Bench Press Challenge Update: This Saturday

The 6th Annual Drive Fitness Bench Press Challenge is only days away! It will be our biggest Bench Press Challenge EVER with 80 lifters registered. We are very excited to see so many people 'giving it a go' and we look forward to supporting you on your way to a personal best on the day.

We would like to remind everyone that although it takes the form of a competition and we do recognise winners on the day the Bench Press Challenge is only intended motivate your training and provide an opportunity to come together and support each other. We would like to encourage a focus on personal improvement rather than winning. 

Remember, we will be kicking off at 6:30am sharp, Saturday 25 May at Drive Fitness Tarragindi - Shop 5/19 Kuring Gai Avenue Tarragindi. See you there.

Bench Press Challenge Registration Now Open!

Registration is now open for the 2013 Drive Fitness Bench Press Challenge! We are now less than 3 weeks away.

What is it anyway?
A chance for you to test your strength and achieve 'your' personal best bench press. It's a great way to monitor your strength results and a useful motivational tool to help your training. You will be amazed at how helpful the support from others on the day will be - we consistently see personal best lifts achieved at the Bench Press Challenge.

When is it?
Saturday 25 May starting at 6:30am sharp.

Where is it?
It's returning to the Tarragindi studio for the first time since 2008: Shop 5 / 19 Kuring Gai Ave, Tarragindi.

Any more questions?
Chat to your trainer or email dave@drivefitness.net for more information.

Bench Press Challenge: Saturday 25 May - Time to Start Preparing

The Bench Press Challenge is the longest running Drive Fitness event, first introduced in 2008! It becomes more & more popular with every year reaching over 50 participants in 2012. Join us for the 6th Annual Bench Press Challenge this coming May - everyone that trains at Drive Fitness is welcome, all fitness levels & training experience!

What is it anyway?
A chance for you to test your strength and achieve 'your' personal best bench press. It's a great way to monitor your strength results and a useful motivational tool to help your training. You will be amazed at how helpful the support from others on the day will be - we consistently see personal best lifts achieved at the Bench Press Challenge.

When is it?
Saturday 25 May starting at 6:30am sharp.

Where is it?
It's returning to the Tarragindi studio for the first time since 2008: Shop 5 / 19 Kuring Gai Ave, Tarragindi.

Any more questions?
Chat to your trainer or email dave@drivefitness.net for more information.

Bench Press Challenge 2013: Date Announcement

The Bench Press Challenge is back for it's 6th year! Put it in your calendar for Saturday 25 May.

Never been to our Bench Press Challenge before and don't know what to expect? 

Expect lot's of people just like you (not competitive powerlifters) supporting each other as we all attempt to achieve our personal best lift! It gives us something to aim for and an opportunity to come together.

More details to be announced as we get closer to the event. We look forward to seeing you there.

Bench Press Challenge 2012 Photos are up on Facebook

Over 50 photos of the Bench Press Challenge up on Facebook now. Like us on facebook here to view: www.facebook.com/drivefitness.

Thank You for Your Donations to the Ride to Conquer Cancer

The following email was sent in by Rachel to everyone who donated to a great cause on Saturday at our Bench Press Challenge:

"On behalf of all of us, thank you very much for supporting us on Saturday, allowing us to promote our ride and helping us raise money. We really appreciate your help. We raised $258 which is a great start to our fundraising efforts." - Rachel

Jason, Rachel and Ange from Drive Fitness will be participating in a 2-day major cycling event called The Rio Tinto Ride to Conquer Cancer® benefiting Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR).

They will be cycling over 200 kilometres that weekend, throughout Queensland's scenic countryside, with thousands of other Riders. All the proceeds will go to QIMR, a worldwide leader in cancer research and discovery, and one of the largest research institutes in the southern hemisphere.

If you wish to make a donation please click on the link below and select any one of our team members.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Click here to view the team page for Team Newlands

Full Bench Press Challenge 2012 Results & Recap

Congratulations & thank you to everyone you participated and made this year's bench press challenge the best yet! The encouragement and support from all competitors was inspiring and it helped so many  people get personal best lifts on the day. The main goal of this event is to achieve YOUR best possible lift and monitor YOUR strength improvement and it was great to see so much progress.

