Twenty-five fitness enthusiasts posed off Saturday to determine the winners of Fort Jackson's 2017 Natural Bodybuilding event at the Solomon Center.
The 193rd Infantry Brigade flexed its muscles with drill sergeants Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Malubag, taking the male bodybuilding, and Staff Sgt. Jayna Bryant taking female physique honors. The 193rd would also take second place in the Best Unit Participation category.
The competition was "lots of fun," said Geraldo Cruzado, a 61-year-old contestant who won Mr. Fort Jackson. "We are a tight knit group that met every Saturday for two and half months prior to the event" for preparation.
"We took a lot of time trying to learn poses to make yourself look better."
Pamela Long, the Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation's Fitness Programmer and promoter of the event, said the event is a great way to highlight the installation's commitment to fitness.
"Competitions that encourage Soldiers to get in the best shape of their lives naturally has a focus on positive health habits in natural nutrition and exercise," she said. " This lays a foundation that inspires and teaches Soldiers, civilian employees and retirees a method of how to take care of their body for peak performance."
Learning how to get your body in peak condition naturally is imperative, she added.
"Natural competitions teach you how to have your body at its best at all times," Long said. "Even when the event is over, you walk away with so much knowledge on how to keep yourself fit with the exercises you do and the natural foods you eat. This natural approach to peak physical fitness is a recipe they can follow for life. For me, this is why it is so important to have competitions like this."
Cruzado, the Operations Security officer with the Soldier Support Institute, said the group benefited from various help, such as nutritionists and trainers, provided by Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
"You could pay $80 to $400" for that kind of help, he said. "But not with FMWR."
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