For many Menlo students, exercise isn’t just about staying in shape; it’s about managing stress, improving performance or feeling good about themselves. Whether it’s playing a sport, lifting weights or going on runs, teens have a variety of reasons for working out, and for some, it’s more personal than others realize.
Senior Lily Kautai has been playing volleyball since fourth grade and strength trains to help her performance. However, Kautai doesn’t just work out to stay in shape for volleyball; her primary motivation for working out is for the health benefits. “Staying healthy and moving around motivates me,” Kautai said. “My mom likes to do yoga, so seeing her be active and go on walks motivates me to do the same.”
However, when it comes to the off-season, Kautai’s motivation behind working out changes slightly. “With the off-season, I obviously want to stay in shape and stay healthy, but I feel like it’s more for my own appearance,” Kautai said.
Social media, especially TikTok, has a big impact on how she sees fitness. “All these girls on TikTok that have abs and are skinny, it definitely changes my perception,” she said. Though she’s aware that these ideals can sometimes be unrealistic, the videos do push her to stay active. “It’s not the most positive thing to motivate me, but it does get me up and moving,” Kautai said.
While Kautai’s fitness routine is centered around improving both personal appearance and performance, for junior Josie Lee, soccer primarily offers mental benefits. Lee has been playing soccer since she was six years old and enjoys playing for the mental relief it brings. “I really like the team environment of soccer,” she said. “It’s also a way to get my mind off of things, just being outside is kind of peaceful for me and less busy.” Her workouts revolve around building relationships with her teammates and finding a mental reset through the sport.
Social media plays a role in motivating Lee as well, and she feels inspired to improve her technical skills when she sees soccer games and short-form videos online. “It makes me want to play better,” Lee said. Still, she’s faced challenges and even considered quitting the sport because of the difficulties of balancing soccer with daily life.
Finding the right balance between fitness and everyday life can be challenging, and not just for Lee. For junior Stevie Halprin, who trains at the gym and plays soccer, working out helps him build strength, improve his health, relieve stress and enhance his appearance.
However, having such an active lifestyle comes with its own set of challenges. “Exercise generally decreases my stress, but sometimes it can be a bit more stressful to fit it into my schedule,” Halprin said.
Sophomore Juliet DeCherney, a soccer player who started when she was just two years old, also turns to exercise as a form of stress relief. “Soccer is such a stress reliever for me and a place to go where it’s a reset,” DeCherney said.
Unlike Lee, DeCherney hasn’t felt that social media has influenced her fitness journey. For her, soccer is more about connection and release. “There’s a lot of motivations, but a big one is stress relief and just a place to go that’s super calming,” she said.
DeCherney’s relationship with working out hasn’t always been smooth, though. A knee injury stopped her from playing for a while, and the inability to play was frustrating. DeCherney’s injury had a large emotional toll on her because she uses fitness as a way to improve both her mental and physical well-being.
