. Heselton said, “Eating healthy is a hard decision, but is necessary in order to make change. Although it is expensive, it is what your body needs.”

However, students don’t really find themselves strictly changing their diet, but insteads avoid certain foods they know isn’t healthy.

“I should diet better but I really don’t,” said Herrera. “I just stay away from junk food like McDonald’s and pizza. I can’t say I eat healthy, but I definitely don’t eat unhealthy.”

Huerta also doesn’t change his diet. “I don’t find it necessary to change my diet due to the workouts I do. I’m going to burn it off regardless, so I feel free to eat whatever.” Huerta does believe though that a healthy diet is necessary for athletes and will payoff in the long run.

Jones is becoming more and more engaged with helping students achieve their goals in working out and eating healthy. With Team Swole running year round, students now have a place to condition and workout for free at their desired time.