The school recently completed construction of a new weight room with brand new equipment. Currently, the weight room can only be accessed while a coach is present in the room. While in the past, the room was closed in the morning because of a lack of supervision, recent changes in scheduling allowed athletes to access the area in the morning, which has been even more helpful.
In the last few months, athletes have been required to stay on the gym side of the building from 6:30-7:10 a.m., restricting access to the rest of the building. Because of this, coaches are required to monitor in the morning, which should allow access to the weight room.
While the new situation is incredibly helpful, more could be done to ensure regular access for athletes.
The ideal situation is that the weight room is open in the morning for athletes who cannot access it any other time of the day. Opening in the morning accommodates busy schedules for student athletes, giving them more time after school to study and attend their team practice. This especially applies for sports that are in season and sports, like swim and golf, that do not return to the building until 5 p.m.
In season, sports commonly hold mandatory after school practices during the time the weight room is accessible, making it difficult for these athletes to ever get access. So, when coaches allow access to the weight room, it benefits the athletes to train early.
But access is not always available. While there have been more days where coaches open the weight room, it does not open consistently, making scheduled routine lifting days more difficult.
It’s not just the schedule that justifies morning lifts, it’s also the benefits of working out in the morning compared to the afternoon. A University Health System article notes that morning workouts can “improve focus and cognition” and “boost your energy throughout the day.” Meaning, morning workouts have some benefits compared to their afternoon counterparts, especially for the school day when those such factors are important to learning.
Considering all of the factors above, the school should make sure the weight room more often and consistently take into account schedules, research and existing rules. This would would be beneficial for these student athletes and their training.
