Who Knew a Language Arts Project Could Be Rewarding?

Introduction

Well, it's that time of year again. We've just gotten out of school, hoping to live just a few more weeks of break, but it's time to slowly kick back into gear. One may think that in most cases, this would consist of the reading of many books, as well as the writing of many essays; however, this year is different. How so? This year I feel (or least I'm hoping!), that Language Arts at the collegiate level will take me out of textbooks (to some degree), and introduce me into a viewpoint that illustrates that Language Arts isn't all about reading, writing, and grammar, but it may also be a tool that one may use to accomplish goals, and meet many personal milestones.

The Project

This year I decided that my project will be weightlifting. I've never really became interested in weightlifting until freshman year when I first stepped into Kettering's weight room feeling intimidated by all the weights and exercises that I've never really been accustomed too. I've always been a small, skinny guy, a natural "ectomorph" as many may say, and I never felt the need to weight lift. After having a great year of track that season, my times were great, but afterwards didn't improve much. After research, I found that at a certain point only muscular strength will lower your times, and this really got me pumped to get in the weight room. My lifts started out very low as a beginner, but throughout the season I saw a huge improvement. I continued to lift throughout the summer and yet saw more. Last week, right after my 16th birthday, I joined a gym and I've started to weight lift regularly, and I love it! The feeling of accomplishment when I finish is great, and I love that "pumped" sense. My project will be weightlifting, while keeping track of my lifts, measurements, and diet.

The Goal

My goal for this project is to become stronger mainly for sports. Instead of running constantly for faster times, I think it's time to reach the core of what makes someone faster, and weight lift with resistance training. Being a smaller-boned guy, maybe over time I'll even be able to show that a smaller guy can put on size too! Even after this project has been completed, I will continue to work on gaining strength and speed in order to run and perform my best, which is why I feel that this project will suit me perfectly.