Gym teachers are reporting that it is taking less and less exercise for students to reach the “healthy zone” on heart rate days, where the grade for the day depends on reaching a certain amount of time where the students’ heart rate remains in the “active healthy zone”. According to students, this is not because they live unhealthy lifestyles, but because they are simply so stressed and anxious that their resting heart rates are that high.

“As a gym teacher, I find the fact that students have resting heart rates in the active healthy zone unacceptable,” Coach Kevin Fitness said. “No kid should ever have an easy time passing gym”

The majority of gym teachers agree with Fitness, they believe that the purpose of heart rate days is to make students sweat an uncomfortable amount and this cannot happen when students have heart rates so high that they do not have to exercise to be in the “healthy zone.”

On the other hand, most students find not having to put work into a class refreshing. For many students, gym class has become a place to unwind and destress and get an easy A.

“I’m taking four AP classes, so it’s nice to relax and not worry about whether I’ll pass gym or not,” Mia Kidd ‘19 said.

However, gym class presents a new set of problems for students with high resting heart rates, especially as final exams approach.

“Gym class has actually become harder for me,” Ben Tired ‘20 said. “The other day I came straight from an AP U.S. History test and I had to do breathing exercises to lower my heart rate so it was in the active healthy zone.”

In response to the stress epidemic, Lyons Township High School has offered a stress relief course in the place of gym where students will be graded on how fast they can get their heart rate down.

“ There is no way my heart rate will lower after I take all my finals, and now that lowering my heart rate is a final I guess I’m screwed,” Kidd said, after hearing the announcement about the new class.