While traditional workouts usually consist of a gym membership or going for a jog, some students have stumbled upon unconventional paths to fitness. Whether tending to a backyard garden or joining a local fencing club, students have found creative ways to maintain active lifestyles.

Senior Sophia Chen first joined the Menlo Garden Club last year, but gardening has been a part of her life since she started tending to her backyard garden as a child. While Chen doesn’t currently play a sport, she notes that gardening tasks, such as weeding and shoveling, are physically demanding. “You’re clearing out dead plants — [Menlo’s garden] used to have a whole forest of corn over there, and it’s like 10 feet tall and carrying them over, it is definitely a workout,” she said. 

And gardening isn’t just a workout — Chen also enjoys the other benefits of getting her hands dirty and being able to experience nature. “I think it’s kind of just fun getting in there and digging things using your hands,” she said. 

Chen’s favorite part of gardening, though, is tasting the food she grows. “I think food tastes better when you’ve actually grown it yourself,” she said. “You know where it came from and how it started and how it grows.” 

Since basic gardening does not require much knowledge or equipment, Chen encourages others to take it up in their spare time. “Gardening is one of those things that I feel like you don’t need so much skill to do,” she said. “Some plants, you just put them in the dirt, and they’ll grow.” 

Senior Ben Levin has also found a physical outlet through his activities in nature, spending his childhood summers kayaking, rock climbing and hiking at an adventure-based camp in New Hampshire. When Levin turned seven, his dad took him backpacking in Yosemite for the first time.

When he was an underclassman, Levin frequently participated in backpacking and kayaking trips and now is the leader of the Outdoor Club. “I just sort of like the idea of being out in nature, disconnected from your phone,” he said. “You’re able to spend time — because I normally go with my family — with people that you enjoy hanging out with.” 

After injuring his back playing tennis junior year, Levin could not go on his annual outdoor trips and instead participated in outdoor medicine classes. “Not only do you learn safety skills, but also this idea of expedition behavior — a readiness to explore, work as a team, and take on every challenge with a positive attitude. In my family, it’s one of the greatest compliments you can give,” he said. 

Just as his sophomore year cross-country season was about to begin, junior Rajan Kaushek also got injured. His injury shifted his focus to an unconventional sport he did not know much about: boxing. “I was watching boxing, and then I got really injured, and I figured I’d need to cross-train somehow,” he said. 

Now, Kaushek boxes almost every day while also running track, and is even on the amateur team for Aloha Time Boxing in San Mateo. “I just really like it,” he said. “It’s really different from running. It’s a really nice way to not be on my feet, but I don’t know, it just makes me feel happy when I’m out there in the gym and I get a great workout in.” 

Even though boxing is an individual sport, Kaushek enjoys bonding with his teammates and sparring. “It’s a really awesome feeling if you’re sparring and you’re doing well,” he said. Kaushek is training for an amateur competition later this spring.

Senior Emma Wang also suffered a chronic injury that made her quit ballet sophomore year. As an alternative, she stepped foot on an ice rink after a years-long hiatus. “I watched a lot of performances as a kid, so I thought it would be fun to try it,” she said. “I also used to skate when I was really little and then I stopped, so it was kind of like something that was on my radar.”

Wang skates once a week at a rink in Cupertino but hopes to skate more often now that she has more time on her hands with graduation approaching. Even though Wang doesn’t consider herself to be a competitive skater, skating still requires a great deal of physical and mental strength. “You have to fall a lot, and I think that’s something I’ve had to get used to — dealing with falls and injuries,” she said. 

Overall, though, Wang appreciates the fast-paced nature of the sport and its uniqueness in comparison to land-based sports. “It’s a refreshing kind of feeling because there’s a lot of stuff you can do, and it’s a lot faster [and] really different from being on land,” she said. “It’s entirely different from other sports that I’ve played.” 

While Wang can be found gliding across the ice, freshman Alexa Swanson’s sport requires her to joust across the piste — using her whole body to swiftly avoid an attack from her opponent. Swanson, previously a soccer and lacrosse player, started fencing five years ago when one of her mother’s medical patients recommended the sport. 

Swanson practices with the Silicon Valley Fencing Club six days a week and attends monthly tournaments. The sport requires her to engage her whole body to react to her opponent’s movements. “A big part of it is the legs because you’re kind of in a squat, and you need to be able to move around really fast because it’s also about reacting,” she said. Swanson also attends off-season lift at Menlo to strengthen her legs and arms and fulfill her physical education requirements.

Even though fencing is an individual sport, Swanson enjoys spending time with her teammates. “We see each other so often, and I feel like we’ve just gotten really close from that,” she said. 

Senior Katelyn Chou also participates in an individual sport, rock climbing, and enjoys the welcoming culture at the Movement gym in Belmont and Sunnyvale, where she trains. “I really like the community,” she said. “You can always go up to other people and be like ‘Hey what are you working on?’ or ask for help. People are very nice there.”

Chou is a casual climber, usually top roping — climbing with someone on the ground who is adjusting the tension of the rope — twice a week. “I just do it for fun,” she said. “I mean, I do really enjoy it.” 

To climb with someone else without supervision, Chou had to get a belay qualification card. This entailed learning the basics of belaying and passing a test for safety purposes. 

While climbing is an unconventional sport, it requires a great deal of athleticism. “It really did make me a lot stronger,” she said. “You really do get a lot, specifically, upper body strength in your arms. Climbing definitely builds skills like strength, balance and coordination.”

Chou looks forward to climbing because it doesn’t feel like a chore as opposed to other forms of exercise. “I really like climbing because it doesn’t feel like a workout,” she said. “Going to the gym is such a trek, but climbing — it feels fun. It’s something I kind of actively enjoy doing.”