“I prefer outside workouts way more than I do weight lifting because, you get more of a workout outside than you do inside," senior long-distance runner Alexis Torres said. "But weight lifting is still a major part of sports and I understand why we do it as much as we do.”

Torres may prefer working outside instead of inside, but she understands the importance of weight lifting, and accepts it as a necessary part of getting better at her sport. The question of "weightlifting versus workouts" is one that BHS athletes constantly debate.

“Mondays are the worst day of the week, thanks to weight lifting,” junior baseball player Zach LeStourgeon said. “Coming from an eventful weekend and then going straight into weight lifting the next day ruins my week.”

While LeStourgeon’s opinion is in the majority, to people like power lifters, weight lifting days are a breeze, and nothing to worry about.

“I'm so used to weight lifting thanks to power lifting,” sophomore Amber Rasberry said. “We lift weights every day and it has made me a lot stronger.  Weights are super easy to me now.”

While Rasberry and the other power lifters enjoy lifting weights, some other athletes, like the boys soccer players, do not even step foot inside the weight room.

“We never even go inside the weight room,” senior Ricardo Abdul said. “We stick to doing our drills outside, and will rarely ever lift weights. We do good staying out on the field and actually working on soccer plays.”

While the boys’ soccer team does not spend much time in the weight room, a few sports, such as football, spend every day in the weight room.

“This year is my first year in high school football, and we’ve spent a lot of time lifting weights,” freshman Avery Mansfield said. “The weights help us get really strong to beat the other team.”   

And, with the freshman boys football team finishing the season with the best record of all three teams at 7-3, it looks like the weight room will continue to be a part of each Bandera athlete’s future.