Pleasant Valley is very popular for their great lifting program started by Ryan Arnold. Arnold created an environment to help increase the strength, motivation, and ability of PVHS athletes. It started with only upperclassmen being able to lift, but now there are early bird and first period classes for varsity lifters, as well as multiple periods throughout the day to teach younger athletes the lifts and techniques.

Athletes that are in season for a sport, lift two times a week and athletes that are out of season lift three times a week. The average class is made up of specified lifts involving the quads, biceps, and abs. At the end of each quarter, the athletes compete to beat their last max which creates a strive to get better.

While this program is a great success, the problem of cleanliness is often prominent in an athletic environment. With more than 300 students working out in this single room, it creates a buildup of sweat and dirt. The YMCA has had a great system going which involves each member wiping down the equipment after they are done. They provide a disinfectant and towels in order to keep the environment clean and safe.

At Pleasant Valley, the weight room is kept clean by paper wipes and cleaned by multiple students. What many upperclassmen don’t know is the other seven classes clean the equipment for them. “Basic training is what we call the underclassmen lifting, after each of their workouts they are required to wipe down the bench and bar at each rack,” says lifting coach, Samantha Saladino.

While the varsity and early bird classes don’t have to clean, all the other classes do. At the end of the day the coaches require seventh period to wipe down everything. This makes it clean for when varsity athletes come to lift at 6:30 am. “Along with all the students cleaning the equipment the janitors come in each night to clean the entire room, floors and equipment not already cleaned.” Saladino says.

But students have still found black marks left on their hands after lifting and dirty smells all throughout the room. The athletic environment makes it difficult to keep sweat and dirt off of everything but now students and athletes can know for sure that the equipment is getting cleaned each day. “I’m not sure how often the underclassmen clean the equipment but I have never gotten ringworm from the weight room so I don’t think it needs to be improved,” says senior, Lathan Carter.

Assuring students their environment to improve themselves and eachother is safe is exactly what Coach Arnold strives for. Now students can understand the time and thoroughness the equipment goes through to keep the room clean. Making sure PVHS weight training program is exactly what it is set out to be, full of “Total Effort.”