The team has just 13 competitors, but each of them holds an integral part in making the team complete.

“The participation is much more significant than it used to be,” said Sabrina Gibson, manager, 14 Area Fitness, and coach of the powerlifting team. “We’ve really been building a stronger team over the course of the last year.”

The power lifting team was originally formed four years ago, however, due to various deployments and scattered participants, the team was never able to achieve its full potential.

Once Gibson, who has also been a national championship body builder for over ten years, became the head coach, she dedicated her time and effort into making the powerlifting team a sport that Marines and sailors are proud to be a part of.

“Powerlifting is not only a way to be physically fit, but it also is a sport,” said Gibson. “You have to work hard, train and practice just like you would with any other sporting event.”

Powerlifting competitions involve three separate lifts—the deadlift, squat and bench press. The lifter gets three attempts to meet their maxed out weight for each category. To practice for such events, the lifters have to train their muscles to support substantial amounts of weight.

“When we practice, we don’t just jump right into the lifts,” said Gibson. “We also teach proper techniques and lifting habits.”

Since powerlifting is all about reaching the max weight for one single lift, Gibson expressed how important it is to exercise each specific muscle group to prepare the lifter’s body to reach their full potential.

“When we meet as a team we usually focus on one muscle group,” said Gibson. “One practice we’ll work specifically on legs, which help with deadlifts and squats, and the next we’ll do chest exercises to help with benching.”

Although the team only gathers twice a month to train, the members stay physically fit by working out on their own.

“It takes hard work to be a part of this team,” said Sgt. David Douglas, automotive organizational mechanic, 1st Maintenance Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, and current captain of the team. “But being a part of it makes you feel like you’re truly a part of a brotherhood.”

Douglas has been with the powerlifting team since August, and has been weight lifting since he joined the Marine Corps five years ago. He began training with Master Sgt. Michael A. Green, a maintenance control chief with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469, 3rd Marine Air Wing, who has won several awards in weight lifting on and off base.

“We have some nationally qualified athletes on the team,” said Gibson. “But our team is also well rounded. It’s important that the competitors are well diversified so you can meet all the criteria of powerlifting.”

Now that the team has drawn together several participants, the power lifters can collectively train and be effective. In addition to meeting bi-monthly for practice, the team also meets twice a month to have communal gatherings to discuss upcoming events.

“I think as a whole, our team definitely has the potential to be a threat to other competitors,” said Douglas. “But I think we could be even more promising if we expanded our team even further.”

The team is looking for more participation and is opening the opportunity for Camp Pendleton’s active duty and reserve service members to train and participate in future competitions.

“Everyone on our team is very eager to compete,” said Gibson. “We strongly encourage anyone interested to come out to help build our team.”

The team’s next event will be Fort Irwin Army vs. Marine power lifting competition scheduled for Jan. 29. Those who are interested in joining the powerlifting team should contact the team coach, Sabrina Gibson at 760-725-5947 or visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Camp-Pendleton-Powerlifting-Team.