Derry Area Track & Field Lift-A-Thon
When: Wednesday, February 28th (Girls) & Thursday, February 29th (Boys)
Where: HS Fitness Center
Time: 5:00 PM
This is a fun event that will help build camaraderie between school and community and help students grow. All proceeds will go towards the track and field program as well as help the team host invitationals and camps throughout the year.
Derry Area High School Track and Field athletes are sponsoring our first annual LIFT-A-THON to emphasize the importance of our off-season workouts and to provide support for our program.
Where: HS Fitness Center
Time: 5:00 PM
This is a fun event that will help build camaraderie between school and community and help students grow. All proceeds will go towards the track and field program as well as help the team host invitationals and camps throughout the year.
Derry Area High School Track and Field athletes are sponsoring our first annual LIFT-A-THON to emphasize the importance of our off-season workouts and to provide support for our program.
- Each athlete will perform three lifts: Bench Press, Deadlift, and Back Squat
- Each athlete is responsible for finding a minimum of two sponsors.
- Each sponsor should pledge a minimum of $.02 donations per pound. The amount of your total donation will be the result of the athlete’s total weight lifted between all three lifts. Flat donations are accepted.
- The TOTAL DONATION column will be completed by the coaches for accuracy. Each athlete will safely lift the maximum amount of weight in each category. The athlete will continue to increase the weight until he/she fails to lift the weight (MAX OUT).
- Each athlete who earns over the $200 total raised level receives a t-shirt.
Bench Press
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Deadlift
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Back Squat
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Why These Lifts for Track & Field?
Track athletes benefit from proper weight training as much as any athlete. However, most track athletes don’t spend nearly as many hours in the gym as they do on the track. The gym is where you develop horsepower for the track, which is critical for improving your performance.
Three Benefits of Lifting
1. Strength Gains - Weight training focuses on strength rather than hypertrophy or endurance, so you'll get stronger without gaining much extra muscle.
2. Protect Against Injuries - Weak track and field athletes are more susceptible to getting hurt so if your muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, and other connective tissues are more resilient to the impact forces of running, jumping, and throwing, you’ll experience far fewer repetitive stress injuries.
3. Improve Efficiency - All track and field athletes, especially runners, need to be efficient while giving 100% during every sprint, jump, or throw. Efficiency means using as little energy as possible so they can save it for when they need it most i.e. at the end of a race, last throw, last attempt, etc.
Lifting heavy weights in this manner increases your body’s ability to recruit more muscle fibers. With a larger pool of available fibers, you can tap into some of them when you’re tired at the end of a race, workout, or long run. This allows you to keep running without slowing down.
2. Protect Against Injuries - Weak track and field athletes are more susceptible to getting hurt so if your muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, and other connective tissues are more resilient to the impact forces of running, jumping, and throwing, you’ll experience far fewer repetitive stress injuries.
3. Improve Efficiency - All track and field athletes, especially runners, need to be efficient while giving 100% during every sprint, jump, or throw. Efficiency means using as little energy as possible so they can save it for when they need it most i.e. at the end of a race, last throw, last attempt, etc.
Lifting heavy weights in this manner increases your body’s ability to recruit more muscle fibers. With a larger pool of available fibers, you can tap into some of them when you’re tired at the end of a race, workout, or long run. This allows you to keep running without slowing down.
Trojan Strength Board
Lifelong Fitness
Another benefit of weight training, especially as a member of the track and field team, is there is a history of DATF alumni who continue to work out and remain healthy after they graduate high school.
Will Huss, '18
"To me, working out in the gym is my number 1 escape from stress or anxiety that I have going on in my life. I like to call it my pressure relief value because it allows me to blow off any steam from my school work or life stress in general." |
Megan Downey, '17
"It's honestly hard to put into words for what fitness is to me. But the best way I would put it is when everything is changing, fitness is my constant. It overall makes me feel better about myself and have a clear mind. I work out to be healthy, strong, and capable of anything I want to do." |