Healthy bodies, healthy minds at Walpole High

Planet Fitness wants to pump up high school students, and the gym wants to do it for free.

Gym owner Jonathan Espstein recently announced he has been working with schools to establish a fitness scholarship focused on "improving body image, improving academics and improving community."

There will be eight total winning applicants, said Epstein. They will receive a year's free membership to the Walpole Planet Fitness located at 85 West St. If the winner is already a member of the downtown gym, Epstein will cancel their current subscription and start them on their complimentary plan.

The first four winners, a single freshman, sophomore, junior and senior, will be announced in January then another set will be announced in June.

The scholarship is also available in Medfield, Franklin, Bellingham and Marlborough.

"We're looking forward to getting this off the ground," Epstein said.

In Walpole, school Superintendent Lincoln Lynch is excited to introduce the scholarship, filing the program under what he has been calling "school/business partnerships."

"Educating students should involve the whole community," he said, adding that this scholarship goes hand-in-hand with a $400,000 federal grant the district received earlier this year which funded health and physical education programs and two gym teachers.

Planet Fitness also recently donated a bicep curl machine to the high school.

Walpole High students interested in the scholarship can fill out an application they can get in the school's main office.

The application was developed by Epstein with the help of Lynch and school officials.

Winning applicants will show strong academic prowess, good behavior in the schools and a strong commitment to the community, said Lynch.

In the application, students will be asked for a teacher recommendation and to write several short essays on topics such as what they do to manage the demands of school and extracurricular activities, what they do to try to stay healthy and what has stopped them from maintaining a regular fitness routine.

Applicants must already participate in some kind of physical activity, but the scholarship is more about finding students who will benefit the most from the opportunity.

"The student who is playing three sports is not necessarily our target for this scholarship," Epstein said.

He said he wants to help students intellectually as well as physically.

"Success in academics is greatly enhanced when you have a healthy mind and body," Lynch said.

"People can really transform their lives," Epstein said, adding that beginning to work out regularly can serve as a "catalyst to improve."

Exercising more will inevitably lead to a better feeling about oneself and greater self-esteem, said Epstein.

"This program could give someone the confidence to try something they wouldn't normally do," he said.

Fitness, he said "is part of who we are. It makes us whole."

Epstein, a former high school athlete, said programs at local health clubs didn't exist for him, let alone those who didn't participate in sports, when he was in school.

"We understand that fitness needs to begin at an early age," he said. "We tried to create this program to educate."

Winners of the scholarship will have the full privileges of a member, Epstein said, including free hourlong fitness instructions with a professional trainer on weekdays.

Planet Fitness is also a "judgment free zone," said Epstein, meaning it caters more to the average person.