Sweat glistened on Gerald Norphlet's face and arms after he finished squatting 375 pounds 14 times in a row at the Capital Fitness gym Wednesday evening.
"I'm tired and sore," Norphlet said as he sat down on a bench. "I want to see a chiropractor and a masseuse."
Norphlet, a former Kentucky State University football player, was participating in the first Crusade for Children Fitness Competition.
Capital Fitness held the competition to raise money for Crusade for Children. The mission of the organization is to grant donated funds to help children overcome physical, mental, emotional and medical challenges, according to its Web site. Participants in the competition were charged a $10 entry fee, and spectators were asked to make a donation, said Capital Fitness General Manager Joseph Pantoja.
"One-hundred percent of all the money we raise goes to the charity," Pantoja said. "Capital Fitness keeps nothing."
Participants formed teams of three to compete in a strength round and a power round. The strength round included three separate lifts: bench press, squat and dead lift. The weight of each participant's one repetition max was then divided by body weight to determine the points earned for that round.
The power round was based on how many repetitions each participant could perform in a row. The weight was determined by the participant's body weight. The men used 100 percent body weight for the bench press and 150 percent body weight for both the squat and dead lift. The women used 75 percent of their body weight for the bench press, 130 percent for squat and 100 percent for dead lift.
Crusade for Children is a charity supported by many fire departments, including Frankfort and Franklin County. Members of those departments, along with members of city and state police, were invited to participate in the competition, said Capital Fitness co-owner Jim Shuck.
"Most Frankfort firefighters work out here," Shuck said. "We wanted to support one of their charities."
Capital Fitness held a similar competition during the holiday season to raise money for the Franklin County toy drive.
"We had a good time with the toy drive," Shuck said. "Helping kids really means a lot to me."
The competitions have also helped motivate some Capital Fitness members, including Craig Willard. He said his team members, Nick Moore and Justin Lyons, began pushing each other in the gym and adjusting their diets to prepare for the competition. His team was the overall winner of the competition.
"You can't just walk in the door and do well," Willard said.
Willard said Capital Fitness did a great job coordinating the competition. He also participated in the competition during the holiday season.
"This was even better than last time," Willard said. "Anytime you do something for charity, it's always good."