Bench Press Competition Challenges Students
Junior nursing student Caleb Martin approached the bar confidently during his second lift out of three at Campus Recreation’s Fall 2021 Bench Press Competition. Confidence is a word most people would not relate to staring down 450 pounds of steel – but Martin, and all the participants at the competition, are not “most people.”
Starting at 10 a.m. on Oct. 30, Liberty students, faculty and staff showed up in the LaHaye Fitness Center for the competition. Each participant would have three chances to lift the highest one-rep-max possible. Competitors predetermined the weight of their first-round lift, and when that weight was cleared, or successfully lifted, the lifter had the opportunity to set the weight for the following rounds.
Three judges surrounded the bench to determine if the lift was clean – checking to see if the lifter’s thumbs stayed on the bar, feet and hips stayed on the bench and that the bar was not illegally bounced off the chest. If a weight was not cleared, the competitor attempted the same weight in the following round.
Competitors were arranged into six different groups, not by age, gender or weight but by a ratio determined by the starting weight of the bar divided by the weight of the competitor. An official “weigh-in” was held on Oct. 29 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The top three men and women were awarded prizes based upon this ratio.
“LaHaye Recreation and Fitness Center usually holds at least one competition per year that involves powerlifting or other forms of exercise,” Campus Rec Fitness Coordinator Nikki Killian said. “Powerlifting is a popular sport, and something fun to offer to students who enjoy powerlifting or are trying to gain experience to compete in sanctioned meets.”
Campus Recreation emphasizes the officiality of these events and seeks to prepare students for bigger, higher-pressure powerlifting competitions.
“I’ve never done a weightlifting competition before and this was a pretty low-stake one. It’s here so I don’t have to travel or anything like that,” graduate student Taylor Zimmer said.
Zimmer set a personal best of 205 pounds and used this event to gain confidence and see how she would perform in a meet setting.
Fans and an enthusiastic announcer helped foster an exciting environment for those lifting.
“[Crowd participation] was fantastic. We had more spectators than we thought, and it brought a lot of energy,” Campus Rec employee Emma Kongs said.
Zimmer felt uplifted by the support of the crowd.
“I like the fact that they had spectators; that makes a huge difference having friends here and just having people scream for you,” Zimmer said.
One of the main reasons for holding the Bench Press Competition was to give students an outlet to showcase their hard work and strength. Many students have found a welcoming community at the LaHaye Fitness Center, and the event was a special opportunity to compete alongside friends.
“I found a whole bunch of friends when I transferred here in the powerlifting club, and they started to love on me and respect me for who I was I was,” said Caleb Martin. “They took me under their wing and made me their friend. … By osmosis I got freakishly strong by hanging out around them and fell in love with the sport.”
Campus Recreation hopes to hold more powerlifting competitions in the coming semesters.
Quigg is a news reporter.