A BIG congratulations to our 2012 bench press challenge winners:

Men's

1st Alan (1.469), 2nd Emmanuel (1.426), 3rd Mark (1.368), biggest lift Emmanuel (150kg)

Women's

1st Chloe (0.824), 2nd Danielle (0.813), 3rd Deanna (0.796). biggest lift Sally (60kg)

We had 2 Drive Fitness records broken on the day: (1) Emmanuel broke his own record with the men's biggest lift with a 150kg, and (2) Chloe broke the women's relative score record with 0.824. A special congratulations to these two Drive Fitness record holders! The Drive Fitness records will be updated over the next few days.

From everyone at Drive Fitness we hope you enjoyed the event and we look forward to seeing you at the dead lift challenge later this year! Full list of results below sorted alphabetically & photos to come over the next few days. 

Bench Press Challenge 5 Days Away!

This Saturday 19 May 2012 over 50 people from Drive Fitness will hit the bench press! We are looking forward to great results, Drive Fitness records broken and a fun morning filled with support and encouragement.

It's not about competing with each other, it's about setting your own personal best and measuring your own strength improvement. 

Entry has been closed at individual Drive Fitness studios but you can still make a late entry by contacting Dave directly on 0402 358 127 or dave@drivefitness.net.

There will be a free raffle, BBQ breakfast, morning tea, trophy and medal presentation, Drive Fitness shirts for sale and the opportunity to donate to our cycle team who are raising money for the 200km Ride to Conquer Cancer.

Click here for more Bench Press Challenge news and updates!

Massage Gift Voucher: FREE Raffle at Bench Press Challenge

We will have a FREE raffle at the Bench Press Challenge next Saturday thank you to Sore No More. All Bench Press Challenge participants will automatically go in the draw to win a FREE massage. We will draw the lucky winner at the end of the event just before the medal presentation.

Just another great reason to get involved in this year's Bench Press Challenge. Click here for Bench Press Challenge details.

BBQ Breakfast at the Bench Press Challenge Next Saturday - Raising Money for Cancer Research

Thank you to Rachel for sending in the article below & thank you to the Ride to Conquer Cancer team from Drive Fitness who will be preparing our breakfast on the morning of the Bench Press Challenge to raise money for a great cause. 

A few of the Drive Fitness groupies, including Jason, Rachel and Angela are joining together to raise money for cancer research and join the Ride to Conquer Cancer.

In support of their efforts, and your tummies, the team will be cooking up a storm for all participants and spectators at the Bench Press Challenge. Bring your hunger pains, along with some gold coins, to enjoy a bacon and egg roll, sausage in bread, or some other tempting munchies that will be on offer.

The Ride to Conquer Cancer is a 200km cycling journey throughout Queensland scenic countryside. Our challenge over the next few months is to raise $7,500 that will be donated to the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Please consider donating to this cause.  Funds raised in The Ride to Conquer Cancer will support breakthrough research, exemplary teaching, and compassionate care at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, a worldwide leader in cancer research and discovery and one of the largest research institutes in the southern hemisphere.

Bench Press Challenge 2012 Update: Next Saturday 19 May

It all happens for the 5th time next Saturday on the 19 May 2012!

The 5th Annual Drive Fitness Bench Press Challenge!

It has always been one of our most popular Drive Fitness events and we expect this year's to be the best EVER! There will be a new format this year, both the Men and Women will lift together and the total event time will be significantly reduced. Spectators welcome!

When: Saturday 19 May 2012

Time: 7am start for warm up, stretch and weigh in, lifting will start strictly at 7:30am and the trophy and medal presentation will be held at 9:30am. 

Where: Drive Fitness Mt Gravatt. 64 Clausen St Mt Gravatt.

There will be a BBQ breakfast and snacks available thanks to a team from Drive Fitness who are fundraising for the 200km Ride To Conquer Cancer. Gold coin donations towards this cause can be made on the day. More information about this here! 

The Bench Press Challenge: 2008 - Present

The 2012 bench press challenge is nearly here! The 19 May will mark the 5th year that the Drive Fitness community has come together to support each other in the bench press challenge.

On the 31st of May 2008 the bench press challenge kicked off for the first time with a whopping total of 11 lifters. 2009 saw the field grow to 19 and then again in 2010 to 35. 2011 set a Drive Fitness event attendance record at the time (with exception of the Christmas party) with a total of 49 lifters. We hope to see this trend continue in 2012.

