Courtesy Photo A group of power-lifters poses at Zen 24 Hour fitness after a power-lifting event in 2022. The fitness center is hosting its fourth annual power-lifting event Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

ALPENA — Fans of power-lifting are in for a treat this week as Zen 24 Hour Fitness is hosting its fourth annual Classic Lifting Meet.

For the last five years, we’ve been doing a thing where powerlifters meet once a year,” Zane Kipfmiller, co-owner of Zen 24 Hour Fitness, said. “We wanted to find a good medium to do annually and we reached out to (SkellaFiT Personal Training Studio owner) Cristi (Johnson) and her clients to put together big events. We make it one big competition.”

Saturday’s competition, at the fitness center on U.S.-23 South, will have more than a dozen participants and starts at 10 a.m. after a 9:30 a.m. weigh-in. The event is free and open to anyone, including non-Zen members. Kipfmiller expects the event will run until early afternoon.

While it is a competition, Kipfmiller said the community aspect is a bigger draw for participants and a fun way to meet people and make new friends. Many lifters come to the gym three to four times a week, Kipfmiller said, and encourage one another.

The event began after lifters in the community asked about the possibility of power-lifting competitions. Kipfmiller sat with a friend to nail down rules for power-lifting competition and what specialized equipment was needed.

Participants in Saturday’s competition are encouraged to reach new personal records, learn different competition lifts and more. Past events have drawn solid numbers of competitors and Kipfmiller is excited to host another event.

“They come in to do their best and to set new personal records,” Kipfmiller said. “The community is doing it and they are excited to lift with their friends.”

This story has been updated to reflect that Cristi Johnson is the owner of SkellaFIT Personal Training Studio. This was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.