After the strength and conditioning program was forced to move to Zoom workouts because of Gov. Tim Walz’s COVID-19 restrictions, strength and conditioning coach Jessica Gust said she prepared a plan before Gov. Walz made the decision to cancel sports for four weeks. 

“We had talked alot about being prepared for whatever situation was going to come at us,” Gust said. “We had to think about what our strategies were going to be and how were we going to handle the change, so I feel like the kids anticipated it pretty well and were ready to make that transition.”

Senior Maddie Olson said she was a regular attendee at strength and conditioning before the shutdown, but continues to come back because of the well-organized workouts.

“I attended strength and conditioning pretty much every day before it moved to Zoom, and I wanted to continue with it because I feel like working out every day is essential for my body, and I really like Gust’s program,” Olson said. “By still working out and having a structured program, it helps me stay on track with my workouts and continue to be productive.”

Gust said not having the in-building experience has deterred many students from attending.

“It’s hard because so many kids really love to come into the building, so our attendance isn’t as good when we do it via Zoom but the kids that are showing up are showing up consistently,” Gust said. “Really the biggest challenge is trying to keep it as effective as we can in this situation.” 

Junior Luna LaBelle said the lack of proper equipment at home is a burden, but Gust has adapted to the continuation of workouts at home.

“I don’t like that since I don’t have heavy or proper weights at home, I’m not working as hard so it might be a struggle when we go back to strength in the weight room,” LaBelle said. “But I really enjoy that Gust has adjusted to the change so we can do workouts still at home.”

LaBelle said she enjoys the ability to work out with other students while staying fit.

“Seeing my friends and again, staying physically and mentally active plus it’s something to get me going during this quarantine,” LaBelle said. 

Olson said she feels the Zoom workouts give her structure to keep active.

“Despite the difficulties, It’s effective because it just holds us accountable,” Olson said. “When you’re on your own it’s easy to skip parts of the workout or the workout altogether.”

Gust said that new COVID-19 protocols would not need to be added when they come back since the existing protocols were already so extensive. 

“We’ve been using really strict protocols since June, when we were first able to start working out, and so we won’t need to change anything, well just go back to what we were doing before because it was so rigid,” Gust said.