By Ready and sweaty, 35 students battled it out at the fourth annual bench press competition in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center at Cal State University Long Beach on Wednesday.
The 30 male competitors and the five female competitors waited for host Stephen Graham to call on the various competitors for their turn on the bench.
The weight began at 50 pounds, and was increased in five-pound increments up to 405 pounds over the course of the competition.
Ceason Smith, senior sociology major at CSULB, won his weight category; he said his lift was a personal record of 405 pounds.
“I’m really stoked, I didn’t think I would be able to do it but I was able to get it out,” Smith said.
Smith said he doesn’t compete in other competitions; he only entered this one because it was offered by the SRWC. “I was like, let’s see how strong I am compared to these other guys,” Smith said.
“I would say this year we beat the record of weights lifted by both males and females,” SRWC fitness coordinator Maureen MacRae said.
MacRae coordinated the event as an opportunity to promote health and fitness.
“We have a large number of students here on campus that love weightlifting, and our strength floor every evening is completely busy with people lifting weights, so it is something they are excited about,” MacRae said.
MacRae said that women were not categorized by weight in the competition, because there were only five; she also said that every year there is a rising number of females competing in the weight competition.
The men competed in six different body-weight categories. The winners of each category were: Justin Garza, 140 pounds and under; Isaiah Ingles, 141-155 pounds; Anthony Quintero, 156-170 pounds; Vladimar Li, 171-185 pounds; Hector Martin, 186-200 pounds; and Ceason Smith, 200 pounds and up.
Kaitlyn Lawrence / Daily 49er
Below, senior film major Jessie Fowler benches 145 pounds during the bench press competition at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center on Wednesday. Above, Fowler celebrates her second winning year in a row.
There was an overall pound for pound winner determined by dividing the competitors lift by their body-weight. Vladimar Li was the male champion, and Jessie Fowler was the female champion.
The Daily49er caught up with Jessie Fowler, a senior film major and now two-time winner of the bench press competition.
Fowler won on her lift of 145 pounds topping last year’s lift by 10 pounds.
Q: How long did it take you to prepare for this event?
A: “I started powerlifting two months ago with a couple of guys at Gold’s Gym in Venice, and I was interested in getting more aggressive with weights so I was doing their schedule, which is called the Wendler Program, which basically made sure I was hitting a [personal record] every month, and that’s basically how I got to where I was today.”
Q: Do you compete in any other sports?
A: “Rugby. I did a lot of sports in high school, lacrosse, basketball, everything, you name it.”
Q: How long have you been working with weights?
A: “I have been body-building, sort of, for about two years, but not properly lifting until two months ago.”
Q: What did you think of your performance today?
A: “I was a little upset I didn’t get the 155 pounds today, even though I have got it before. But I am proud to have my Rugby family here to witness this and be my supporters.”
Q: Do you compete in other power-lifting competitions?
A: “Not yet. I plan to after I graduate.”
Q: Would you like to see more female competitors in the future?
A: “Hell yeah. It’s not fair there are so many guys. Girls need more competition.”
Fowler said she is planning to compete in the upcoming deadlift and squat competition, hoping to win the overall powerlifting championship.
