FITNESS FLOOR and WEIGHT ROOM: CLOSED
The use of free weights and weight machines by multiple people poses special health risks. For now, until further notice, the Sabers Fitness Floor (upper level of the gym) and the downstairs weight room (near the PE office) are closed for student use. Pushups, however, performed in the privacy of your home or out in the fresh air on the field, pose no health risks!

Sabers Fitness Floor                                             PHOTOS
Visit the Sabers Fitness Floor on the upper level of the Sabers gym.
A variety of strength equipment is available for high school student and staff use. Be strong... SABERStrong!

SABERStrong PUSHUP CHALLENGE
​
The Sabers Fitness Floor is closed during these difficult times of COVID-19, but don't let that stop you from getting and staying strong.

Triple Challenge        Try one or two or all three.
  1. 51 pushups in a row  and/or
  2. 101 pushups in 5 minutes  and/or
  3. 1001 pushups by end of fall trimester, November 24, 2021.​
Pushups are perfect for pandemics: many varieties, no equipment, done in the privacy of your own room.
​                                               Be strong, SABERStrong.
Notes
  • Regular pushups, incline pushups, knee pushups, wall pushups (or a combination): your choice based on your ability and comfort level.
  • Full range of motion: nose (or chin, or chest) to ground at the bottom; arms fully extended at the top. Don't cheat yourself.
  • Hands and elbows not too wide.
  • 51 pushups in a row: basically nonstop. No resting on the ground; you can rest briefly at the top.
  • 101 pushups in 5 minutes: take as many sets and breaks as you need; you can rest on the ground. Clock keeps running.
  • 1001 pushups by November 24: starting August 30, that's about only 12 pushups a day. Do as many reps and as many sets a day as you like.       You don't have to do pushups every day. Just keep track of your total number and finish 1001 by the end of the trimester. 
            This third challenge is not just about pushups; it's about establishing a habit, a routine of regular exercise, mental discipline.
Video
  • ​regular pushup: elbows back, spine straight, touch the ground.
  • incline pushup: use a box, a bench, a chair, a stairstep, a bed, a sofa... anything.
  • ​knee pushup: some people suggest that incline pushups (above) are better than knee pushups.
  • wall pushup: the easiest variation, but that's OK. Start with these and build up from there.
  • 33 variations of pushups: shoutout to Coach Algie, Sabers Fitness Floor regular.
Together, we got this!.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!
Push, push, push! Let's go!
NOTES FROM THE SPRING 2020 SABERStrong PUSHUP CHALLENGE
Thank you おつかれさまでした to everyone in Sabers Nation who joined the 2020 spring trimester SABERStrong Pushup Challenge. Sabers students, teachers, graduates, and parents showed their mental and physical fortitude by doing pushups regularly while the school was closed. Special congratulations to Coach Algie who was first to complete all three pushup challenges. (Coach Algie epitomizes one of our Sabers mottos: mens sana in corpore sano.) In the end, thousands of pushups were performed, pecs were tightened, triceps toned, and core muscles strengthened. Pandemic or not, let’s continue to be strong, Sabers strong.
CHANGE
If you want to change yourself, challenge yourself.
     It's been said that strength training is not popular in Japan, that Japan high schools do not have weight rooms, that weight lifting makes you short, that weight lifting is dangerous. Yet, strength training has helped Japan rugby become world beaters. Would strength training help Sabers athletes?
     Click here to learn more about how a record loss in the 1995 Rugby World Cup set in motion a CHANGE that led to one of the greatest upsets in Rugby World Cup history in 2015, twenty years later.

By the way, did you know that 筋トレ is becoming a common hobby in Japan? Read this article for some good reasons why (spoiler: effective, time efficient, safe, weight loss).
100 KG BENCH PRESS CLUB
The bench press is often used as an indicator of overall strength. Over the years, there have been at least 4 Sabers who have reached the 100 kg mark
​in the bench press while in school. (Is anyone missing from this list?)
  1. Yung Nakako, 105 kg, April 2019
  2. Kai Stewart, 105 kg, June 2014
  3. Akira Moriguchi, 100 kg, June 2008
  4. SIS English teacher, 111 kg, June 2011

​Keep pumping away, Sabers, young and old.
Picture
Akira Moriguchi, 100 kg
Picture
Kai Stewart, 105 kg
Picture
Yung Nakako, 105 kg
SABERStrong philosophy
  • athletic lifts: dynamic, explosive, powerful
  • compound lifts: multijoint, full range of motion
  • heavy lifts: squats, deads, cleans, presses​
  • plyometrics: jump training, bouncy stuff
  • creative lifts: battle ropes, sand bags, medicine balls, peg board, ab roller
  • classics: pushups, pullups, burpees, jump rope, calisthenics
  • informed training: study strength training; make it a lifelong pursuit
BE STRONG. SABERSTRONG.
WE DON’T DIET AND EXERCISE.  WE EAT and TRAIN: LIFT, JUMP, SPRINT.
Video
Orientation, parent permission   オリエンテーション
教職員の監視監督のない中でのウエイト・トレーニング施設の利用のための承諾書
​High school students wanting to use the Sabers Fitness floor must go through an orientation (offered once or twice a trimester)
and submit an online parent permission form.
PHOTOS
Picture
Dynamic, explosive, heavy lifts. Multi-joint compound exercises. Fun, creative, athletic movements.
FITNESS FLOOR REGULATIONS
HOURS
  • before school (7:30-8:25)
  • during school (アンスケ; with PE teacher permission)
  • after school (15:30-16:25)
  • after 16:30 only when directly supervised

GOAL: To help Sabers athletes become
  • stronger
  • faster
  • quicker
  • bouncier
  • leaner
  • more flexible
  • more agile
  • more confident
  • less prone to injury
EQUIPMENT 
  • power racks (2)
  • barbell shafts (4), curl bar (1)
  • benches (2 flat, 1 incline)
  • barbell plates (over 260 kg)
  • dumbbells (over 200 kg)
  • compound lifting areas (deadlifts, cleans, snatches) w/ rubber mats
  • heavy "battle ropes" (2)
  • medicine balls, wall balls (10 kg x 2, 5 kg x 1)
  • sandbags (35 kg, 30 kg, 25 kg, 20 kg, 10 kg)
  • plyometric jumping box (40-50-60 cm)
  • pull up bars (3), dip station, peg board
  • gymnastics rings
  • TRX suspension training cables
  • assist bands
  • ab rollers
  • jump ropes
  • climbing ropes
  • Concept 2 rowing machine (top of the line)
  • Schwinn Airdyne Pro exercise bike (top of the line)
  • Some equipment generously donated by Decathlon.
Olympic sprinters' speed, jump, and strength training videos
  • Allyson Felix (2:10; wall balls, pull ups, sprints, plyos, cleans, overhead presses)
  • Other sprinters (cleans, sprints uphill, pull ups with bands, snatches, hurdle jumps, cycling top speed, rope, treadmill incline)

Olympic weightlifters jumping ability (This shows the potential benefits of heavy power lifts on vertical leap.)

Introduction to the squat. Good 30-minute comprehensive introductory video about squatting - for both women and men.
Picture
before
Picture
after (June 2017)

​Domyos "hex" rubber dumbbells -
5 kg, 7.5 kg, 10 kg - provided courtesy
of Decathlon sporting goods company.