Lindsay Pieper

Staff Writer

As ?Enter Sandman? erupted over the loud speakers, Michael J. Smith fiercely threw a bucket of chalk dust on the ground, strutted over to his wife who slapped him five times across the face, then benched 600 pounds to defend his third year title of Overall Open Male Winner at the Virginia Tech Recreational Bench Press Competition.

Along with 33 other contestants, Smith competed in the fourth annual bench press contest sponsored by GNC and MET-Rx Saturday morning in War Memorial Gym.

?The goal of the event is to see people come out and compete against themselves and to beat personal records,? said Tech Recreational Special Events Supervisor Andy Deck.

The 35 lifters consisted of five women and 30 men who were separated into three flights, depending upon participants? first attempt weight. Three judges surrounded the lone bench located in the middle of the gym floor. The contestants? bench presses were evaluated on decline speed, the pause on the chest and locked elbows for completion. Illumination of the white lights by the judges signified a ?good lift,? while the red lights indicated a ?bad lift.?

To gain an advantage the participants used Compression shirts, wrist wraps, hand chalk and weight belts.

The competition commenced with four-year-old lifter Hagan Smith, son of Michael J. Smith. Although Hagan?s mother did not slap him across the face for an adrenaline rush, he successfully pressed 45 pounds, making his father proud.

?Watching my son compete at 4-years-old for the first time was the best thing I have seen all day,? Smith said.

The competition continued with flight one as Tech graduate student Abby Turpyn benched 105 pounds, winning Overall Female Winner for the third year in a row.

?I am satisfied with my lift, although in the past it was a little bit higher ? but I guess it worked out,? she said.

As the event proceeded to flights two and three, the anxiety in the audience increased with the weight. Spectator Britt Faulkner explained that the cause of the tension stemmed from the potential for participant injury.

?With the bar bending under the incredible stress and the men groaning and grunting in their struggle, you can?t help but picture the 600 pounds landing on (the lifter?s) neck,? she said.

However, spotters and judges were ready to help fatigued lifters.

Yet Judge Terry Mitchell did not find spotting the most difficult component of his duties, but rather the consistency in evaluations.

?It?s hard to be consistent at an amateur event,? he said. ?You?re not as strict because you don?t want to upset people and deter them from competing.?

Mitchell also said that the most common disqualification was ?jumping the press command,? not pausing the bar on the chest.

Despite the occasional red light lift, participants and spectators enjoyed the competition as the event ran smoothly.

?Everything went really well,? said Erin Lawrence, announcer of the competition and the Tech recreational personal training supervisor. ?We had a lot of great help and support.?