Teen jumps into fitness
Chase Gravel, a teen who focuses on fitness, flexes. • Photos Submitted
By Tom Victoria
Chase Gravel jumped into fitness a year ago, yielding big results in strength and physique.
The 18-year-old Canadian, who literally jumps off cliffs in his spare time, stressed the importance of fitness.
“To me, fitness gives you something to work toward and keeps you feeling great not only physically, but emotionally as well,” Chase said. “Participating in fitness turns into some sort of therapy not only for me but for everyone. Whenever you get to the gym, you tune out the outside world and get to work. Fitness is important to me because it allows me to feel more comfortable being in my own body. I don’t have to be shy having my shirt off at the beach anymore.”
He spreads out his training.
“So in a regular week, I’ll workout five times throughout the week,” Chase said. “Mondays, I’ll do chest with a bit of triceps depending on how much time I have. Tuesdays, I’ll do legs — longest workout day of the week, usually around two hours. Wednesdays, I work back with a bit of biceps if I have the time. And Thursdays, I’ll do a full arm day which consists of shoulders, biceps and triceps.”
He’s lifting heavier numbers since he started a year ago.
“My current PRs (personal records) are 315 pounds on deadlift, 190 pounds on bench press and 225 pounds on squat,” Chase said. “But I like to keep things decently light to get the full muscle contraction, so I regularly bench 155 pounds and squat 185. As far as bicep curls and shoulder workouts, I usually play with the 25-pound dumbbells.”
He always was athletic, playing soccer and hockey in his younger years. Eventually, he wanted to add some mass to his lean frame after his friends convinced him to start training.
“I was pretty much skin and bones,” Chase said.
He was lifting far less at the start.
“I was super weak,” Chase said. “I was bench pressing 60 pounds.”
However, it did not take long to see results.
“It took me around three months before I personally started seeing improvement in myself, but others around me would always tell me how I started to improve almost instantly,” Chase said. “Now that I’m a year into it, I have seen improvement both in strength and physique. But I still have a long way to go because I’m not nearly satisfied.”
Chase always was athletic, participating in team sports before settling on fitness.
Being fitter makes everyday tasks easier.
“Increase of strength has helped me a lot at my place of work,” Chase said. “I move a lot of heavy things stacked on pallets, so moving them from point A to point B has become way easier. As far as physique goes, it’s affected me positively through the constant kind feedback I get from 40,000 people on my Instagram.”
He posts his progress on Instagram to inspire others.
“Pretty much anyone can do anything they put their minds to,” Chase said.
That motto sums up his entry into leaping off tall bluffs.
“I started cliff jumping when I was about 10 years old,” Chase said. “My parents brought me on this two-hour hike that led to a big waterfall with a beautiful natural swimming pool. After we hiked to the bottom where the water was, I jumped off a 15-foot high waterfall into the water below and instantly fell in love with the adrenaline rush.”
He explained the attraction is not just the thrill.
Chase plans to turn his passion into a career, opening a gym someday.
“Every summer, I try and find cool cliffs and swimming spots to have fun at with a couple of friends,” Chase said. “The feeling you get on the way down to the water is like nothing else. All other worries that you have go away because you have to focus on your landing or else you really could hurt yourself. Your main focus becomes you and the water below, which is why I like it so much. It’s almost therapeutic to me because all other stressors disappear.”
He hasn’t reached his limit yet.
“Last year, I jumped off a 55-footer,” Chase said. “By the end of the summer, I’m hoping to top that by another 20 feet.”
His aspirations are tied to his passion.
“My long-term goals are to open up my own gym that would include a supplement store inside, a running track, a pool, a hot tub, sauna and even my own fitness clothing shop inside, just to name a few,” Chase said. “I would love to open this in a place like Miami or even LA (Los Angeles). I would like for my source of income to be from sponsorships and through revenue I produce out of my social media accounts and brand.”
To that end, he is not pursuing his college education immediately.
“I’m deciding to take a year off before returning to school,” Chase said. “I’m going to pursue my dreams in social media. I’m in the middle of building my YouTube channel right now and preparing it to publicize. I’m going to try and spend some time in LA and Miami throughout my year off. I also want to try and get in touch with a modeling agency and get some modeling gigs.”
He offered advice for those wanting to start lifting.
“My advice to the beginner or those who want to start — go for it,” Chase said. “Get on your grind, work your ass off and you’ll thank me later. But in all seriousness, you have to want to join the gym community for nobody other than yourself. You aren’t going to see an insane amount of improvement instantly, but that’s the fun of it, to stick to it and finally see that improvement. If you stay consistent, you’ll reach your goal.”
He suggested getting pointers.
“Watch fitness YouTubers and see if there’s any tips you can pick on to improve your form when doing exercises,” Chase said. “Getting help or asking for help isn’t always a bad thing. Don’t be ashamed to ask another bodybuilder for tips. They’ll be more than happy to help.”
He stressed the key is motivation.
“You can’t be afraid to put work into it,” Chase said. “You have to want it deep down. You have to want it for yourself.”
The link to Chase's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itschasebrah/
The link to Chase's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chasefit?lang=en