Photo By Tech. Sgt. Desiree Ware | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Latina Joiner, a 75th Security Forces Squadron entry...... read more read more
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CLINTON, Ut. – The constant sound of weights echo throughout the room. Every corner of the gym is buzzing with people. She takes a sip from her shaker bottle filled with pre-workout before gripping the bar of the lateral pull-down machine. She does 12 reps before increasing the weight.
Gone is the smiling face that breezed through the gym looking for the right machine to use to begin her workout, instead a fierce determination and laser focus has taken its place.
“I lift for me, not for anyone else,” U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Latina Joiner says as she cranks out two more sets before moving onto the next exercise.
Joiner is a 75th Security Forces Squadron entry controller on Hill Air Force Base. Her day-to-day can range from checking identification cards at the gate to guarding the flight line or patrolling the base. When she’s not in uniform, you can find her in the gym putting in work for her next bodybuilding competition.
Joiner always thought of herself as a “gym type of girl,” working out five to six days a week. She begins her day at 6:30 a.m. and spends two hours at the gym before heading into work. What really got her into not just working out but the world of bodybuilding was her first National Physique Committee show in 2017 .
“I watched these girls on stage who looked so confident and beautiful and I decided that I wanted to try it,” says Joiner. “Ever since that show, I’ve been hooked.”
For Joiner, her world of bodybuilding exists as more than just a hobby. It’s a constant in her life that keeps her grounded in the comprehensive Airman fitness framework.
“I continue to do bodybuilding because it’s what keeps me happy.” She adds, “I love everything that comes with it, all the friends you make, all the changes in your body, it’s truly just an awesome feeling.”
Since starting bodybuilding, Joiner’s hard work and grit manifests itself in bodybuilding accolades and qualifying for major competitions. Even with every milestone and every award, she is constantly striving to better herself.
“Once I hit a milestone it gives me so many mixed emotions,” she says “Hitting a milestone to me means so much, but once I do I set another milestone to keep improving myself.”
Not just anyone can be a bodybuilder and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. Joiner notes that it takes a strong will, determination, and discipline to prep and commit to a strict diet and lifestyle. She equates this to joining the Air Force.
“I think the Air Force gave me the discipline I needed for bodybuilding,” she says. “With the Air Force I have to have my mind straight and know exactly what I want and how to go for it, just like bodybuilding .”
| Date Taken: | 03.13.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2020 13:02 |
| Story ID: | 371673 |
| Location: | CLINTON, UT, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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