Pro/Am Contests Blog

By: CPT Marilyn V. Keene
Photos/Images: By SFC Lindsey O’Field
For more photos, click here!

Bodybuilding.com brought the house down as it teamed with Task Force 56th Multifunctional Medical Battalion to sponsor the 2008 “Hard Body” Competition at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center (East), Joint Base Balad, Iraq. The event attracted participants and some very excited spectators from all corners of Iraq. The contestants span the entire gambit of services and civilians serving in the theater of operations.  This was not an easy feat while serving in a combat zone, but the Soldiers and civilians found a way to make the event a total success for all.

       The Hard Body Competition has roots all the way back to the summer of 2006 when it was started with a total of only 6 contestants.  It has since grown and continued at Joint Base Balad, with an event occurring four times a year since its inception.   The high rate of rotation of Soldiers into the base allows for fresh faces and great new bodies all throughout the year. The most recent competition garnered 20 contestants and attracted an amazing 700+ spectators to the competition/show.  

       The discipline required of the contestants to muster up so much muscle while deployed is astounding.  Not only do they have to continue to do their normal missions while slipping in training time whenever they can, they also must take control of their diet with the food provided in the dining facilities.   Some contestants trained for weeks, others trained for months, and only a few trained for years because of their total dedication to the sport of body building.  Each contestant’s hard work and dedication was very evident during the Hard Body competition, as displayed with their fabulous routines and pose-off with all of the standard mandatory poses.  The contestants put together awesome posing routines while simultaneously displaying their physiques, physical conditioning, and personality.  The contestants each had 90 seconds to go onstage and show the Joint Base Balad community their manifested hard work.  There were six weight classes for male and 2 for females.

       Benjamin Wilkison won Overall 1^st Place for Male; Eric Schmidt, won Overall 2^nd Place and the Overall 3^rd Place was Julius Austin.  For Females, Marilyn V. Keene won first place for overall and Heather Alojado won 2nd place.

For more photos, click here!