A student’s productivity in the school weight room is limited only by his or her strength and endurance, as there is no shortage of equipment available.

No matter which exercises a lifter does, the weight room can cater to any athlete’s lifting preferences.

            “In terms of equipment, we have a lot of different machines that are in good condition,” Towne said. “Weight rooms in high schools have come a long way. We’re lucky to have the size and equipment we have here.”

However, there are always certain workouts that lifters generally dread and others they look forward to.

• Hang Cleans

Among the hated workouts is the hang clean. In this exercise, the lifter holds the bar with his or her arms straight down, then jumps and pulls up the bar, catching it at the shoulders. The hang clean works several different muscle groups, including the quadriceps and trapezius.

“The hang clean is probably the most difficult exercise. All athletes have to do it, but the technique is really tough. Some senior athletes come in here and they still don’t have the right technique,” Aaron Towne, PE teacher, said. “It’s probably the most disliked just because it’s such an intense exercise.”

Caty Grahf, junior, forces herself to do hang cleans because she feels they are very beneficial. Grahf is taking weight training during the fall semester in order to prepare for softball in the spring.

“Hang cleans really get my adrenaline flowing,” Grahf said. “It always feels like my muscles are getting stronger when I do them.”

• Bench Press

In contrast, Towne enjoys the bench press more than any other exercise. In the bench press, the lifter is lying on a bench and lowers the bar from its stand nearly to the chest, then pushes it back up. The exercise mainly works the pectorals, along with a few other muscles.

“My personal favorite is probably bench press because it gauges strength,” Towne said. “People always ask, ‘what do you bench?’ so you want to be able to do a lot of weight.”

Grahf agrees that the bench press is a common favorite.

“I like bench press because I can easily see how I improve every time I do them, depending on how easy it is to bench a certain weight and how many reps I can do,” Grahf said.

• Squats

Though they are not necessarily favored or disfavored, Towne says squats are the most beneficial, especially in terms of lower body. Done with either free weights or a barbell, the squat is performed by keeping the lower back straight while squatting and holding the weights at the sides (free weights) or behind the head (bar).

“In my experience and research, if you have to do one lower body exercise, it should be squats, just because they work so many lower body muscles,” Towne said.

Towne also advocates the importance of weight training in general.

            “Every sport needs to be lifting,” Towne said. “I don’t care if you’re a football player or a dancer/cheerleader type, you need to be lifting. It builds muscle and bone density, and really just makes you stronger and healthier.”