As April comes to a close, the end of the semester looms. That means no more Tiernan pilates classes or access to gyms ten feet from your dorm. To help give tips and tricks for training, I interviewed athletes from Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) fall teams and Greg Hook PZ ’14, P-P’s strength coach, former track captain and three-time All SCIAC sprinter.
Zach Whitfield PO ’27, a member of the men’s water polo team, noted the importance of working hard throughout his offseason in order to set himself up for success during the year.
“It only takes about four days to lose a lot of the long-term swim conditioning you have built up, and it takes a very long time to build it back up to where you were before this break,” Whitfield said. “So, taking three months off for summer would lead to very poor performance for a very long time, spanning the entire fall season.”
Whitfield makes a good point about consistency, but consistent motivation can be easier said than done. P-P soccer player Hannah Hong PO ’26 expressed how important it is to surround herself with people who keep her committed.
“It definitely takes a lot more willpower and self-motivation during the summer than when I am on campus with my teammates,” Hong said in an email to TSL. “I’d say one thing that helps to keep myself accountable is to find friends to train/workout with.”
For Whitfield, one thing that makes the summer easier than in-season months is the freedom he has in planning his workouts.
“I am able to plan my workouts and sleep around what I need for that given day, if I feel good, when the available time for the pool is, and what kind of workout I need to do,” Whitfield said. “I am able to do things at my own pace and change my workout if I think of a skill or muscle group that needs specific improvements.”
Hook explained that balance is key to any summer program, and according to him, an hour of work a day, three to five times a week, is ideal.
“If you come into your competitive season hurt or injured because you went too hard over the summer, it is a tough hole to climb out of it,” Hook said. “Conversely, if you do zero training over the summer, then one of those early practices will put the athlete at risk for an injury.”
Hook, the author of almost all the varsity sport workout programs, sees the flexibility and balance in his training as a sign of improvement during his time at P-P.
“I struggled writing summer training my first years as a coach because I would give too much and had too high of an expectation on the consistency [with] which they would do the training,” Hook said. “Now the programs have much more athlete autonomy in that I give them plenty of options, and whatever they have time, energy, and the facility to train, they’ll do that workout.”
Having the ability to dictate their summers and take the time they need is paramount for athletes. Hong and Whitfield both described how they expect to take time for themselves in addition to training.
“As much as I am dedicating time preparing for our upcoming season, I am also enjoying the time I have to hang out with my family and rest,” Hong said. “I guess I just don’t let soccer get in the way of pursuing other things I’m passionate about.”
What these three current and former athletes have to say about how they spend their summers applies to anyone who wants to get in better shape, from a fall varsity athlete to a student who has never been to the gym: train hard, be consistent, find balance.
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