Bench pressing on

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lieutenant Belena Marquez
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AFB, Calif. --  Eleven competitors filled the Rosburg Fitness Center Dec. 3 for the Team Edwards fourth quarter Bench Press Competition.

"We wanted to make it one big competition versus a lot of little competitions, which would have been the case if we had weight classes. By eliminating the weight classes and going by the percentage of body weight lifted, it added a lot more of a competition factor, which, I think, made the bench press competition the success that it was," said Carrie Seemiller, the 95th Force Support Squadron fitness specialist who coordinated the event.

As a result, the participants of the bench press competition lifted a grand total of 5,000 pounds and 1,425 percent of the group's total body weight.

In the men's category Adrian Williams, a 412th Maintenance Squadron non-destructive inspection specialist, came in first place by lifting 187.2 percent of his body weight.

Mr. Williams stated that he enjoyed the competition because it was well organized and it seemed that everyone involved had a good time.

"Everyone was here for fun," said Mr. Williams. "The last competition I did was actually eight years ago. I saw the ad to come out, so I figured I'd give it a shot and see what these young guys have got."

The second and third place competitors for the men were Airman 1st Class Adam Rhodes, 95th Medical Group Pediatrics Clinic medical technician, who lifted 182.9 percent of his body weight, and 1st Lieutenant Justin Deifel, 412th Test and Engineering Group executive officer, who lifted 177.2 percent of his body weight.

In the women's category Katarina Zuber came in first place by lifting 75.2 percent of her body weight.

There were "a lot of people and it was nice to see a lot of women come out," said Mrs. Zuber.

The second and third place competitors for the women were 2nd Lt. Belena Marquez, 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs deputy chief of current operations, who lifted 61 percent of her body weight, and Capt. Melissa Horton, Air Force Flight Test Center Judge Advocate assistant staff judge advocate, who lifted 50.4 percent of her body weight.

Though the event was completed in a little over an hour, the bench press competition took several weeks of planning.

"We found out we were doing the bench press competition for this quarter probably about a month ago," said Ms. Seemiller. The Rosburg Fitness center plans to host the event quarterly, "that way people will know when they are going to come up and they can prepare for them."

The bench press competition is merely one of the fitness events that the Rosburg Fitness Center regularly hosts throughout the year.

"It was a lot of fun to see everyone standing around each other and cheering [for] each other," said Ms. Seemiller.

For more information on upcoming bench press competition or other fitness events, contact the Rosburg Fitness Center at (661)-275-4961.