The field always has a mix of men and women and beginner and advanced lifters. The atmosphere is always supportive and we make it as comfortable as lifting in front of a group of people can be. The atmosphere always helps people lift to their best ability and we see many personal best efforts achieved at the event.

If you have never been apart of our bench press challenge before I would just like to encourage you to give it a go! You can register at your Drive Fitness studio up to Friday 11 May . Chat to your trainer or contact Dave on 0402 358 127 for more information. See you there!

Bench Press Challenge 2012!

When: Saturday 19 May 2012

Where: Location to be announced - one of the Drive Fitness studios: Mt Gravatt, Seven Hills or Tarragindi

Time: 7:30-10:30am including weight in, morning tea and medal presentation

The 5th Annual Bench Press Challenge is coming! Everyone is encouraged to participate - your score and your improvement is all that matters not the score of others. 

The 2011 Bench Press Challenge had over 50 participants and resulted in both the lady's and men's Drive Fitness records being broken. Everyone was very supportive of each other's performance which helped to create a fantastic atmosphere.

2012 will see a format change which will speed up the challenge to help cater for our growing number of participants. More information regarding the format, location (either Seven Hills, Mt Gravatt or Tarragindi studio) and scoring will be made available over the coming weeks.

The Bench Press Challenge is great for monitoring strength improvement year to year and coming to together as a fitness community to support each other. We hope to see you there! 

Bench Press Challenge: Saturday May 19

The 5th Annual Bench Press Challenge has been announced for 19 May 2012. Everyone is welcome to participate - your score and your improvement is all that matters not the score of others. 

The 2011 Bench Press Challenge had over 50 participants and resulted in both the lady's and men's Drive Fitness records being broken and everyone having a great time supporting each other

2012 will see a format change which will speed up the challenge to help cater for our growing number of participants. More information regarding the format, location (either Seven Hills, Mt Gravatt or Tarragindi studio) and scoring will be made available over the coming weeks.

The Bench Press Challenge is great for monitoring strength improvement year to year and coming to together as a fitness community supporting each other. We hope to see you there! Let your trainer know if you are interested so you can start to work on your bench press training.

Bench Press Challenge 2012 Major News: Postponed

The 2012 bench press challenge, originally scheduled for 10 March, has been push backed to May. Unfortunately we were forced to make this change due to March being a busy month with a number of other local fitness events that are popular with people that train at Drive Fitness. Amongst those is the Twilight Run on 18 March that Drive Fitness is entering a team in.

We apologise if this inconveniences anyone's training program but we expect everyone will welcome the news as an opportunity to fit some more preparation in. 

The NEW official bench press challenge date will be announced over the coming weeks for a Saturday morning during May!

Bench Press Challenge 2012: Saturday 10 March

The date for the 5th Annual Drive Fitness Bench Press Challenge (BPC) has been announced: Saturday 10 March 2012. This date gives us a nice buffer before the Easter Holiday - no excuses!

This early announcement comes with a reminder that there is less than 12 weeks to train from the start of the year to the event. We will need to get straight back into strength training from the start of the year to be well prepared.

The 2012 BPC will undergo a format change to accommodate increasing participant numbers, allow men and women to lift simultaneously and reduce the running time. We will update you on the format as we get closer to the event.

Kick of the year with some strength training in your exercise program and use the Bench Press Challenge as motivation to train hard. Stay tuned for more BPC news in the new year!

Bench Press Challenge 2011 Photos Have Arrived

We have photos of all participants lifting at the 2011 Bench Press Challenge. The photos turned out great! If you would like your action photo, your team photo, or podium photo (for the winners) please email David at dave@drivefitness.net and we will reply with your photo. Alternatively, if you would like your photo uploaded to Facebook we can do this also.

We have included a few in this post and uploaded a selection to Facebook so you can see how they turned out. Thanks again for your every one's participation - it is everyone being there that makes it a great event and gives us these fantastic photos.

2011 Bench Press Challenge Recap

Well done to everyone who participated in the 2011 Bench Press Challenge. For most people it is a big step out of their comfort zone to participate in an event like this and from the whole Drive Fitness team we applaud your great efforts in training and on event day. Everyone handled the extra pressure of the day very well and some were even able to use the encouraging atmosphere to achieve personal best lifts.

