“Your fitness, your journey, we will help you get there” is the motto of Linfield’s new weightlifting club. Freshman president and club founder Kaison Uehara created the organization to build a safe, productive atmosphere for students to work on their fitness and well-being. 

The list of goals for the club are extensive, but different for everyone. “We want to help everyone better themselves, mentally, physically and emotionally,” said Uehara. Members of the club’s board all have different specializations, which means they have the ability to personalize plans for members based on what they are hoping to accomplish. They can create programs for weight loss, nutrition, muscle growth or overall fitness.

Uehara’s impressive fitness background can be traced back to when he began at 12 years old. Since then, has worked his way through multiple different types of lifting styles and competitions. He holds multiple world records in powerlifting, three CrossFit state titles, and most recently participated in USA Weightlifting Junior National Championship and National University & Under 25 Championships, where he placed 12th in his weight class. 

Meg Andeer, Jordan Peeks, Artie Johnson and Jacob Campos are the other leaders of the club, all bringing diverse athletic and lifting expertise. Each leader will be able to give technical tips and advice about the lifts, but Campos is the only one officially allowed to coach members.

Over the summer, Campos received his CrossFit Level 1 training certification, meaning he is certified to coach CrossFit movements and create CrossFit workouts. He looks forward to helping club members reach their full fitness potential and improve their overall health. “It’s about building a community and finding people with similar fitness goals, while learning and helping make each other better,” Campos said. 

Given COVID-19 restrictions, the club is limited on the amount of space available in the weight room. For now, Uehara and other board members will be there from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 15 people can be in the weight room at a time, and students who wish to attend must sign up for a time in advance.

The club will also hold workouts on Saturday mornings focused on correctly executing lifts. Sometimes, they will hold track workouts during this time to focus more on overall fitness. 

“The club is being put into place because we want to create an atmosphere that’s much like Linfield’s atmosphere,” Uehara said. “Family. Tight-knit. Community bonded. We want to create that same feel on campus in the weightroom.”

The club has caught the attention of the student body. Uehara said around 35 members have already committed to regularly attending meetings. 

For more information and event updates, follow @linfieldweightlifting on Instagram.