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380AEW Article

Strongest in the fight

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Garcia
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
Southwest Asia --  Webster defines the "strong" as having great physical power and ability. To be considered the strongest shows that one is more capable than all who have attempted a similar feat.

The United States Air Forces Central Command hosted the bi-annual "The Strongest in the AOR competition." On Aug. 25, 2013, four Airmen from the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing won nine of 24 medals awarded including men's first and second overall and women's second overall.

The Strongest in the AOR is a "pound for pound" competition, meaning there are no weight classes. Members compete against each other and are ranked based on a formula incorporating the contestant' s weight and the amount they lift. All participants competed in three exercises; squat, bench press, and dead lift. The results are below:

-Lifting a total of 1,460 pounds, U.S.. Air Force Senior Airman Brandon Stout, 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, took home the men's gold in overall, gold in dead lift and silver in squat.

-Lifting a total of 650 pounds, U.S.. Air Force Staff Sgt. Vanessa Wyatt, 380th ECES, took home the silver in women's overall, silver in squat, gold in bench press, and silver in dead lift.

-Lifting a category best of 535 pounds in squat, U.S.. Air Force Staff Sgt. Ricky Kranning, 380th ECES took silver in men's overall and gold in squat.

-U.S.. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeremy Price, 380th ECES took home bronze in bench press lifting 365 pounds..

"It feels great to win, every time I go to the gym I try to do my best," said Wyatt. "It's nice to see that we placed with all the hard work that we put in for the competition."

Stout and Wyatt have competed in fitness competitions prior to this one. Stout has won five competitions to include winning first place in his weight class for the 2013 Military Raw National Championship; he was also named Top Junior Lifter for the event. Wyatt won first place in three of the last four events she competed in.

The competitors said they did not change their workouts too much to prepare for the Strongest in the AOR competition. However, each kept track of their progress throughout their training.

"I set benchmarks for myself and as I reach them I make more," said Stout. "The goals allow me to monitor my progress of where I am and where I want to be."

Even though Stout and Wyatt are serious about fitness, they admitted there are some obstacles one may face while training.

"Sometimes you have to cut out the bad influences in your life," said Wyatt. "My friends may want to hang out or go to some of the themed days at the dining facilities, but I have to stay disciplined to my diet and work out regiment to obtain my fitness goals."

Stout agreed with Wyatt and said stress is another obstacle to fitness in a deployed location.

"Stress from a deployment can either motivate you to want to work out or keep you down to where all you think about is going home," said Stout, a Holly, Mich., native, deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. "You may have to dig deep and push through and stay committed regardless of working 12-hours in the hot sun."

Even with obstacles, Wyatt and Stout continue to improve their health and fitness through a variety of workouts.

"I do a lot of interval training where I will use the pad to flip tires, run sprints back and forth, and do pull-ups," said Wyatt, a native of Orange, Calif., deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. "Then I will use the other facilities to do some weight training.

The 380th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron has a wide range of fitness outlets for the athletes and non-athletes to train.

"We offer a variety of classes; X-fit seven days a week, as well as dance aerobics, dance fusion, awesome abs, and a boot-camp class throughout the week," said U.S.. Air Force Staff Sgt. Emily Fuqua, 380th EFSS Fitness NCO in charge. "Also there are four different fitness facilities, as well as a swimming pool, a running trail and an X-fit pad that members can utilize."

Stout said he does the majority of his training in the weight room and the EFSS staff is good at maintaining the equipment.

With the variety of workout options offered by the fitness staff, it allows base personnel to stay fit to fight while deployed.

"One thing that is key is to have patience with your workouts, a lot of people come to the gym and they want to see rapid results it's not going to happen," said Stout. "It takes time, from building muscle strength and shredding fat, it all takes time."

Being fit is not only something both Stout and Wyatt are passionate about, but it positively affects their job performance as well.

"My fitness level contributes to my overall health and wellness," said Wyatt. "And as a firefighter it's particularly important to stay fit so that I can be there for those who depend on us."

Even after accomplishing the goal of placing in the Strongest in the AOR competition, both Stout and Wyatt are looking forward to future competitions. Stout is training for a power lifting competition that will occur shortly after he returns from his deployment, and further down the road has hopes for making the world team in 2015 for power lifting. Wyatt is looking to compete in three National Physique Committee Figure Competitions.