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CrossFit Andersen picks up barbells for breast cancer awareness

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Marianique Santos
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  Members of Team Andersen flexed their muscles and picked up barbells to raise breast cancer awareness Oct. 26 at the Hot Spot here.

More than 50 people signed up for the barbells for breast cancer awareness event and donated money to organizations that support earlier detection of the disease. Participants did some heavy-duty lifting to raise breast cancer awareness and promote the importance of exercise in maintaining good health.

"The event today is meant to raise breast cancer awareness," said Staff Sgt. Stephen Baker, 736th Security Forces Squadron parachute program manager and CrossFit Andersen community involvement and event coordinator. "The donations go to underprivileged and underinsured men and women so that they could get mammograms to catch breast cancer before the stages progress."

Participants signed in as they arrived and warmed up in preparation for completing 30 repetitions of a clean and jerk movement.

"It was awesome; that's the first time I have ever done this," said a military spouse. "It was really hard. One hundered thirty-five pounds don't seem like much, but when you're lifting it up from the ground 30 times, it's rough."

Clean and jerk movement involves lifting the bar from the ground to the shoulders and from shoulders to over the head. Participants had to complete the set as fast as possible before time runs out on the clock.

"The fastest time today was one minute and 52 seconds," Baker said. "That's fast."

Airmen and their family members participated for different reasons. Along with Baker, who's driven to advocate for cancer awareness by the loss of his father to lung cancer in 2009, most participants have friends or family members who are fighting or have fought cancer.

"I've had a great aunt that had breast cancer," said a military spouse. "For me, it's something very important."

Baker said the reason why exercise plays such a big portion in life is because everyone should aim to be a healthy person and prevent any kind of disease.

"One way you can prevent disease is by living a healthy lifestyle," he said. "One of those ways is by exercising or CrossFitting."

For more information on CrossFit Andersen, visit www.crossfitandersen.com or email crossfitandersen@gmail.com.