Fun and Fitness: No 'dragon' your heels – sign up for the Strength Challenge today

It is time to unleash your fury at the 16th annual Year of the Dragon Strength Challenge! This year's Strength Challenge promises to be one of the best, if not THE best.

Fitness 101's Strength Challenge has been an annual event since the late '90s. This will be our second year in a row with the newly improved testing format. Feedback from last year was overwhelmingly positive since it attracted more interest and allowed individuals of varying weight and strength to be able to compete.

The biggest and most well received improvement we've made is the exercise tests themselves. We've incorporated some more endurance-based exercises that will be sure to test each contestant's general ability in terms of resistance training. We now have a timed plank exercising combining a stability ball and dumbbell hold: the longer the hold, the more points rewarded. There is now a push-up test and in order to achieve 10 points, males have to do 55 in one minute, and females have to do 40 (modified) in one minute. We have also brought back the pull-ups; males performing 25 in 30 seconds will receive 10 points as will females performing five using their own body weight. Females may use weight assistance as well but will not receive full points.

But what is a Strength Challenge without our trademark strength tests? The bench press and leg press have returned with an update. Males will receive full points for benching 1.6 times their body weight for five reps. Females will achieve the same if they can perform five reps at 1.2 times their body weight on the Smith machine. The leg press will demand 10 reps at four times their body weight for males and 10 reps at 3.2 times their body weight for females.

Another very important change is the method of categorizing weight classes. A middleweight division has been added to ensure there is not a significant disparity among the groups. Lightweight men and women will be less than 165 and 135 pounds, respectively. Middleweight men will weigh between 165 and 195 pounds; middleweight women will weigh between 136 and 166 pounds. Heavyweight men and women will be greater than 195 and 166 pounds, respectively.

The Strength Challenge will be taking place on November 22 and 23. You simply pay $5 if you are a member, or $10.50 if you are a non-member, and sign up for a time spot that suits you. There will be plenty of prizes and giveaways from our sponsors to up the ante of friendly competition. If you have any further questions, just stop by the J building front desk.