SportsPage 17 n December 18, 2012

thekirkwoodcall.com

According to WebMD, not only does exercis-ing improve your body, but it can help you function mentally, too.

Research has shown exercise can slow or help prevent heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, arthritis and osteoporosis (bone loss).

Daniel Witt sports editor

Kelsey Landrum photographer

Muscular might just be the new skinny for women. In fact, many KHS females have found their way to a workout room after school to achieve a toned body status.

Jim Cibulka, physics teacher, oversees the action in the KHS weight room after school Monday through Thursday. While he said there are quite a few female students visiting the workout room, many are still shying away.

“A lot of girls are scared off of working out from that idea they will look bad,” Cibulka said. “And I’ll tell you, the girls who have been in there have worked their butts off.”

Elise Tadros, senior, has been working out for six years. Tadros plays water polo, what she calls “a guy’s sport.” To prepare for this sport, she works out 3-4 times a week during the off-season. Tadros does not care about being labeled for working out.

“I am pretty athletic, so I try to always stay in shape for sports,” Tadros said. “I say I’d al-ways rather be fit than super skinny. I think that girls who are fit are the healthiest looking. I don’t think it’s masculine. I think it’s healthy.”

Elisa Steele, senior, started working out her freshman year for many of the same reasons as Tadros. However, Steele said the belief that females working out to be viewed as “mascu-line” is a choice more than anything.

“I think some people might have that pref-erence, but that’s not been an issue for me,” Steele, varsity volleyball and track athlete, said. “As an athlete, whatever is required to do the sport well is fine. An athletic girl is just as pretty as a girl who is not as athletic.”

According to a WebMD article, due to a naturally lower muscle mass, women cannot build as much muscle in a span of time as men can. But this does not matter to Tadros.

“I don’t want to be super muscular,” Tadros said. “It’s more about being toned. It’s more about physically fit. I don’t need to get ripped for my sport. It would be cool but I don’t think I could achieve a bodybuilder’s status.”

Steele, on the other hand, makes decisions to not build up too much muscle.

“I make a conscious effort to do things that would not make me bulk up a ton,” Steele said. “But for girls, it’s not really that natural anyway to build huge amounts of muscles, so I’m not very worried about that.”

Both Tadros and Steele have similar work-out routines. Each start their workout with approximately 20 minutes of cardio and move on to stations. Tadros enjoys jumping ropes and lifting with her legs, while Steele focuses on arms and abs. Tadros believes her workout routine does not differ too greatly from a boy’s.

“I don’t lift much but when I do, I do a lot of leg work because in water polo we do a lot of treading and swimming,” Tadros said. “The only thing that I probably can’t do that a guy can do is the amount of weights [they lift]. I

try to run. I try to lift. I try to im-prove.”

Cibulka prais-es the female students who work hard to im-prove their bod-ies after school.

He believes working out relieves stress, mak-ing one feel better both physically and men-tally.

Steele recognizes the benefits of working out. She said it keeps her in shape, relieves stress and lets her eat more of the foods she wants. Steele also believes it prepares her for the volleyball and track season. In November, she was named to the 2012 Suburban South second team all-conference volleyball team.

“After you workout it’s like this great feeling that you’ve done a lot of work,” Steele said. “I recommend it to all people: guy and girl. I think especially girls. I think people don’t realize if you throw in a little cardio or just get into a simple routine you’ll see good results if you just keep up with it. You’ll feel healthier and have more energy. It’s good for everyone.”

I work out

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Elisa Steele, senior, has been working out since freshman year in order to give herself an edge in volleyball and track.

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“I think that girls who are fit are the healthiest look-ing. I don’t think it’s mas-culine. I think it’s healthy,” -Elise Tadros, senior