It is a Tuesday afternoon. You enter the huge room with concrete floors and see a crowd of approximately 20 people bent over machines, faces red with effort, dressed in shorts and sporty t-shirts. The room has pungent aroma. Machines clang as steel weights crash against each other. Electronic music is buzzing in your ears. The energy is radiant. In each corner of the room, a trainer wearing a white t-shirt with the Body Tech logo offers support and encouragement. Everyone has a common goal, to be better than yesterday.  

After the pandemic, a high percentage of students started going to the gym regularly. Some go for self-improvement, others due to social media pressure or just wanting to be healthy. As more students worked out, others joined, creating this current trend.

“The pandemic was what encouraged students the most to enter the gym because it was the only option that people had to exercise,” Hernando Arango, PE teacher, said.

There is a correlation in the relationship between gym society and students. This is seen with the motivation to have a healthy appearance and a positive body image. 

“Many students seek to be strong or scratched to show greatness which helps to have a better reputation,” Hernando Arango, PE teacher, said.

Why has going to the gym become such a popular trend among TCS students?

According to a study published in Frontiers in Pediatrics, the levels of physical fitness among teenagers declined steadily. However, the promotion of a healthy lifestyle on social media has increased the number of students entering the gym in recent years. 

“Self-improvement is in fashion. And in social networks, they showed that a way of self-improvement is the gym and that it is very accessible to all the student population,” Eva Morales, Grade 11, said.

“Gym culture in social media has become very famous and a lot of teenagers in the school have been inspired by it,” Amalia Pelaez, Grade 10, said. 

“Students from all ages have started to go to the gym, not only in high school but also in middle school. This has inspired other groups to get in the gym too,” Lucas Palacio, senior, said.

What motivates students to be disciplined at the gym?

Constant physical improvement has shown a high percentage of discipline among students. According to a study published in a public school review done on May 17, 2016, students who go to the gym show better attention and focus, improved problem-solving abilities, better working memory, and a general improvement in both reading and math scores. This pattern of positive impacts is mostly due to the discipline created by going to the gym.

“My self-improvement helps me clear my mind and focus on my goals. It also helps me reflect and have an hour to myself; challenging myself physically and mentally,” Mariana Mesa, Grade 11, said.

“My daily motivation is that I like to keep my health 100%, and I like to look good and confident,” Pelaez said. 

“My motivation is based on all my past because when I was younger I suffered from obesity and this affected me psychologically. Today I am not able to gain weight and I always try to be a better version of myself,” Palacio said. 

What are students’ favorite reasons for going to the gym? 

Teenagers focus a lot on looking good. This is one of the main reasons the gym is becoming a trend. In addition, according to a study done by Richardson CR, Faulkner physiatrist, “Exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. Exercise has also been found to alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal.”

“I like that It’s like my alone time and I don’t have to focus on anybody else, or school stuff, it’s a way to mentally relax,” Morales said.

“What I like most about the gym is that I can completely cloud my head, I can have a lot of problems that day and if I go to the gym I have time to release my stress and once again have a cool head to be able to make decisions,” Palacio said.

“Students seek to be strong or ripped to show greatness which helps to have a better reputation. This has been the cause for many years,” Arango said.

How has the pandemic affected students’ relationships with the gym and exercise?

The pandemic affected various aspects of the gym trend. It affected negatively because people that were disciplined in the gym couldn’t go because of quarantine. On the other hand, it affected positively because it made teenagers want to exercise even at their house and as a result, started to be interested in the topic. After the lockdown, the gym trend began.

“Since the pandemic started in 2020 many students have decided to start working out and a trend has begun,” Cristobal Sierra, Grade 9, said.

“I see people of all ages and it seems curious to me since before the pandemic everyone was in Polideportivo or did other types of sports,” Palacios said.

“In my opinion, the pandemic affected the students the most to enter the gym, because it was the only option that people had to exercise,” Arango said.

 “Fitness models or Influencers have somehow affected gym culture. nowadays Everyone wants to be ripped, many of the students who used to do poly have now dropped out and are engaged with this new trend,” Arango said.

Work Cited

Portner, Casey. Portner Counseling Group (PCG). “Exercise and Your Mental Health.” Counseling of Southwest Florida, 11 Apr. 2022, https://www.counselingswfl.com/benefits-of-exercise-to-improve-mental-health/.

“How Physical Exercise Makes Your Brain Work Better.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 18 June 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jun/18/how-physical-exercise-makes-your-brain-work-better.