Dr. Heslar: the science of discipline

Many students know science teacher Dr. Heslar for his impressive chemistry knowledge and signature mustache, but few recognize his true passion—fitness. For Dr. Heslar, fitness is more than just a routine; it is a habit of dedication. Every morning, he wakes up at 5 am, heading to the gym to exercise before starting his day. “[Monday is] calves, quads, hamstrings. Tuesday is just chest only day, Wednesday is back and shoulders day, Thursday is bicep triceps day. Friday is legs again.” His consistency isn’t just about staying healthy, it’s about reducing stress and staying disciplined.

However, Dr. Heslar wasn’t always a fitness enthusiast. In high school, he had barely stepped foot in a gym. But when the stress got too much for him in college, his friends encouraged him to start. “It was so relaxing,” said Dr. Heslar. “When I’m in the gym, I don’t think about anything but the weight I’m doing. It’s kinda therapeutic.”

Now, even after 15 to 16 years, he’s kept himself disciplined to his morning workout routine. “I will not go in the afternoon,” he admitted. “I get lazy, and I won’t do anything.” Even during COVID-19, when gyms shut down, he didn’t let it affect him. “I set myself a goal every day. I just had to do 100 air squats, 100 push ups and bicep and tricep bands 100 times. I just set that as a goal so I wouldn’t just sit around. And I did it every single day.”

For him, aesthetics don’t matter. Rather, staying healthy and disciplined is what he chases. Having his daily routine keeps him grounded and helps him stay healthy. “I have to do something,” he said.

Dr. Heslar’s biggest advice to students? Find time for exercise. “I understand that [they don’t have a lot of time], but I think it would relieve a lot of stress.”

Mr. Mathews: enduring pace

Math teacher Mr. Mathews describes himself as a “creature of habit, like a hamster,” but his dedication to running tells a different story—one of dedication and perseverance. After tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and going through recovery, he committed to running as a way of rebuilding strength in his knee.

Now, Mr. Mathews runs at least 5 kilometers (km) four times a week. Occasionally, he also does circuit training to keep things challenging, running 400 meters before stopping for push-ups and sit-ups, and then repeating the process.

You might spot Mr. Mathews after school running near the Tianmu Baseball Stadium. “I like to sleep in,” he admits. “And I prefer the heat.” He tends to stick to his familiar routines, running three or four loops around the mile-long Tianmu Baseball Park. Although he often runs with his wife, he prefers running solo, accompanied with his playlist of 80s rick and 90s hip-hop. “[Those are] the two things that keep me going,” he said.

But, when it comes to advice for students, Mr. Mathews looks beyond staying active. He emphasizes the importance of smart, nutritional choices. “It’s not just about working out—it’s about making wiser decisions with your food.”

Reflecting on his own habits growing up, he remembers how his relatively unhealthy diet canceled out his fitness. “When I was younger, I was very fit, but I’d drink, like, five Cokes a day and eat all the fried food because I didn’t know any better.” Now, he highlights the importance of food and exercise in long-term health.

Mr. Castro: Ironman

An iron man triathlon is a brutal competition only about one percent of the world can complete. Now imagine completing two ironman triathlons, a feat only one to five percent of ironman finishers can achieve. Math teacher Mr. Castro is part of that exclusive group.

As a kid, Mr. Castro didn’t fit the typical “athlete” mold. In fact, he was on the other end of the spectrum—he was overweight.  As an overweight kid, the doctor told him that he would have to go on medication if he didn’t lose weight. This was when Mr. Castro knew he had to make a change, and so he took on running. “[In the beginning,] the goal was always to be able to run one mile, but then one mile turned into two, turned into 13, 13 turned into 26 and it kind of started my love for running.”

Now, running is essential to Mr. Castro and he does it on any given day. When he runs, he goes anywhere between a mild 5km to crazy 20km a day. If he is not doing distance, he is doing temple runs, 3000m hill gains, or  hard 800ms on the track. But running is not the only thing Mr. Castro excels at.

He also pushes himself in swimming and cycling. Remarkably, he actually didn’t learn how to bike until he was in his 20s when he signed up for a triathlon. Fast forward to today, Mr. Castro regularly bikes anywhere from 100 to 150km. Swimming is another component of the iron man triathlon. “’I’ve always loved the water and I just kind of wanted to get better at it,” said Mr. Castro. He now swims around 1500 to 2000m when he gets in the water, which is equivalent to 40 laps in a 50m pool.

Currently, Mr. Castro continues to push and test his limits as he is preparing to accomplish an even harder feat, a third triathlon in 2026. From needing to take meditations to attempting to become a three time ironman triathlon finisher, Mr. Castro’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. For many, they see exercising as a chore, but Mr. Castro loves it so much that it is “a mental break for him” and it keeps him “motivated throughout the day.”

Mr. Mutschler: active legacy

As people age, they tend to stop incorporating fitness and exercise into their life, opting for  minimal exercise in an attempt to prevent injury. But for Mr. Mutschler, fitness is a non-negotiable in his life, no matter what the circumstances are.

His whole life, he has always loved exercising and playing sports. As a kid, he was constantly moving around. Sports were his outlet, his creative expression. Like an artist with a canvas, he embraced a variety of sports, whether it was basketball, baseball, American football or soccer. “Anything I could get my hands on, I played,” he said. He loved sports, because sports made him feel good.

But as he got older, he realized that he couldn’t play sports as well anymore. “The truth is, your body isn’t always going to work like you want it to,” said Mr. Mutschler. Despite this setback, he never gave up. He realized that he had to make a change, and so, he picked up new hobbies like running, hiking, weight lifting and swimming.

Currently, Mr. Mutschler is still in the midst of his fitness journey as he exercises a gruesome seven days a week.  He does strength training four days a week and distance running three days a week. For distance running, he gets up early and runs 10 to 15k before the sun is up. For strength training, he does optimal training, which includes full body workouts with different movements in order to maintain strength.

In this period of his life, Mr. Mutschler is trying to maintain strength, not gain it. His priority is to remain healthy in order to do the things he loves in this life like hiking and swimming.