By Ben Crawford II
Without access to gyms, working out during quarantine can be complicated. To find out what RL student athletes are doing to stay in shape, I interviewed three Class II students – Frankie Lonergan, Will Specht, and Rohil Dhaliwal. Here’s what they had to say.
Are you doing anything to stay sharp in your spring sport? How are you doing it?
Frankie: “I’m lucky enough to have a younger brother who lives with me, so we’ve been playing catch. Also, Coach Cat has been sending us exercises, which I’ve been diligently doing.”
Will Specht: “The RL lacrosse coach has been sending out various workout challenges, which has been encouraging me to do more running and bodyweight exercises like pushups, planks, and squats.”
Rohil Dhaliwal: “I’m doing some agility work to stay in shape for tennis. If you know me, you know I hate cardio. Nevertheless, I do it for the sake of Doc Hyde.”
Do you have a workout routine? If so, what is it?
Frankie: “I have a couple bodyweight circuits I’ve been doing. Mostly pushups, situps, squats, and jumping jacks.”
Will Specht: “Between class periods, I try to do 25 pushups, a two minute plank, and ten pull-ups.”
Rohil Dhaliwal: “I’m doing a four-day split routine that Kyle (the trainer) gave me. The days are separated into legs, back and biceps, chest and triceps, and arms.”
Has your routine evolved at all over the last six or seven weeks?
Frankie: “Absolutely. I started off planning to do a bunch of pushups – the football team actually had a pushup competition – but soon realized I wasn’t working legs nearly enough. So, over time, my routine has become more balanced.”
Will Specht: “I’ve definitely started doing a lot more running. Given that we don’t have sports practices anymore, adding more cardio has been important.”
Rohil Dhaliwal: “It hasn’t changed too much. I have a home gym setup, so I’ve largely been able to transfer my workout to home.”
If any, what have been the obstacles to your ideal workout?
Frankie: “I don’t have as much equipment as I’d like. No bench press, no squat rack, and no wonderful facilities like we have at Roxbury Latin.”
Will Specht: “Obviously the lack of a gym hurts. In particular, it’s been a lot harder to do leg workouts. The lack of structure that school gives has also made it harder to motivate to work out.”
Rohil Dhaliwal: “Not many – I’m very lucky to have the set up I have. Motivation is lacking though because I don’t have the boys with me. Miss them everyday.”
When we’re on the other side of this pandemic, do you think you’ll take any lessons with you? Will your workouts be changed?
Frankie: “I’ve always been the kind of guy that works out pretty religiously outside of my house – in the gym. So, probably not.”
Will Specht: “I think I’ll keep going for runs, especially through the summer.”
Rohil Dhaliwal: “I’ve learned an important lesson that will stick with me through my entire life: own a home gym. It’s a great investment and very worthwhile.”
Anything else you want to add about working out during the pandemic?
Frankie: “Everyone on the football team should be doing it.”
Will Specht: “Everyone reading this should work out. You can atrophy really easily if you do nothing for a week.”
Rohil Dhaliwal: “If you’re missing the feel of a bench, you can come use my home gym – just wear a mask and gloves.”
