Fitness and consistency are crucial to a well-lived life, but not everyone takes advantage of the benefits of working, some Hilsdale gym goers say.

Sophomore Jihye Kim said staying fit is essential to longevity and even extends to spiritual life. 

“If you want to be around and see your grandkids,  be a useful member of society, and be able to share the gospel with other people, you have to be able to walk around and be mentally cognizant,” Kim said.

Kim said she began taking working out more seriously her freshman year of college.

“I have learned a lot about fitness, such as nutrition, CrossFit, lifting weights, and calisthenics,” Kim said.

Working out intersects with her interest in military leadership and her involvement in the Marines PLC program, Kim said.

“I joined the Marines PLC program as a freshman because the Marines were at the Source,” Kim said. “We don’t have mandatory meetings, and we have to manage our own workout schedules.” 

Kim said she often recognizes the people she sees at the gym around campus, including professors.

“I see a lot of gym bros around campus, and I don’t know some of their names, but we recognize one another,” Kim said. “I even met professors through the Founders Gym, like Dr. Mumme and Dr. Yost. Those guys are ripped.”

Kim said she enjoys the amount of available gym equipment, especially compared to where she grew up in West Africa.

“We didn’t really have a gym there, so I usually just did calisthenics,” Kim said. “When I came to America, my eyes were opened to all the gyms all the equipment, and all the steel. I was like, ‘This is amazing.’” 

Sophomore Preston Brumley said Hillsdale College lacks a gym culture because few people prioritize going to the gym and instead focus on academics.

“People here are super intellectual,” Brumley said. “The excuse I hear a lot is, ‘I don’t have time.’ I think people think that you can’t have both academics and fitness.”

Brumley said many of his friends work out, but they often do so separately, occasionally doing challenges together. 

Brumley, who recently became the new vice president of the powerlifting club, said he hopes to  introduce more frequent exercise sessions. 

“I would like to do regular things throughout the year, so maybe a weekly workout or something,” Brumley said. 

Graduate student Christian Warner said many Hillsdale graduate students work out. 

“I would definitely say that there has been more of a push for working out and weightlifting,” Warner said. 

Warner said the push to work out, particularly among some graduate students, had some political motivations.

“I think it started especially in reaction to the COVID response, which was stay indoors, don’t go outside, and wear a mask,” Warner said. “People really started to question the medical industrial complex, and even their doctors. So people have started lifting, taking care of their health, and have gotten more of an awareness of preventive medicine.”

Warner said gym culture relates to Hillsdale’s classical emphasis. 

“I would definitely say that gym culture and working out have roots in the Western tradition,” Warner said. “Socrates has a very nice quote, ‘It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.’”