Growth in Mindset and Muscle: In a journey to improve his self image, Senior Noah Gould but found that he improved his mental health and daily habits as well

Looking in the gym mirror, 5′ 11” and 185-pound senior Noah Gould marveled at the progress he’s made since his 5’6″-and-120-pound junior self.

Going into track season his first year, Gould was on the smaller side. But he was competing in the discus and shot put events, so he needed to gain more muscle mass. He needed to get big. And he did.

After thousands of push-ups, sit-ups and crunches to bulk for sports, Gould had accomplished his goal. He was running two times faster and throwing twice as far. But instead of mellowing out, he continued to work out for a different reason — body image.

He was hooked.

Last summer, he started a workout group with his friend from shot put, senior Noah Crew, who also had the desire to improve his confidence by becoming physically built. Six other of their friends joined and they began working out in Crew’s basement five or six days a week to avoid the cost of a gym membership. Gould and Crew would coach their newfound fitness group and give them tips and advice which not only benefited the members but also Gould and Crew. 

Now, their group is more independent and follows self-set routines, and everyone has grown to a point of figuring out what works best for them and can work on their own. For Gould, it’s turned from a coaching experience and helping friends with workouts to a group that works out together on about the same level. Gould stopped coaching and working out with that group in September and now does his own workouts and routines.

Gould’s diet and daily routine have drastically changed since he started focusing on fitness. His diet focuses around a higher food intake and making sure he’s had a sufficient amount of calories — usually around 4,000-5,000 daily.

“I have a naturally very fast metabolism, which means I burn through calories no matter how much I try and it’s really difficult to keep on weight,” Gould said. “Like I can eat whatever I want, and I wouldn’t be able to put on fat because my body doesn’t let me. So in pursuit of changing myself, my main difference from my old diet is that it’s a lot more calories and a lot more protein.”

His typical routine starts with him spending 15 minutes warming up with two or three different movements and stretches to make sure everything’s moving properly. Then, he jumps into lifting with heavier compound movements for about four sets of about 30-45 minutes. Next, he’ll go into machines, cables and more isolated exercises for another 30-45 minutes. 

“Usually I only go for about an hour and a half,” Gould said. “Because with multiple sports and workout sessions five days a week, if I go to those 2-3 hour sessions, I will just be dying and it’s not smart. Too much strain on joints and the stuff that can break.”

Gould looks to online coaches for workout tips along with new routines. He currently watches Denzel Perryman, a professional lifter who’s also in the NFL, for fitness and nutritional advice. He also watches JPG, a TikTok fitness coach, for his expertise on cable movements and other fitness related things. Gould’s fitness inspiration is Chris Bumstead, a three-time Mr. Olympia champion.

“There were times I wanted to drop it,” Gould said. “Because being in IB and volleyball and all of these things, I have a lot on my plate. And so there are times where I thought it’d be so much easier on myself if I just didn’t push to work out, but honestly, the result is worth it. Being able to look at myself in the mirror and just know I made a change, and I’m proud of that. That’s what keeps me going is being happy with the way I look and happy with the way I feel.”

Although he doesn’t track his progress as closely as other people he knows, he can tell that he’s physically changed but mentally as well. He went from playing video games for six hours per day to not being able to imagine himself picking up a controller.

“It was so unhealthy, and now I’m so much happier getting out, doing physical activity and improving myself,” Gould said. “So it’s more than just a physical muscularity change. It’s a change of mindset and change of general well being.”

Gould’s advice to any student or person who’s toying with the idea of starting to workout more and exercising more is to “go for it.”

“So many people hesitate and they’re like ‘I’m scared of gyms,’ ‘there are intimidating people,’ ‘I don’t really know what to do,” Gould said. “Just go for it. Get in the gym, find a weight and start lifting it. It’s a learning process. You learn as you go. You can’t prepare yourself for it in a way it’s not something you can ensure you can do research online but you really won’t know what feels right until you get into the gym. And from there, it’s just learning as you go.”