The Fitness Zone hosted its first ever Squat Competition on April 5.
The goal of the competition was to complete three successful squats in a row while holding a weighted dumbbell. Each contestant was given three tries to achieve their personal best.
“I think I’m more excited about all the people who have been beating their own personal records today,” said fitness and wellness coordinator Megan Beauregard.
The winners were not determined by who squatted with the heaviest weights, but who had the greatest overall strength ability. Contestants weighed in upon arrival and then their weight was divided by the amount they were able to successfully squat to determine the winners.
“By the second rep, the stars and the blood started coming in and I was like ‘oh man, this is real,’” said Robert Odudu, who squatted a total of 405 pounds during his best round.
Among the nine male contestants, Nathan Priest won by squatting a total of 440lbs.
Both the male and female winners were given a choice between a gift bag and a two-month membership at the AC Fitness Zone as prizes. All contestants were also put into a draw for a participation prize.
Sarah Taylor won the female prize by default, as she was the only female contestant in the competition.
“We’ve done a bench press competition before and we were hoping that squats would bring more female participants in,” said Beauregard.
Three females signed up ahead of time, but only one actually showed up.
Fitness and wellness coordinator Wayne Boucher said that although that seems like a low number, the fitness center has about a 7:3 male to female member ratio.
Overall, the Fitness Zone team viewed the competition as a success. Organizers hope to host more competitions like the bench press and squat competitions in the future. Their main priority is organizing fitness competitions that are safe for all participants.
At the end of the competition, Boucher said that there were really two victories to be celebrated today.
“Nobody got hurt and nobody passed any gas while squatting in front of everybody.”