Estonian University of Life Sciences championships: Fitness Five
On Sunday, February 12, the sixth event of the Estonian University of Life Sciences championship series took place: Fitness Five
Added to the championship program for the first time, the event proved hugely popular with both lecturers and students: as many as 26 male and 8 female competitors turned up from all of the university’s institutes. That firmly set a new record for the largest turnout ever at a Fitness Five competition in Estonia.
The men’s competition was especially high-level and tense. Although the oldest male participant was 43-year-old Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering researcher Allar Padari, youth weights were used for all participants (bench press 60%, biceps curl 30% and squat 100% of body weight). The men’s winner, Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering student Jüri Juurikas, who rows daily, was in a class apart. In the opening event, the barbell bench press, Jüri managed an incredible 109 repetitions with a 50 kg barbell in 75 seconds. Jüri later added 42 repetitions in the biceps curl and 43 in the squat, which all but secured first place after just three events. 30 pull-ups and 50 dips then brought the total to a superb 274 points!
Because Finess.ee had put up special supplement prizes for the winner of each event, Jüri Juurikas had plenty of motivation to give maximum effort in every event. In the squat, for example, a huge final push produced one repetition more than the nearest rival. So all five event wins and the special prizes on offer went to Jüri Juurikas.
Just like the tense fight for the win in each individual event, the overall standings across all five events were a merciless battle. Before the last event, the three men chasing Jüri Juurikas were separated by just 8 points, and everything came down to the triceps dips. Marek Tšernjavski of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences managed 39 repetitions, which secured the silver medal with a total of 195 points, while Institute of Technology student Madis Vitsut finished with 184 points and took the bronze. Missing out on the medals was Mirko Ottis of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences, who collected 180 points.
Since the competition was aimed first and foremost at as many university students and lecturers as possible, the organizers made a very sound decision to replace both the pull-ups and the triceps dips in the women’s competition with somewhat easier exercises: a hang and sit-ups for the abdominal muscles, respectively. While the men’s competition was mainly the Jüri Juurikas show, the women’s event wins went to as many as four different participants. Karmen Alnek of the Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering took two event wins (the squat and the bench press) as well as the overall victory, collecting 170 points. Not far behind was the oldest participant of the competition, sports club customer service manager Irina Vilipson, who, competing against much younger rivals (by more than half their age), won the biceps curls and scored 154 points in total, earning the silver medal. Third place went to Liis Lõune of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, who moved up to third with a win in the final event and 149 points, leaving Merit Truus of the sports club just 2 points behind. Kaia Kask of the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who finished seventh overall, won the hang with a time of 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
Estonian University of Life Sciences Sports Club thanks all participants, finess.ee for the prizes, and the competition judges Esta Pilt (TÜASK), Ants Varblane (Arctic Sport) and Edmund Pilt (TÜASK).
Author: EMÜ
Source:Turg.Fitness.ee
Great workout! ArtGym
