If you’re able to get up before 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and make your way to Wells, you may hear blaring rap music and clanging weights coming from the weight room at the bottom of the school. That’s the sound of an active morning with the ‘Zero Period’ workout sessions hosted by Tuan Le, the advisor of the program. The group meets up in the wrestling and weight training rooms on Mondays for chest; Tuesdays for legs; Thursdays for back; and Fridays for arms.
It’s an appealing opportunity to get your workout in before class and not have to stress with the hustle and bustle that takes place before 8:30 a.m. For students who are looking to get physically active this new year, Zero Period offers a no-cost access to an effective training regime and free weight equipment.
Sessions begin with a warm-up in the wrestling room with box jumps and light footwork exercises — part of the program’s partnership with team sports. The group then moves to the weight room, stocked with squat racks equipped with pullup bars, dumbbells, kettlebells, easy curl bars, a leg press, and more. And while lifting alone is widely respected, Zero Period is predominantly a training partner workout. On bench presses, squats, and other possibly hazardous exercises, students can rely on multiple spotters to provide motivational support and supervision.
Newcomers to Zero Period may be intimidated by the loud music and heavy equipment accompanying the group’s lifting, yet the community is open. “I’m very used to the gym community and being in a space where there’s a collective of people sharing the same ideals,” said Vincent Pascual, a sophomore who attended for his first time on a Friday Arm day. Students can receive technical and posture-related feedback from Tuan, who constructs the workouts and abides by it himself. Furthermore, many of the program’s attendants are experienced weight-lifters themselves.
A large number of students attending these morning sessions are student-athletes; either pairing it with their playing or preparing in their off-season. “Kids that come here would be wrestlers, football players, basketball players, baseball players, softball players, you name it. If there’s a sport, we’re here, we’re training for it,” said Le.
He finds compound exercises and movements that complement a lot of athletic performance. “Last year was the start of getting the kids ready to become athletes, this year it’s really evolving the program to be a yearly program of strength-building, power, speed, and getting each kid to be ready for their sport,” said Le.
For Pascual, the gym is part of his weight-lifting split that he balances with his Jiu-Jitsu practice. Friends in his health class eventually pushed him to make the morning commitment and join. “Honestly I had been invited to it so many times, I was like ‘alright, I have to try this at some point’” said Pascual.
Morning workouts boost testosterone levels and often leave you feeling more present and focused after the bell rings. With the right support and teaching, these sessions might allow you to hit new PRs, or see that physical change that you’re striving for this year. So if you’re looking to improve your strength and athleticism in 2024, Zero Period is a cost-effective and convenient program to provide just that, (if you can get past the loud rap music).
