Lifting club challenges physically fit

Photo By Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky | Soldiers who make the 1,000 and 500 pound club get their picture and accomplishments added to a binder in the Forward Operating Base Kalsu gym.  

ISKANDARIYAH, IRAQ

04.17.2008

Story by Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

By Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Being physically fit is a goal for all Soldiers, one most measure by their Army physical fitness test score. But a few select Soldiers are testing their strength and fitness in a different way.

On Forward Operating Base Kalsu, the gym Morale, Welfare and Recreation staff members have created a challenge known as the 1,000-pound club.

The club has been in existence since 2006, said Fato "Tony" Dubova, an MWR coordinator at the base. Like all other MWR functions, the Gjilan, Kosovo native said the goal was to enhance morale.
Individual drive is needed to join the club, which requires male participants to lift a grand total of 1,000 pounds. Females have to lift a total of 500 pounds.

Soldiers have to reach that figure by combining their individual weight lifted in the bench press, dead lift and squat, said Dale Robinson, MWR gym coordinator. Each competitor has three chances at each lift, and must use proper form for the lift to count, Robinson said. For example, competitors must not bounce the weight of their chest when bench pressing and must break the parallel when squatting.

Because of the rigorous requirements, Robinson, of Trinidad, said most of the people who initially aim for the club don't meet the requirements.

"Most don't make it but they still give it their best," he said. However, those who do make it can have something to be proud of.

For Sgt. Jennifer Alvery, Top Flite security detail, 26th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, making the 500 club was a major accomplishment.

"It felt good to make the 500 club," the Navarre, Fla., native said. "I always felt kind of like an average person. This means a lot to me."

Alvery reach the milestone, March 30, only the fifth female ever do so in the competition's history to do so. In doing so, not only did she join an elite club, but she also set several new records. Her bench press of 155 pounds was the top performed by any female, and her squat of 205 pounds tied her for the top spot with fellow 2nd BCT Soldier, 1st Lt. Charmain Lett, assistant supply and logistics, property book officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd BCT.

Alvery's combined lift of 605 pounds was also a record for the female category.

Like most competitors, Alvery made the greatest gains in the dead-lift event, where she dead-lifted 245 pounds. Although the bench press is the most popular exercise, Robinson said it is generally the lift most competitors get the least poundage on.

Still when training for the event, it should not be ignored in favor of the other two, he said.
To maximize effectiveness, Robinson said Soldiers thinking of competing should set goals for each lift and work toward those goals in a healthy manner.

"Be very conscious of yourself when lifting. We don't want anyone to hurt themselves," he said.

Practicing proper form during training will help reduce the risk of injury, as well as allow Soldiers to get the proper form needed to ensure their lifts are counted in the events, Robinson added.

Soldiers interested in the event can set up a schedule at the front desk to test their might at the gym. The gym is open 24-hours a day, except Tuesdays, when it is closed for cleaning from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Even if not interested in the event, Robinson encouraged Soldiers to come out and work out at the gym, which features machine weights, free weights, cardio equipment like treadmills, row machines, stationary bikes, elliptical machines and steppers, as well as a martial arts training floor with a boxing heavy bag.

"It is important to workout and be healthy," he said.

• Date Taken: 04.17.2008
• Date Posted: 04.17.2008 15:03
• Story ID: 18526
• Location: ISKANDARIYAH, IQ