Athletics at school are a large commitment that many students can’t commit to. For that reason, a group of students at North Atlanta have started a fitness club. This allows students to meet once a week and partake in something that benefits them both physically and mentally.

The fitness club meets outside the weight room every Monday at 4:15 and ends just an hour later at 5:15. Leaders of the club plan activities for the club to do, but there is also a lot of freedom for students being able to decide what they want to workout. “The main focus of the club is just to get students together to be able to workout and enjoy it together,” said club founder Lanier Beckham.

Knowing how to do workouts is something that no one really teaches. Fitness clubs allow students to teach other students how to properly do workouts with the correct form, and which ones are most beneficial for their health. There is a teacher supervisor – Abby Salyer – to make sure no students get hurt, but the amount of student leadership within the club is astonishing. “The activities we structure are for those students who don’t know what they are doing,” said club secretary Henry Peck. “Students who know what they want to do when they workout are allowed to do their own thing and follow their own pace.”

Despite mainly using the weight room, the fitness club also has access to different fields and the gym when it’s open. They do activities like kickball, basketball, and more. “We hope when more people join the club we can have more activities to do,” said fitness club activities leader Matthew Maiellaro. ”It’s vital that we get more people to join for activities that are important to have fun with after a hard workout.”

Fitness club leaders want the club to be open to any student at North Atlanta to give them the opportunity to workout and enjoy fitness. Fitness is a hard journey to take alone. They want the club to be a place where students can support each other’s fitness journey, attacking it with an optimistic mindset.