George Washington (CVN 73) - Naval Cruise Book

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Sports 207

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206 Sports

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GW’s strongest go head-to-head in bench press contests Of all weightlifting movements, the bench press is widely regarded as the most definitive yardstick of overall physical strength. Most weightlifting contests feature the bench press, and “How much do you bench?” is a frequently-asked question in and out of the gym. It should be no surprise then that most weightlifters favor the bench press as a staple of their exercise rou- tines as they work toward membership in the vaunted “300 Club” - all of whose members can heft 300 pounds or more. At present, GW boasts nearly 50 members of the “300 Club , which adds up to a higher concentration of members per thousand than most U.S. cities. GW's most prolific bench pressers got together three times during the deployment to pit their considerable strengths against one another in ship-wide contests. The winners in each weight class earned a spot on the bench press “Wall of Fame”, which is a chart documenting the ship’s most powerful individuals. Many of the Wall of Famers boast lifts in the mid-to-high 300s, but only one -A02 Pablo Ortiz, above center - broke 400. Ortiz, who weighs about 225 pounds, doubled his weight with a lift of 450 pounds. 208 Sports