Fitness changes teen’s life

Fit teen Jantz Ramirez watches sunlight shine through the trees. Photos Submitted

By Tom Victoria

Jantz Ramirez employs fitness to not only improve his own health, but inspire others to do the same as well.

The 15-year-old Iowa native said fitness has become a passion.

“Fitness is important to me,” Jantz said. “It’s like an outlet for me.”

He explained working out relieves stress and is gratifying.

“I really enjoy it in general,” Jantz said. “And it helps my mental health a lot, too.”

He said getting into fitness creates a positive cycle, helping him sleep and have more energy the next day.

“I probably wouldn’t have as much motivation to go to the gym at all,” Jantz said.

He hits the weights seven days a week, sometimes twice in a day in the afternoon and evening.

“I usually just do regular bodybuilding techniques,” Jantz said.

He targets whichever muscle groups need work that day.

Jantz works out seven days a week.

Jantz posts on social media to not only motivate others to work out, but show their progress, too.

“I want to inspire them to post their own pictures and videos,” he said.

Jantz already is receiving positive feedback from those who did just that.

He plans to continue focusing on fitness through high school and beyond, including becoming a personal trainer and possibly furthering his education with fitness medicine.

Although Jantz’s physique would seem to be the result of at least a year of consistent workouts, he’s only been doing it daily for a few months.

As Jantz watched some friends get into fitness, he decided to follow suit.

“I just wanted to feel more confident in my shoes,” Jantz said.

He was already athletic, competing as a wrestler since he was in second grade. Upon quickly seeing progress from going to the gym, Jantz strictly focused on fitness during this sophomore year.

Jantz credits fitness with improving all areas of his life.

“It quickly climbed from there,” he said.

Jantz savored the idea of relying only on himself to work out.

“I know I can push myself to go to the gym every day,” he said.

Along with adding muscle and strength, fitness helped Jantz stay focused in other areas of his life.

“It’s a lot easier for me to focus in school,” he said. “It just makes me want to do better.”

Jantz credited fitness with improving his social interaction.

“I used to be kind of shy,” he said. “I talk to a lot more people now.”

Others started noticing Jantz’s progress.

“My parents now ask me to carry stuff,” he said.

Among Jantz’s other activities is skateboarding, which provides an adrenaline rush.

Jantz influences others to work out.

He said there are two keys to fitness: consistency and self-discipline.

“It really shows if you want to do better for yourself or not,” Jantz said. “But it’s not for everybody.”

He dispensed advice to beginners.

“It’s easy to find a lot of beginner workouts because there’s a lot of them, but mainly stick to the compound lifts like bench and squat and maybe even dead-lifts,” Jantz said. “And once you get more advanced, maybe you could try dumbbell bench or Bulgarian split squat.”

He said for those willing to make the commitment, fitness would only be a boon to them.

“It changed my life.”

Jantz's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whosjantz/