Women find different kind of confidence

By Spc. Hannah Frenchick (20th Public Affairs DetachmentApril 8, 2011

Women find different kind of confidence
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Hanna ZarelliJackson, a spouse of a retired Soldier, Allison Ramsey, former Soldier and current spouse, and Sgt. Tanisha K. Hawkins, 4th Squadron 6th Air Cavalry Regiment, competed in the 2011 Annual Bench Championship on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wa... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Woment find different kind of confidence
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Tanisha K. Hawkins, 4th Squadron 6th Air Cavalry Regiment, competed in the 2011 Annual Bench Championship on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., April 2. Hawkins, an El Paso, Texas native, placed first in her weight division in both the power lifti... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Women find different kind of confidence
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Hanna ZarelliJackson, a spouse of a retired Soldier, competed in the 2011 Annual Bench Championship on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., April 2. ZarelliJackson, a Lakewood, Wash. native, placed first in her weight division in both the power lifting a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. - A lifter lays on the black bench waiting for the head judge to say "start" before he lowers the barbell full of weights to his chest awaiting the judge to call the command of "press." Once called, the competitor pushes upward on the barbell with every pulsating muscle in their arms and chest, as the crowd cheers in the background. The athlete listens for the head judge to say "rack." Once the barbell hits the rack, the athlete stands up with an accomplished smile on their face.

Forty-four members of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., community competed in the 2011 JBLM Annual Bench Press Championship at Soldiers Field House gym, April 2.

The competition consisted of two events, the power lifting bench press and the bench your own weight contest. The power lifting bench press is when an individual has three tries to lift their maximum weight. The bench your own weight contest is when each weight category has a set amount of weight assigned to them and they must bench press it as many times as possible.

Of the 44 people competing, only three were women. Sgt. Tanisha K. Hawkins, a Soldier assigned to 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment, Hanna ZarelliJackson, a spouse of a retired Soldier and Allison Ramsey, a former Soldier and current spouse, all placed first in their weight classes in both the power lifting bench press and bench your own weight contest.

When Susan L. Jackson, a fitness specialist and an event coordinator on JBLM, began competing professionally in power lifting events women were a rarity in the lifting community.

"It is male dominated sport," said Jackson, a Lacey, Wash. native. "When I first started there would be 50-70 guys competing and I would be the only female, maybe one other would show up.

Now you show up and there will be at least 20 females."

Jackson said the power lifting events on JBLM are starting to follow the trend of the professional circuit. It used to be only one or two women signing up for the event. This year she had five or six sign up with only three coming out and competing with the best of them on base.

Hawkins trained for the competition by lifting weights with her husband and participating in unit physical training.

Women who are involved in both power lifting and the military are females in a male dominated world. Some outsiders of these worlds think women who participate in both power lifting and the military are burly she-women, when in reality there is every kind of woman participating in both.

Hawkins, a native of El Paso, Texas, said there is a stigma that women who lift look manly and have bulging muscles. Women are able to lift to tone their bodies and just stay in shape.

Training for power lifting events is a way that women are able to improve not only their physical well-being but also themselves as a Soldier.

"Most women are built stronger in the bottom and weaker on the top," said Jackson. "Being in the military you need your shoulders and arms a little stronger than what we were built for and this all helps out with that."

Women participating in power lifting events gain more than just an improvement in their physical health and soldiering skills, they also gain a greater sense of self esteem.

"It's fun and it gives you a lot of self confidence," said Jackson. "It feels good when you get out there and push that weight. Especially when you push more than you thought you could."