Not many students know that Grandville’s old weight room was in a space originally intended for storage. In summer of 2012, the new weight room was an important priority for Grandville High School. The conditions of the old weight room were cramped and limited in size. Estimated at $1.2 million, the money for the new training center came from the school district’s capital project fund. The new fitness center allowed the school to expand physical education curriculum and allowed for large groups to use the weight room at the same time.

Along with the new space, came new curriculum and eventually the new PEAK Performance Lifting . Currently, Mr. Tuscan teaches the class that allows for athletes to get access to top notch exercise equipment and get a lift in during the school day. Classes are filled so there are about two people per equipment rack. This class is designed both to increase athleticism, as well as build muscle along with strength. Coach Tuscan takes students through a variety of exercises throughout the week in order to build their athletic foundation and make them into the best athletic version of themselves. In the gym, the exercises are more focused on running and jumping. Students go through different drills to work on running form. This includes stride length, stride power, and stride frequency. All aspects that need to be worked on in order to increase one’s speed and explosiveness. For the jumping portion, it is more focused on increasing balance and explosiveness. Students will do things like broad jumps and single leg bounds to work on your jumping power.

As students head into the weight room, their week will consist of a pretty normal weight training regimen. Each day is committed to focusing on a different muscle group in the body. The core lifts completed in this class are back squat, bench press, power clean, push press and front squat. Lifters can expect one of these to be one of the main lifts on any given day that they are in the weight room. Students will only do each of them once a week in order to avoid fatigue. Along with these core lifts, they do side lifts that include the dumbbells or exercise bands to focus on more specific muscle groups and mobility. Jordan Heyboer, a student who has 6th hour PEAK states, “It is nice because we are able to lift for our sports during school and don’t need to worry about going in either before school or after practice. Also, it’s a lot more motivating having this superior weightroom compared to trying to cram everyone into the old one.” As readers can see by Jordan’s response, this weight room is very exciting and welcoming to all students. The best part is, the weight room is open to anyone attending Grandville Public Schools, so all students, even those that don’t participate in a sport, are encouraged stop by and check it out!