MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Muscle-bound fitness junkies displayed their well-built talents, June 27, at the IronWorks Gym.
The annual Summer Slam Power and Endurance Bench Press was the site where 18 participants took to the bench and pumped for high scores.
The event invited all on-Station personnel including family members, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, master labor contractors and service members.
"For competitions like this, people usually train for years. There were a few beginners, but mostly there were more experienced weight lifters," said Billie Scott, IronWorks Gym health promotion director.
Albeit there was a wide-range of weight classes represented, each competitor was judged on their own body weight and how many pounds they could lift.
There were eight different weight classes that comprised the competition. The lightest weight lifter was Andre Fung at 118 pounds, and the heaviest was Yasuto Fukushima at 293.5 pounds.
The competition had two categories of weightlifting: power (maximum amount of weight on one bench press) and endurance (maximum amount of repetition lifting).
"The power category is when the lifters lift a max amount of weight in one repetition. The endurance category is when the lifters lift a certain amount of weight, based on their own weight, a maximum amount of repetitions," said Scott.
The overall winner of the endurance category in the male's category was Koichi Iwamoto, doing 38 total repetitions of 161 pounds. In the female's category, the winner was Renaunda Davis, doing 22 total repetitions of 60 pounds.
The level of lifting experience was obsolete due to the fact that each individual lifter, for the endurance category, was judged on a method called the "Swartz Formula."
Out of three attempts, the winners for each weight class in the power category were in the 123-pound class, Fung, lifting a maximum set of 161 pounds. In the 148-pound class, Atsuhiro Kimura took the victory with a lift of 300 pounds. Taking the 165-pound class, Iwamoto, maxed out at 394 pounds. The 181-pound class showcased Jerry Taylor breaking a gym record with a lift of 366 pounds. Three hundred and forty-four pounds won it for Walter Rickett at the 198-pound class, and in the 220-pound class, Anthony Watts put up 428 pounds.
Rounding out the competition, heavyweight Fukushima, threw up 511 pounds to take the win. In the female's category, Davis lifted 111 pounds.
"I workout about four times a week, and this competition gives lifters such as myself a chance to showcase our skills," said Watts, winner of the 220-pound class. "In the end it felt good, but I wasn't satisfied with my final results. My maximum today was 428 pounds, but I need to get up to the 460 pound range."
Rickett, winner of the 198-pound class, shared the same sentiment as Watts.
"My maximum was 344 pounds, but I know I could have done better. Even though I won, I'm still not satisfied," said Rickett.
The gym plans on having another competition in the winter.
For more information on competitions, contact the gym at 253-5051.