Businessman's generosity provides lift to weight room
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
If it truly is better to give than to receive, then Carl Hennrich of Honolulu is due for his best birthday ever.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Hennrich and his wife, Alice, refurbished and supplied brand new equipment for Punahou's campus weight room, and the sparkling 4,300-square-foot Hennrich Fitness Center officially will be dedicated on Tuesday, Carl's 56th birthday.
Punahou football player Trask Iosefa works on his legs while head coach Kale Ane assists Ikaika Malama. "Everything's new, so there's more motivation," says Iosefa.
"I actually wanted to do it (tomorrow), which is my dad's birthday, but the school president (Dr. James Scott) will be out of town that day and I think it's important that he be there," Carl Hennrich said. "They've said that the two most-used places on campus are the library and the weight room, so hopefully this will touch a lot of lives."
Hennrich and Punahou officials preferred not to disclose the total cost of the project, which included new paint and mirrors on the walls and new rubberized mats on the floor, but it is estimated at well over $100,000.
The facility will be available for use to all Punahou students, plus faculty and alumni.
Hennrich, an insurance man originally from Rochester, N.Y., is a former three-sport college athlete at Claremont-McKenna (Calif.) and briefly played pro football for the Buffalo Bills. He coached football in Punahou's intermediate program for a few years, and his daughter, Emily, is a senior at the school.
"My wife and I first talked about it three years ago," Hennrich said of the fitness center. "Her father is a successful businessman, and he's always emphasized the importance of community service. Punahou's been good to us, great for Emily, and of course I've always been interested in athletics. This is our way of giving back to the community."
Hennrich said he noticed Punahou's weight room was in need of major upgrading. His father, Warren, was an AAU weight lifting champion in upstate New York and a multi-sport athlete in high school and college. Tragically, Warren died of diabetes at age 31, when Carl was only 6.
Carl Hennrich
"He knew how important weight training was," Hennrich said. "So I thought this would be a good way to remember him, too."
The weight room now resembles a private gym, complete with state-of-the-art machines and weights for a full cardiovascular/resistance training workout. Among the new equipment are the standard weights, barbells and dumbbells and benches, plus two exercise bikes, two treadmills and two elliptical machines (a hybrid treadmill/bike with ski-like footing).
The room also has two leg press machines, two stations each for squats and bench presses, three powerlifting stations with hardwood platforms, traditional machines plus new machines designed to help athletes in their specific sports and positions.
The JAMMER, for example, is a stand-up press machine that football offensive linemen can use to simulate the "punch-blocking" technique commonly used today, Punahou football coach Kale Ane said.
"All the machines are easy to use, as far as adjusting the heights and the weights," said Ane, a former strength coordinator in the University of Hawai'i's athletic department. "And anytime (equipment) is brand new, people will want to try it."
Two of Ane's players, offensive lineman Trask Iosefa and linebacker Ikaika Malama, agreed.
"Everything's new, so there's more motivation" to go in there, Iosefa said.
Malama said the new weight room "feels more welcoming."
Ane said it compares favorably to the one UH athletes used until 1994, when the Stan Sheriff Center was built. Hennrich said Mike Sapp, a personal trainer at Gold's Gym, was a consultant in Punahou's project.
"It will impact all of the athletes, and it really affects everybody, even the PE classes," Ane said. "There already are visible signs of it being used, and we know how much the kids will use it in the future. It'll probably last a generation."
Ane said the new equipment replaces sets donated to public schools like Roosevelt, Radford and Kailua. But he added that new or used, weight rooms only benefit those who make the most of it.
"You still need the same values," Ane said. "That means hard work, commitment and dedication."
Hennrich, the former football coach, says he hopes to see at least one tangible result of his donation.
"Maybe one day we can finally beat Saint Louis," he joked.
Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.
