By Charlotte Redman
Staff Writer

The school bell rings and you think you’re free, but not just yet. Blood pumping, you enter the weight room, ready to surpass the goals you have set for yourself. You are determined.

Senior Demetri Exarhoulakos, who recently transferred to WA, experiences this feeling every day when he goes to the gym for at least 1 hour and 30 minutes.

“My teacher [from Brookline High School] was a big inspiration for me. He would always motivate us and would join in, working hard like we were. He kept me going and if I were to thank one person it would probably be him,” said Exarhoulakos.

As of last Saturday he successfully completed an exercise program he designed for himself.

“For six days a week I would lift heavy. Mondays would be legs and abs, Tuesdays would be arms and shoulders, and Wednesdays would be chest and back and then I repeated that for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sunday was my rest day,” said Exarhoulakos.

He continued this schedule for five weeks, monitoring what he ate.

“My diet is very important. I regularly monitor what I eat and don’t allow myself to eat that many sweets, if any. I do not drink soda. I try to only eat organic foods, make all my own food, and try to eat at a certain time every day. I probably drink four-five bottles [of water] a day to stay hydrated and I eat at least 6,000 calories because I’m trying to gain weight – and it’s working!” said Exarhoulakos.

Demetri began exercising regularly two years ago during the summer of 2011.

“One of my classes really got me into it and then I took off running with it,” said Exarhoulakos.

His class participated in a Harvard experiment studying the impact of exercise on brain waves. During his class he was given the task to keep his heart rate above 150 beats per minute for at least fifteen minutes a day by riding stationary bicycles. Students from Harvard would then arrive bi-weekly to measure brain waves.

“They found that at least twenty minutes of working hard or fifty minutes of working very, very softly will allow the brain to become more active, more alert, and better prepared for school,” said Exarhoulakos.

This motivated Demetri to keep exercising even after the experiment ended.

“My goals for exercise are health first, then progression, and then appearance. In terms of health it’s to cut out any bad parts of my diet, to exercise regularly, and to hopefully live longer. In terms of progression it’s an ever-changing goal, setting deadlines and meeting them. And for appearance, well, who doesn’t want to look good,” said Exarhoulakos.

He has also found that his sleep schedule has improved significantly.

“It gets you more tired and therefore you sleep longer, you sleep better, you go to sleep and wake up at a set time. You develop a very stable internal clock. Sleep is important and exercise definitely increases the motivation to get enough sleep,” said Exarhoulakos.

Last week not only did he complete the five week program but also reached a new lifting record of 405 lbs. squat. He describes the feelings he experienced afterwards.

“Physically I was like a baby zebra that didn’t even know how to walk, but emotionally I felt an extreme feeling of satisfaction coupled with a sense of newly found pride and confidence. It was just the most amazing thing I’d ever felt,” said Exarhoulakos.

He never thought he’d able to lift that much weight, and had originally only wanted to continue for three weeks before realizing five weeks would be more beneficial. He has seen improvement in health and strength in every single category in terms of legs, arms, abs, shoulders, chest, and back.

“It becomes addicting – you end up wanting to go to the gym. It becomes a place you enjoy hanging out, especially if you have friends there. It’s one of my favorite places to go. Everyone has a good time and an actual chemical reaction in your brain enforces that,” said Exarhoulakos.

Tyler Sacco is often at the gym at the same time as Demetri.

“Demetri is a strong kid with great devotion to his work outs. He keeps up good competition to boost everyone up in pushing themselves to their limits,” said Sacco.