It’s seven o’clock on a Tuesday morning. Athletes walk into the Larry Brown Fitness Center in City High, hearing dumbbells clang and weights clatter. They grab an iPad from the office and take it to a station, start to set up, preparing to work out. It’s the first day in the weekly set, and the strength is returning.  

“I want to prepare myself for my in-season sports. During the offseason I can go harder, I can get more reps in, because I don’t want to worry about being sore for my sports or anything. I like lifting offseason so that when I’m in season I can still lift but I have the muscle gains already there,” said sophomore Sara Cassady.

Offseason lifting gives athletes a way to stay in shape even when their sport is not in season. Even if someone is not in any sports, they are still welcome. Runners, cheerleaders, swimmers, soccer players, softball players, and other athletes can all participate in it. 

“I like the benefits of off-season lifting,” Lucy Corbin ‘22 said. “Even though it’s really early in the morning, I enjoy the idea of me getting my morning off with a workout and improving myself for the future.”

Since the sports are out of season, the lifting is not mandatory, but most coaches highly encourage that athletes stay fit and lift out of season. A single location with an athletic atmosphere creates consistency in working out that many athletes miss in the off-season. 

“If you don’t do out of season lifting, you’re going to lose so much of what you spend all of in-season doing. If you don’t, you’re starting over from square one [once the season starts],” said Lynsey Barnard, the girl’s basketball coach.

Not all athletes who do off-season lifting do it at City High. Just as in all things, there are specific pros and cons for where each person lifts. 

“I like lifting outside of City High because I feel like I can stay focused a little bit more. I tend to get distracted easily, so I will talk to everybody there if I know them. Not knowing everybody in the gym and having a separate place where that happens is really good for me as an athlete because I can focus more,” said Cassady. “I can totally see how people would like to lift at City as well because lifting with friends is fun, but [lifting somewhere else] just helps me focus a little more.”

The lifting at City High is set up in a week-by-week set system. Athletes lift three times a week, the first on either Monday or Tuesday, the second on either Wednesday or Thursday, and the third on either Friday or Saturday. The workout changes with each day, with three different days completing a set. 

“Each day different muscle systems are worked and strengthened and in total, I get a full-body workout by the end of each week,” said Corbin.