thedrifter
05-18-09, 05:45 AM
Pulling together
Video: Marines raise funds for injured
Coach breaks record doing 148 four-finger pull-ups in an hour
By James Lomuscio
Special correspondent
Posted: 05/17/2009 10:41:12 AM EDT
Updated: 05/17/2009 10:49:44 AM EDT
STAMFORD - They are the poolees - young U.S. Marine enlistees en route to basic training at Parris Island, S.C. And Saturday afternoon, seven of them, all seniors at area high schools, got a brief preview of what lies ahead. "It'll be hell," Manny Alvarado, an 18-year-old senior at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, predicted about his 13 weeks of training that begins June 29. "I'm doing this to make a better future for myself," he added. Alan Sharkany Jr., a 45-year-old former Marine who served from 1983 to 1989, put the poolees through some rigorous drills, not at a camp but at a fundraiser outside Tommy K Vitamins on Research Drive. Sharkany said the event expected to raise about $10,000 from business sponsors for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, which provides financial assistance to Marines or sailors injured in combat or training or facing serious illnesses. The event also left many poolees sweating and breathless as Sharkany led each through sets of 35 pull-ups, 100 push-ups and 30 jumping jacks. All the poolees had enlisted months ago, but each must graduate high school first, Staff Sgt. Steven Savage said. "They're in a delayed training program, and we get together once a week to prepare them for training," said Savage, who heads the Stamford Marine recruiting center on High Ridge Road. "I want to change my life for the better in every way," said Cesar Galindo, 17, who attends Westhill High School. Wayne Mosby, 18, from Norwalk High School, said he enlisted in the Marines because he wanted a challenge. "I felt I haven't been pushed that much to see how far I can got," he said. "And I'm doing this for my 6-year-old sister, Heaven, to make sure that she keeps her freedom." Sharkany's presence, Savage added, only increased the poolees' motivation to be the best they can be. The reason to impress is that Sharkany is the heavyweight world recordholder for the most pull-ups in one hour, 341, and the most in 24 hours, 2101. Saturday afternoon, as the poolees strained to the commands of Shar kany, who works as a performance and conditioning coach, was preparing to set a record for pull-ups using only two fingers on each hand. He opened his palms to show calloused fingers. "The skin was all torn and bleeding from two-and-a-half hours of practice a couple of weeks ago," he said. By 5 p.m., after four of his fingers repeatedly had hoisted his 225.5-pound body nonstop above the bar in Tommy K's parking area, Sharkany had a record and personal best of 148 four-finger pull-ups in an hour. "Today is about raising awareness and money for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund," said Sharkany, a 1981 Norwalk High School graduate whose four children were there to cheer him. "I always tell young people to get involved with something that is greater than yourself," he added.
Video
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_12386146?source=most_emailed
Ellie
Video: Marines raise funds for injured
Coach breaks record doing 148 four-finger pull-ups in an hour
By James Lomuscio
Special correspondent
Posted: 05/17/2009 10:41:12 AM EDT
Updated: 05/17/2009 10:49:44 AM EDT
STAMFORD - They are the poolees - young U.S. Marine enlistees en route to basic training at Parris Island, S.C. And Saturday afternoon, seven of them, all seniors at area high schools, got a brief preview of what lies ahead. "It'll be hell," Manny Alvarado, an 18-year-old senior at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, predicted about his 13 weeks of training that begins June 29. "I'm doing this to make a better future for myself," he added. Alan Sharkany Jr., a 45-year-old former Marine who served from 1983 to 1989, put the poolees through some rigorous drills, not at a camp but at a fundraiser outside Tommy K Vitamins on Research Drive. Sharkany said the event expected to raise about $10,000 from business sponsors for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, which provides financial assistance to Marines or sailors injured in combat or training or facing serious illnesses. The event also left many poolees sweating and breathless as Sharkany led each through sets of 35 pull-ups, 100 push-ups and 30 jumping jacks. All the poolees had enlisted months ago, but each must graduate high school first, Staff Sgt. Steven Savage said. "They're in a delayed training program, and we get together once a week to prepare them for training," said Savage, who heads the Stamford Marine recruiting center on High Ridge Road. "I want to change my life for the better in every way," said Cesar Galindo, 17, who attends Westhill High School. Wayne Mosby, 18, from Norwalk High School, said he enlisted in the Marines because he wanted a challenge. "I felt I haven't been pushed that much to see how far I can got," he said. "And I'm doing this for my 6-year-old sister, Heaven, to make sure that she keeps her freedom." Sharkany's presence, Savage added, only increased the poolees' motivation to be the best they can be. The reason to impress is that Sharkany is the heavyweight world recordholder for the most pull-ups in one hour, 341, and the most in 24 hours, 2101. Saturday afternoon, as the poolees strained to the commands of Shar kany, who works as a performance and conditioning coach, was preparing to set a record for pull-ups using only two fingers on each hand. He opened his palms to show calloused fingers. "The skin was all torn and bleeding from two-and-a-half hours of practice a couple of weeks ago," he said. By 5 p.m., after four of his fingers repeatedly had hoisted his 225.5-pound body nonstop above the bar in Tommy K's parking area, Sharkany had a record and personal best of 148 four-finger pull-ups in an hour. "Today is about raising awareness and money for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund," said Sharkany, a 1981 Norwalk High School graduate whose four children were there to cheer him. "I always tell young people to get involved with something that is greater than yourself," he added.
Video
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_12386146?source=most_emailed
Ellie