Fitness Quest 10 hosts seniors competition
By Kaila Mellos
For the fifth year, Fitness Quest 10 is partaking in the San Diego Senior Games Master’s 50+ Fitness Competition. Hosted by the gym on Sept. 29, the Scripps Ranch fitness business hopes for another year of big turnout.
“The San Diego Senior Games is a nonprofit that’s been around for three or four decades, and it has a whole wide range of sports that people 50 plus can participate in, from basketball to track and field, to pickleball. There’s like about 20 sports,” said Jeff Bristol, owner of Fitness Quest 10. “We proposed to the organization that a fitness event for the senior games be created five years ago now, and we picked 10 events to host.”
The 10 categories that have been part of the fitness games include the kettlebell box squat, barbell bench press, overhand straight arm hang, broad jump, Dynamax ball overhead toss, 300-yard shuttle run, concept 2 rower, jump rope, prowler push and med ball slams.
On Sept. 29, the fitness competition begins at 8:45 a.m. with the event kickoff, followed by each of the 10 different categories from 9 to 11 a.m. Once all the categories are finished, winners will be awarded medals in a ceremony that will take place from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m.
There are two separate categories for men and women to compete in, along with different age ranges that pair equal competition. Age ranges span from 50 to 54, 55 to 59, 60 to 64, 65 to 69, 70 to 74, 75 to 79, 80 to 84, 85 to 89, and 90 plus.
“There are 10 events that men or women that are 50 or over can participate in, and you can choose any of the events that you want to participate in. You can do three events or five or seven or all 10, however many you want to do,” Bristol said. “We’ve grown every year. Last year, we had 95 athletes aged 50 to 91 years compete. It’s an amazing environment and event where people are encouraging and supportive, and you see people challenging and testing themselves.”
Although this is termed a San Diego competition, many travel to compete and display their hard work in training for these events.
“We have people who travel from other places, from L.A. and other parts of California, and even other states, to participate in our fitness event,” Bristol said. “Anybody who lives in San Diego or anywhere can compete in any of the San Diego Senior Games events. Out of the 95 athletes who competed last year in our event, less than half of them are members of Fitness Quest 10. But we have a big group of people that do from here.”
While registration ended on Sept. 14, Bristol mentioned that last-minute sign-ups are possible for those who want to show off their skills. Those who registered within the window paid a registration fee of $45 plus a sports fee of $20. Registration includes a T-shirt and medals for participating in events.
“We have about 70 people or so signed up right now,” Bristol said. “Every year, we’ve gone up in attendance, so we are going to really try to beat that 95 we had last year, and that’s the goal.”
As for the past four years of competition, Bristol said the best part of getting to host this competition is seeing the camaraderie and friendships made between fellow competitors.
“People are just here supporting each other, having fun, and smiling and cheering on each other,” Bristol said. “I went to the Olympics in Paris, and they talked about the Olympic spirit, and all these people from different countries come together and have this great time. I want to compare this to all the camaraderie I experience during the fitness competition. It’s great.”
Contact Fitness Quest 10, (858) 271-1171.