The University of Hawaii’s weight room for student-athletes is officially known as the Alexander C. Waterhouse Physiology Research & Training Facility.

But to Rainbow Warriors football players, the 28-yearold facility is the “Iron Church.”

“You go in there, work hard, and come out a better person,” said Chris Brown, the insider linebackers coach who set weight-lifting records as a Warriors middle linebacker in the early 2000s.

Two of the Iron Church’s most devoted are the Ta‘ala brothers — nose tackle Blessman Ta‘ala and offensive lineman Maurice Ta‘ala.

In team testing two weeks ago, Maurice, a 6-foot-1, 305-pound sophomore, set the O-line record with a 680-pound squat lift. Blessman’s 400-pound power clean broke Vaughn Meatoga’s record for a UH defensive lineman.

“That was actually my fourth time lifting 400 on the power cleans,” Blessman, who is 6-1 and 300 pounds, said of the discipline of lifting a weighted bar from the ground to the shoulders in one movement. “Walking up to the bar, my teammates were around me. I fed off their energy, and they gave the strength to lift that weight.”

Maurice also credited his teammates for their rousing support.

“It wasn’t easy,” Maurice said. “It was hard. But it was the energy from my teammates. They gave me that energy going up to the bar. They gave me that extra push to finish the lift.”

The Ta‘ala brothers grew up in American Samoa and attended Faga‘itua High. Blessman said the school’s training area had only four racks. The wait line for the weight time was similar to a large group sharing a bowling lane.

“There were like six to 10 people on one rack,” Blessman said. “You had to finish all your reps, then wait for your turn.”

The brothers said when they were doing their training, Faga‘itua High principal and coach Suaese “Pooch” Taase would raise the bar. “He’ll come in and say, ‘Add another plate,’ ” Blessman recalled. “He pretty much pushed us to lift harder and put on more plates.”

Maurice said: “We lifted a lot in high school. I think that helped us lay the foundation for how heavy we lift now.”

Both said their mother, Joy, factored in their strength development. “She’ll cook anything and it’ll taste good,” Maurice said. “Back home, we only had three restaurants. We really wouldn’t eat out much.”

“It was mostly our mom’s cooking,” said Blessman, who weighed 240 as a freshman and has gained 20 pounds a year. “It was corned beef or chicken or anything.”

“Don’t sleep on that corned beef,” Maurice said. “She’s a good cook.”

The past two years, Kody Cooke, UH’s strength/conditioning coordinator, crafted workouts to improve players’ power while developing agility and quickness. Maurice is competing for a starting job at guard or center. Blessman has dominated as a nose tackle.

Brown also provides motivation. “Chris Brown is Superman,” said Maurice, referencing the record-holder in the bench press (500 pounds) and squat (620 pounds) by a UH linebacker.

Blessman, who benched 455 pounds in team testing, said he would like to lift 500 pounds ahead of the Aug. 27 season opener against Vanderbilt.

“That’s my goal,” Blessman said. “During bench day, Chris Brown was walking around like, ‘Who’s going to break my record? Who’s going to break my record?’ I’m like trying to break (the 500 bench). I guess summertime I’m going to have another shot at it, hopefully.”

Blessman, who will earn a degree in May, displayed his inner strength after the 2021 season ended. Several players, including five defensive starters, entered the transfer portal. Blessman was the only starting defensive lineman to remain with the self-styled Braddahhood.

“My senior year (at Faga‘itua High), I had all these offers,” Ta‘ala said. “Then the (knee) injury happened, and everybody backed out. But UH was still interested in me. It’s my time to give back to UH. When everybody leaves, I’m going to stay back and give my all to UH.”