As most students and rival schools know, San Luis Obispo High School is known not only for its outstanding scholars but also for its devoted athletes. With the installation of the new weight room earlier this year, student-athletes are more equipped than ever to take on their individual sports, and especially, train for upcoming seasons.

  Preseason weight training involves intense muscle and stamina building exercises to make sure athletes are in tip-top shape for the beginning of their sport. Athletes use weighted mechanisms along with generic exercises like squats and crunches to build long-term muscle endurance, and short-term muscle strength to quicken reflexes and improve agility.

  “We do a few sets of box jumps, a few sets of lifting on the bench press, and a lot of squats,” said freshman basketball player Macy Nitzel.

  Maintaining fitness during the offseason is almost as important as it is during the season, seeing that consistency in training aides in the prevention of acute and chronic injuries and allows athletes to surpass general conditioning during the season, giving them more time and energy to focus on practicing their skills and team bonding.

  On the topic of team bonding, preseason weight training also introduces new students to the team they plan to compete with and gives the team as a whole a strong foundation of friendship and friendly competition on which they can build during the season.

  “It helps us learn to work as a team and bond since we are working together to improve our skills,” said Nitzel.

  Everyone knows that the best teams are made of athletes who are extremely comfortable and close with their teammates; training consistently with one another allows athletes to strengthen their intrateam relationships, thus strengthening the core of the team.

  “I’m really looking forward to improving the way I think about the game as a whole, and just getting a deeper understanding of the minor details that make up the big picture to clean up my skills,” said Nitzel.

  Our basketball team has been putting in hours every week in order to sharpen their skills for the winter season, so be sure to pack the stands and support all their hard work when it comes around.