Junior Triston Coomes walks into Mr. Mason’s art room just in time for the tardy bell to ring. Pulling a chair up to the large black work table, he removes a snack of fresh greens.

“Sometimes eating healthy is so gross,” Coomes said.

He’s coloring an art project consisting of a cluster of neon candy— a food he refuses to eat.

Coomes performs a strenuous CrossFit workout— a constantly varied series of multi-joint movements performed at a high intensity— five to seven days a week.

“[Crossfit] is kind of a jack of all trades kinda thing,” Coomes said. “You work to be good at everything. Our goal is not necessarily to outlift a lifter or outrun a runner, but to greatly outrun a lifter and greatly outlift a runner.”

Warm-ups, squats, deadlifts, bench, box jumps, press, push and pull ups are regular exercises for Coomes which he performs with his brother, Trenton, on a regular basis.

“CrossFit is a sport, lifestyle, and fitness program that enhances the quality of life,” Coomes said. “It’s a great addition to our life. It’s one more thing that we can do together.”

Beyond working out, Coomes eats a strict diet of meats, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, little starch and no grains, a factor that he stresses in discussing his diet claiming that they promote fat gain, have drug like effects on your brain, and cause many other harmful effects.

“Food should be looked at as fuel, not something you eat because it tastes good,” Coomes said. “What you put in your body determines how the machine that is your body performs.”

Accenting the red Skittles wrapper on his nearly completed art project, Coomes chews the broccoli that he brought as a snack. He is determined to continue his health-conscious lifestyle throughout his life.

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live,” Coomes said, quoting Jim Rohn. “I don’t want to be the fat dad who stands on the sidelines. I want to be that fit grandpa who everyone thinks is 50 when I’m like 80.”