The event ran over time due to the large number of participants and the Seven Hills studio was barely big enough to contain the number of participants, family and friends and even random passersby who stopped in for a look. With the original plan being for the ladies lifting to finish by 10am it was clear early that the near 40 female participants would need longer. With amazing encouragement from all ladies in attendance the nervousness for most participants disappeared and they were able to perform comfortably.

The lady's presentation ceremony had to be cut short to make way for the men's event which was already delayed 30mins! With a higher sense of competitiveness in the room (as to be expected) but with equal encouragement and support from everyone in attendance the men's event had a great atmosphere.

The 2011 Bench Press Challenge had some great results. The lady's division was won by the same winner as in 2010 but both 2nd and 3rd places were taken by new comers to podium finishing positions. The long standing Drive Fitness Hall of Fame relative score was broken by this years winner! We also have a  new Drive Fitness Hall of Fame record for the biggest lady's lift.

Lady's Places:

1. Angela Verner (lifting 57.5kg with a relative score of 0.817 & new Hall of Fame record)
2. Bec Blemings (lifting 42.5 with a relative score of 0.802)
3. Amanda Cook (lifting 45kg with a relative score of 0.794)

Biggest lift went to Callie Conomos with a huge 67.5kg lift and new Hall of Fame record.

The Men's division also had amazing results with all records broken. For the first time in 4 years we saw a new winner in the men's division who also broke the relative score Hall of Fame record. 2nd and 3rd places were taken by the same participants as in 2010. We also saw the biggest lift in the event's 4 year history in the men's division taking the Hall of Fame record.

Men's Places:

1. Mitch Edwards (lifting 132.5kg with a relative score of 1.525 & new Hall of Fame record)
2. Ben Blemings (lifting 100kg with a relative score of 1.439)
3. Mark Shellshear (lifting 90kg with a relative score of 1.294)

Biggest Lift: Emmanuel Polichronis lifting 140kg and breaking the Hall of Fame record

Numbers proved to be the key to team success with Team Lisa winning the lady's title and Team Dave winning men's - both of these teams presented with the largest number of participants in their respective divisions. Team Tim had a strong showing taking 2nd place in both the lady's and men's division. Team Jared & Theo were unable to place in either the men's or the lady's and will no doubt look for a greater showing in participation for next year to level the team playing field.

This year was without a doubt the most competitive and exciting Bench Press Challenge in its 4 year history. A full list of results will be posted up on the notice board in your Drive Fitness studio during the week and photos will soon be available. Thank you again for your participation and we look forward to improving the event next year as we cater for more and more participants. The possibility of two bench presses operating simultaneously and holding the event at an outdoor venue are already being discussed in preparation for next year.

Time for a change in training goals as we move forward onto new things - until next year's Bench Press Challenge!

2011 Bench Press Challenge

The 2011 Bench Press Challenge will take place this coming Saturday on April 2. We have been counting down to the 4th Annual Drive Fitness Bench Press Challenge since the start of the year and we cannot wait to see every one's great results!

The details are as follows:

The Bench Press Challenge will be taking place at the NEW Seven Hills Drive Fitness. The address is shop 2 / 6 The Corso, Seven Hills.



View Seven Hills Studio in a larger map

Ladies weigh in commences at 8:45am with lifting to begin from 9:00am. Men will weigh in at 10:00am to commence lifting from 10:15am. We will be running on a strict schedule so will require everyone to be running on time. Please arrive early so we can make sure we do not fall behind schedule. Morning tea will be running throughout the morning with medal presentations taking place following both the lady's and men's events.

Team colours have been announced:

• Team Tim is wearing black
• Team Lisa is wearing blue
• Team Jared & Theo is wearing white
• Team David is wearing red

Please wear something representing your team colours! Looking forward to seeing everyone there.



Team Theo & Team Jared Combine for 2011 Bench Press Challenge

It was officially announced earlier today that the bench press teams of personal trainers Jared and Theo will combine for the 2011 Bench Press Challenge on April 2. With this merger the new team of Jared & Theo will have comparable team sizes to the other teams of Tim, Lisa and David.

This team merger may present problems for the other teams with this new combination looking capable of causing upsets on the day. We are all eagerly looking forward to April 2 to find out which teams will take out the Ladies and Men Team Challenges.

Less than 3 weeks to go!