DURHAM, N.C.—Eight Triangle-area residents and an estimated 50 virtual participants squared off in the Fourth Annual Bull City Squat Challenge this past Saturday, May 18. Hosted by The Choice Performance Center of Durham, N.C., the event benefited The Duke Cancer Institute and the nonprofit Erika’s Lighthouse and raised $7,000 for the charities. 

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This year, the challenge featured a series of three rounds; in each set, participants compete for maximum number of repetitions within a two-minute time period. In the first set, known as the original barbell challenge, women squat with 95-pound barbells and men with 135-pound barbells. The second round is tailored to each person with participants barbell-squatting the equivalent of their own body weight. In the final challenge, known as the “heavy squat,” barbell weights increase to 205–250 pounds. Each participant has the option to engage in one, two, or all three of the sets.