By SILAS DEVANEY IV
Sheridan High School Student
Editor’s Note: The Sheridan Student Column is brought to readers by Sheridan High School’s 10th grade English class, taught by Abby Williams.
My name is Silas DeVaney, and I am a student at Sheridan High School.
I play three sports, and something that is overlooked about these sports is weight lifting. For football, strength is a main part of the game, in baseball coaches like power hitters and guys with big arms, and in basketball being able to jump high is huge and that comes from lifting. The weight lifting that athletes undergo is what can build their endurance for their sport and will develop a hard-working mentality into athletes to work for what they want.
High school teams separate themselves from each other by their strength, and that all starts by how they train in the offseason. Lifting is the difference between a good team and a great team; you can only go so far off of talent alone.
Another great part of lifting is how healthy it makes your body. Your joints will be stronger, your bones will be stronger, and your muscles will be stronger. It has also been proven to make you live longer if you regularly lift. Your mental health will also improve while lifting because it can take your mind off daily struggles. Another key part of lifting is injury prevention. Lifting can strengthen your body so it doesn’t get injured and will help athletes reach their potential. Lifting will allow you to live a longer and a better life.
The only negative to lifting is how if not done properly, it can be very dangerous, so you have to learn the movements before weight is added. Weight lifting is also a broad term to how many different styles of lifting there are. For example, bodybuilding, CrossFit, muscular endurance, and many more. It is all about what fits your body the best and benefits your body the most. Weight lifting is sometimes overlooked, when in reality it should be a staple of every athlete.
The food you put in your body is what really allows you to gain muscle and size the fastest. Eating healthy and eating a lot will allow you to be very healthy and live longer. Also, the type of diet an athlete chooses needs to be based on what is best for their body type. If an athlete is eating to gain weight they need to constantly eat, but if they are eating to lose weight, they need to focus on how much they eat and what they eat.
Overall, lifting weights is, and should be, at the core of all athletes no matter what sport they play. People not in sports can also make lifting part of their everyday routine for a healthy life.