The Fitness Challenge

This is the fifth year of my company's, fitness challenge. I have trained for it four times and competed in it twice. You see for some reason I am always tasked to run the damn thing and be the head judge and coordinate the awards dinner afterwards because, well I get things done and in our competitive company I am considered the most fair because I have no allegiance to any one particular club.

I have done well in the past. I finished 10th one year and 12th the second time. Which is good because I was kickin the crap out of young stud personal trainers ten or more years younger than me who thought they were tough stuff. I have two other partners who have each won or been Top 3 each year they have competed and their older than me. The other two times I trained for it, I was called upon to do other things like judging and I just didn't have the time. This year I just kept with the tri program.

The events are done 'round robin' and there is six hours to do the five events. I doesn't take five hours unless you want it to, mostly its to stagger people through. Each correct repetition or minute of cardio equals one point. In no particular order is the Military Sit Up, done under a two minute time limit, a full sit up, hands behind the head, as many a you can do using strict from of coming all the way up. Cardio is an event that is using an elliptical machine on its highest random level for a max of 60 minutes and the rpm's can't drop below a set point (the majority of people do not finish the full time).

The others are based on the contestants weight which is taken at sign in and have no time limit. A bicep curl using 35% of your body weight (ladies 30%), we change this each year from one bicep exercise to another, this year is a seated hammer strength preacher curl. A standard flat bench press men using 100% of their weight and ladies 60%. Lastly, the kicker, is a leg press everyone doing 3x their body weight.

The form on each is critical, as we do deduct points. I guess I get to be head judge because no one dare cross a decision that I make or back up. I have stood toe to toe in the heat of competition with some of the most competitive people and ready to slug em in the head because they want to slug me in the head for stripping points off their total sit up count for bad form (real example). There can be lots of screaming and grunting, (I could still be the loudest on the leg press) but hey I had to push 600 pounds and would do it consistently around 50 reps, most all the other guys doing those reps and some much, much more, weigh under 160 pounds when wet. On the leg press was giving up 120 pounds in plates, you'd be screaming too!

So I am swamped all day setting up, directing, judging, hopefully not arguing or calling an ambulance, coordinating the catered dinner, ranking the contestants, coordinating the awards ceremony and making sure everything is taken down. On top of that its at our newest club which is about an hour away, so got to add two hours to driving time.

Its going to be a long day.