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More Power By Scott Brockett,

Special Writer Fitness Center Inspires Local Woman to Higher Achievement.

"Oh my god, I did it!" That was Elsie O’Dell’s reaction after her final lift in a bench-pressing contest Saturday. She successfully hoisted 95, 115 and 120 pounds in the three attempts allowed each entrant. Her efforts earned her a plaque commemorating a third-place finish in the division for women over 40.

Powerlifting is a sport most people choose to watch from a safe distance. Yet O’Dell, 56 and suffering from multiple sclerosis, performed like a seasoned professional in her competitive debut. The road leading to her improbable performance Saturday started with her decision in 1998 – at the urging of her friend Cynthia Sewell – to join the Manchester Area Fitness Facility.

"I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991," O’Dell says. "At the time I joined the facility I was already over 50, and I didn’t want to die. I needed to get in shape." By sticking to a consistent exercise regime O’Dell lost weight, gained strength, and improved her outlook on life. She now considers her workouts an "addiction." While many people know friends or family members who have realized profound transformations through exercise, most never become recreational powerlifters.

Even O’Dell’s participation Saturday was more a function of coincidence and circumstance than the consummation of a long-range plan. "About two years ago I was watching other people bench-press and thought it looked interesting," she says. "So I decided to try it myself. Everyone at the gym encouraged me. "At the beginning I just lifted the bar. Then I gradually started lifting more and more." Though she incorporated bench pressing into her exercise regime, she never dreamed of entering a competition. But that was before she was urged to participate in the Eighth Annual Roy Begley Memorial Bench Press Challenge — an event held annually at the Frenchtown Square Mall in Monroe to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

TOM PEARCH is the founder and organizer of the competition. He began holding it in 1995 in memory of his friend Roy Begley, a weightlifting competitor who died of MD at age 24. The participants span all sizes and ages. Some are powerlifting veterans while others, such as O’Dell, are newcomers to the sport. During Saturday’s competition, Pearch stressed the camaraderie among contestants. "Power lifters are some of the best people you’ll ever meet," he said. "They all come together for a good cause."

The cause was what ultimately motivated O’Dell to enter. "It was a chance to do something for those who suffer from MD," she says. O’Dell is quick to thank the friends who have helped her reach her fitness goals and prepare for the competition. "People like Ron Crampton, Kim Crampton, Jennifer DuRussel and Cynthia Sewell have been so helpful," she says. "I’m grateful that they were there Saturday to support me."

O’Dell has certainly come a long way by any reckoning. She now supervises the same exercise facility in which she began her fitness program six years ago. So what’s on the horizon for her powerlifting career? "I’ll definitely enter the MD competition next year," she says. "My goal is to raise for the event. But that’s the only competition I’ll enter.

"And I’m also trying to lose another 50 pounds." She offers this succinct advice for others suffering from disabilities: "Shoot for the moon." When discussing her fitness program and bench pressing, O’Dell usually stresses "adrenaline highs," good causes and the support of friends. Yet her experience Saturday apparently lit some competitive fires as well.

"Next year I want to bench-press 150 pounds," she says.