Whitman students often try and do as much as they can in order to stand out in their college applications. With grades, extracurriculars, clubs or jobs, students rarely have a second of free time for recreational activities, exercise, and sleep. What if students could consolidate their day in order to exercise, but still have interesting clubs to put on their resumes?

Now, with the influx of new fitness clubs offered at Whitman, students can combine their workout with joining a school sponsored club. The three most unconventional fitness clubs at Whitman include Hiking Vikings, the Fitness Club, and Whitman Ultimate Frisbee Club.

Hiking Vikings

Sophomores Rowan Mohan and Isabel Hoffman started Hiking Viking this year. The club members hike once a month—weather permitting—on local trails, including the Billy Goat A and B trail.

Mohan believes that hiking improves their moods while getting a good workout and staying in touch with nature.

“Being outdoors definitely helps reduce stress in high schoolers, and people have a lot of fun while they’re outside with their friends,” said Mohan. “Being outdoors and enjoying nature always helps people relax.”

The Fitness Club

Another club offered at Whitman is the Fitness Club, created this year by seniors Bobby Hedberg and Carlos Richardson. The club offers traditional workouts such as weight lifting, cardio circuits and strength work after school for no fee. The club meets bi-weekly on Mondays and Thursdays, and is sponsored by English teacher Omari James.

“I definitely think it helps people maintain their well being,” said Hedberg. “Any exercise is good and we do pretty intense work, so I think that it’s highly beneficial to those who participate.”

Ultimate Frisbee

In a more non-traditional way, students can also get exercise by joining the Ultimate Frisbee club at Whitman, commonly known as “Ultimate.” The club has been offered at Whitman for many years now, and is now headed by junior Ethan Askarinam. Every Friday, the Ultimate team practices at Whitman, and occasionally plays against other schools in the county. Currently, practices are very relaxed, but Askarinam says that there is a Montgomery County league that could form, which would most likely make the practices more intense.

Askarinam believes that although Ultimate may not sound physically challenging, it’s actually a very good way to stay active.  

“Ultimate is a very demanding game if played seriously, which is often something people overlook,” said Askarinam. “You are constantly sprinting and have to jump or lay out to catch the disk.”

All of the clubs maintain a public Facebook group that provides updates on club meetings and allows admins to post other important details about the club.