Photo By Christopher Hurd | Air Force Staff Sgt. April Spilde competes in the deadlift portion of the the push,...... read more read more
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WASHINGTON -- It’s noon on a Saturday, Air Force Staff Sgt. April Spilde sits in the gym at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Washington D.C. during a local powerlifting competition. She chalks up her hands as she waits for her chance to lift.
She isn’t thinking about how big the other competitors are or how much weight they can lift. She’s focused on the mission at hand, pushing her limits.
“I just like the feeling of knowing that I have a limit and I can push right past it,” she says with a smile.
On this day-like many others-she pushes herself, putting up a new personal record for bench press at 175 pounds. She takes second place in her weight class.
Spilde, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the base honor guard program for the Air Force Honor Guard at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, has been setting goals her entire life — pushing past them even when they seem unattainable at the time.
“I love having a goal, moving toward that goal, achieving it and then moving to another,” she explains.
That’s the mindset that keeps her motivated.
During her first deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, she was struggling to find her place in the Air Force, trying to figure out where she wanted her career to go.
As a security forces member, part of her detail included fallen comrade ceremonies for Airmen killed in action.
“I just remember how somber and yet respectful [the ceremonies were] and just the feeling of pride that I was able to be a part of that,” she recalled.
Coming home from deployment, she had a renewed sense of purpose and a goal in mind, join the Air Force Honor Guard and become a pallbearer.
Her new Chief with the 354th Security Forces Squadron, Eielson Air Force Base, had just come from the Honor Guard. She went straight to see him.
“I said ‘Chief, I want to join. Tell me how to join the Air Force Honor Guard. I want to do something awesome.’”
After submitting a package and getting accepted, she came to JBAB in 2013 with her goal intact.
The physical demands of becoming a pallbearer were tough and the Honor Guard had recently changed the standards, making it even harder. No female had passed the new qualification yet.
Spilde, who had been working with a lifting coach in preparation, didn’t let those things stop her. She was determined to achieve her goal, putting in long hours at the gym to increase her strength. She became the first female to qualify.
When graduation day finally arrived, she stood in formation as the jobs were displayed for the new graduates. When her name came up it read Staff Sgt. April Spilde, pallbearer.
“It was one of the best days of my life,” she smiled. “I had tears running down my face and the other guys ran up and congratulated me.”
Having tested herself and passed, she set her sights on another goal ... powerlifting.
In January of 2014, she competed in her first competition and was instantly hooked.
“It was just a rush of adrenaline,” she smiled. “It’s funny to say, but it really was a power trip.”
That rush and sense of accomplishment has taken her to multiple competitions in Florida, Virginia and Cincinnati (where she set her personal record in 2015 for the deadlift at 350 pounds at a body weight of 165 pounds).
After the 100 % RAW American Challenge event in 2015, she was ranked as the number two military female powerlifter in her weight class.
Now, Spilde, who recently placed fourth in her weight class at the USA Powerlifting Military Nationals, has new goals.
She has her sights set on a 200 pound bench press, 300 pound squat and 400 pound deadlift. These goals might seem unattainable now, but that’s what passing the pallbearer qualification and reaching a 175 pound bench press seemed like before.
“It’s something that maybe two years ago I never thought I could do,” she said. “It makes me feel like the sky is the limit. I’m really excited about where I’ll be in 10 years.”
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 04.18.2016 13:27 |
| Story ID: | 195682 |
| Location: | DC, US |
| Hometown: | GRAND RAPIDS, MN, US |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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