Robins duo head to weightlifting competitions Published Feb. 25, 2011 By Wayne Crenshaw 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Two Robins Airmen are avid weightlifters but they do it for very different reasons and soon each will be competing in very different events. Master Sgt. Tina Robinson, an Air Force Reserve Command recruiter, is a powerlifter capable of bench pressing 275 pounds. On March 19, she will compete as a member of the Air Force team in the USA Powerlifting Military National Meet at Brooks City Base in San Antonio, Texas. She figures to have a good shot of bringing home at least one gold medal in the individual category. Last year, she won gold in the bench press by lifting 250 pounds. She would have benched 275 on a subsequent try, but was disqualified after a judge ruled she did not touch the bar to her chest. This year she expects to press 275, so unless some other female in the military has really pumped up in the past year, the gold should be hers. She has benched as much as 315, and while deployed in 2008 was named Strongest Female in the Central Command Area of Responsibility. Also on March 19, by coincidence, 1st Lt. Franklin "Allen" Elliott will compete in the International Body Building & Fitness Iron Eagle Body Building Show in Savannah. In body building, contestants pose and display their muscles for judges rather than lift weights. Elliott, an engineer in the 402nd Electronics Maintenance Squadron, said he prefers body building because it is more similar to what he did as a wrestler in college. Because wrestlers want to stay in a particular weight class, they don't usually want to bulk up. "It's the best way I can use the gifts I have and hopefully inspire others to better fitness," Elliott said. An average person has a body fat percentage of 18-24 percent. Elliott's is 6-7 percent, and he wants to get it down to 4-5 percent for the contest. The primary training difference between their regimens is Elliott works lighter weights with more repetitions to create definition while Robinson uses heavier weights with fewer repetitions to create strength. But they each demonstrate Airmen can take a different path to a high level of fitness. Because Elliott is judged on looks, he also follows a strict diet of healthy eating. Robinson, on the other hand, is a fan of fast food. "For powerlifters it's all about how I can get stronger," she said. "Let's go to McDonald's... maybe eat some cookies." On their last fitness tests, Robinson scored a 98 and Elliott had a perfect 100, as he has in every fitness test he has taken. Elliott also holds the fourth lowest time at Robins in the 1.5-mile run with an 8:12.