By HAILEY CHAPMAN
How do you stay active amidst a global pandemic? FHSU student-athletes have been taking on TikTok challenges, as well as generating core, leg and cardio workouts that utilize household items.
Women’s soccer, volleyball and the Wellness Center staff have all participated in a planking challenge inspired by the popular social media TikTok. The athletes were challenged with finding a song to create a plank dance to. Winners were voted on in the comment section of each Instagram page.
Morgan Christiansen was the winner of the volleyball team’s plank challenge with her take on “Stayin’ Alive.” She utilized hip swivels and plank jacks during her workout.
“COVID-19 has made me modify my workouts. Since gyms are closed, I have to get creative and find different ways to use objects as weights and modify the lift,” Christiansen said. “It has definitely forced us to hold one another accountable while staying active and staying safe from home.”
Zariah Smith was the winner for women’s soccer as she used plank jacks, shoulder taps and push-ups to the song “Wobble.”
Smith shared how the pandemic has affected her normal workout routine.
“It is definitely unfortunate that everything has happened the way it has,” she said. “Limited access to gyms and fields due to closures has made it harder for workouts. The part that is the most difficult is not being able to train and compete as a team. It’s not ideal or convenient, but there is always a way; it’s forced us all to come together as a team to be creative when we have to modify our workouts and also rely on one another to push each other from a distance and hold each other accountable as well. Part of being a student-athlete is being able to adapt and be resilient, so while the effects of the virus can be very inconvenient, how you respond and react is everything. At first, it was frustrating, but now it’s just a new routine that I feel like we’re all slowly adjusting to.”
Lastly, Taylor Bynum — or “The Machine” as the video referred to her — was the winner for the Wellness Center. Bynum used plank push-ups and knee-to-elbow movements.
The second challenge they participated in was the squat challenge. The athletes were encouraged to get in a squat workout from home, utilizing household items. FHSU volleyball players got creative and used their family and friends, pets, water buckets and traffic cones as squat weight.
Kayla Vitztum was the winner of the volleyball team’s challenge, using her large Goldendoodle puppy as a weight over her shoulders.
“As far as workouts go, I don’t have weights or a lot to utilize at home. So I’ve been working on my form and resistance and making sure that I am ready to go as soon as the quarantine order is lifted,” Vitztum said.
The Wellness Center submitted its ideas including a water jug, a pizza, propane tanks, a television and a wheelchair. The students are showing that even though regular outlets such as gyms and training centers are shut down, there are still options to stay in shape from home.
Aside from challenges, the FHSU Wellness Center page has been keeping its athletes active with different at-home workouts. They have included leg day, abs/core, cardio and additional exercises.
Although life with social distancing has been difficult, there are many ways for students to better themselves by putting in work, whether it be during commercial breaks, in between homework assignments or just in their free time.