Several Lloydminster Comprehensive athletes are taking fitness to the next level with cross-training exercises at the Fight Farm gym.
The students participate in several other sports at schools but revel in the cross-training opportunity at the Fight Farm run by Garrett Tepper.
“I believe that Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to whatever sport – it compliments it for balance, strength, coordination. Just in my regular classes, I have a lot of crossover hockey and football players. It’s a different type of workout.”
The Fight Farm has been in Lloydminster for 16-years and Tepper who has a fourth degree blackbelt in kickboxing is leading the young athletes though sessions in Brazilian Jui Jistsu and Muay Thai.
Kate Fink specializes in 100 and 400 metres hurdles. She says the cross training is working out “pretty good.”
“This helps me with my coordination,” says Fink as she digs into her boxing lesson.
Lead instructor for the grade 10 and 11 athlete development pathway, Natalie Wiebe says the program is building the athletes’ toolbox.
“Our students participate in sport-specific training, but we are also look at doing various activities and sports where they get to work within different health and skill-related components.”
At school, the students focus on sport nutrition, mental performance, anatomy and biomechanics, sport injury management and leadership skills like volunteerism, communication, conflict and working within a team.
Overall, there are about 15 grade 11s and 24 grade 10s doing the cross-training program, every Thursday in October.
The students also have two excursions during the school year. On Nov. 7 they head to West Edmonton Mall to test their athleticism at surfing, and then do rock climbing at Vertically Inclined.
