When the pandemic hit and teachers were forced to move their classes and plans online, how Personal Fitness would work was a big worry among the students of Potosi High School.
“Free weights like dumbbells, which are available at school, weren't available to us at home, but those helped me a lot to add mass,” said Senior Tucker Leibfried, a four-year football player.
“Lifting has helped me across my high school athletic career,” explained Tucker. Tucker went from not really getting a whole lot of game time his freshman year, and not understanding the reason, to lifting to improve his chances to play, before injuring his collarbone his sophomore year, which ended his season. Tucker decided to come back a lot stronger for his junior year. He started to lift hard, and this habit continued up through his senior season of football. He started only being able to bench press the bar, the equivalent of 45 pounds. Then, after his collarbone injury, Tucker was able to improve his bench, maxing out at an equivalent of 345 pounds. Currently, he continues to lift weights because he finds it to be a way to relieve stress, gain body confidence, and he likes to feel the burn of the exercise.
During the full online period in March, Personal Fitness students were given online workouts. The online workouts consisted of different videos of exercises that were to be completed and logged in Teambuildr, an app where a coach can post scheduled workouts. Students are able to fill in the weight and reps they completed for each set. This way, coaches can monitor student progress.
“I benefited from the JC ab workouts the most, and the leg and arm exercises were beneficial. They just got repetitive and easier,” said Tucker. That's when he decided to purchase a gym membership. At the time, Tucker was living in Nevada. Due to the Coronavirus concerns here in Wisconsin, public gyms were not allowed to be open for business, but in Nevada they were. Tucker was able to benefit from this the most because he was in an environment where he could continue the habits he gained from lifting at school.