T-shirts offered as incentive for fitness program

  • Published
  • By Tyler Hemstreet
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  If a clean bill of health isn't a good enough reason to start getting in shape, here's another -- free T-shirts. 

The McChord Fitness Center Incentive Program offers free T-shirts to those tough and committed enough to complete six different feats of strength and agility. 

The program, which has been in existence for a little over a year, offers patrons the chance to achieve different milestones in weight lifting, aerobics, swimming, biking and running. 

"We try to diversify it because not everyone likes to do the same thing," McChord Fitness Center director Bill Johnson said. "We try to encompass the major activities that people can concentrate on." 

The Lift a C-17 Pound Club, where lifting more than 585,000 pounds (the weight of the aircraft) gets you a T-shirt and the Lazy Triathlon, where families can spread out the events among themselves to complete the task, are among the feats. 

"We try and give a little quirkiness to it," Mr. Johnson said. "It's an incentive booster. It rewards somebody for their efforts." 

If participants can't make it to the fitness center to work out, they can count the mileage ran or biked in an outside event or on their own and count it toward the challenge. 

In order to get credit for doing the work, participants must sign up at the fitness center and record their progress in a book at the front desk. 

For RV lot manager and Air Force veteran Tana Welling, the program has been a good way to help her track her progress in the weight room. 

Mrs. Welling, who has been powerlifting for 12 years, is well on her way to becoming a member of the Lift a C-17 Pound Club. 

"It's been a boost to get in there and keep doing it," Mrs. Welling said. 

Mrs. Welling said last month she lifted more than 365,000 pounds. "This is the first time that I've logged how much I've lifted." 

She said she's excited at the prospect of earning a T-shirt to show off all her hard work.
"Before, I was just going in lifting for the heck of it," she said. 

The other challenges in the program include tallying 60 hours of aerobic activity, swimming 100 miles, biking 1,000 miles and running 250 miles.