Tone House Hosts 2nd Annual ‘Lift Off’ With Adidas as Sponsor
Alonzo Wilson founded Tone House in 2014 to bring elements from sports conditioning to mainstream fitness
Tone House, a popular New York City-based strength and conditioning training facility, is gearing up to host its second annual Lift Off competition, a two-day celebration of strength scheduled for Saturday, December 16, and Sunday, December 17.
Alonzo Wilson, a former college and professional athlete as well as private trainer in NYC, founded Tone House in 2014 to bring sports conditioning to mainstream workouts, introducing a larger audience to the effective, community-oriented workouts common in team sports. A Tone House class combines cardio, strength and endurance training in a team setting. The brand offers conditioning and strength sessions at various difficulty levels, along with larger events like its Lift Off and Turf Wars competitions.
Lift Off will feature women competing on Saturday and men on Sunday. Participants, both seasoned athletes and recreational lifters, will be divided into three weight classes – lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight. The competition revolves around testing strength in a one-rep max for three key movements: barbell squat, bench press and deadlift.
No Tone House workout is complete without an element of endurance. Therefore, an accompanying endurance test will challenge Lift Off participants with a one-minute rep test in each lift, with the weight prescribed for their respective weight class.
“The Tone House Lift Off competition sets itself apart from traditional strength competitions by uniquely combining one-rep max lifts (back squats, deadlifts, and bench press) with an NFL combine style endurance test,” said James McMillian, Tone House coach and director of product and innovation.
Guinness World Record Powerlifter Tamara Walcott returns as head judge for the second consecutive year. Having recently earned the title of the strongest woman in the world by breaking her own deadlift record with an astonishing weight of 639 pounds, Walcott brings expertise to the event.
“There is no other competition in NYC that offers the strongest woman in the world as lead judge!” McMillian noted.
Adidas, Other Brands Show Out
For the event, Adidas returns as Tone House’s headline event sponsor. The brand will outfit all participants with uniforms, lifting shoes, performance gear, accessories, and more. Attendees can also expect on-site brand activations from Pwr Lift, Made Meals, Nocco and Strive Total Wellness.
“The Lift Off competition embodies our motto ‘Unleash Your Inner Athlete,’” McMillan added. “This competition provides a platform that recognizes the athlete within all of us. Our Lift Off competition offers an opportunity for athletes who enjoy strength training a chance to showcase their abilities, complementing our Turf Wars, which is a conditioning-focused competition held in June.”
This year, Lift Off participants will have an opportunity to contribute to a meaningful cause. The event aims to raise $10,000 for Special Olympics New York, a non-profit organization providing year-round sports training and athletic competitions for individuals with intellectual disabilities.