June's Member of the Month: Jack Unrue

Jack Unrue is a pleasure to be around. Anyone who has worked out beside him will agree he is all smiles and great attitude. He always shows up on time and ready to give his best; earning his title of June Member of the Month!

Jack is originally from upstate NY but moved to Colorado 20 years ago with his awesome wife and fellow Restoration Fitness member, Danielle. The two of them are incredibly active, humble about it, and an enjoyment to train. They live in Lafayette with their cat, Ripley. Jack is a software engineer and avid runner. He has been a RF member since  mid February when it became obvious to him that what he had been doing up until that point wasn't cutting it. He wasn't getting the results he was hoping for and was looking for some accountability and coaching. He also felt that his back pain was consistently getting  in the way. Danielle did a google search for Boulder personal trainers and they found us, and we are so glad!

Restoration Fitness: What positive results have you had since joining our community in February?

Jack: I'm stronger! My body feels different; I've lost weight and 11 1/4 total inches off my body circumference. My attitude towards health is a lot better; I want to come here! I absolutely love and thrive off having a coach and a group of people in classes, the collective energy is awesome.  I aslo think about nutrition much more than before I was a member. And, I've also brought my 3 mile running time down from 29:40 to 25:53.

RF: We are so proud of you, Jack!!!!

RF: What keeps you motivated?

Jack: I'm so able. I'm doing what I need to with my workouts rather than wasting time. I also really enjoy the group atmosphere here. I haven't been in this kind of shape in a long time, being able to sign up for the Bolder Boulder with confidence is pretty awesome. I know I can do it!

RF: What's the biggest challange you've overcome?

Jack: Food and nutrition which I'm still working on. Also, I never worked out when I was younger - I started around 30. So, I find that being in control and in tune with my body can be more difficult. So, I'm loving the feeling of empowerment I'm getting with my workouts lately.

RF: What does health mean to you?

Jack: Health means not procrastinating. Being healthy enough to get things done that HAVE to be done. Feeling well enough to tackle things.

RF: Great insight!

RF: What's your favorite healthy recipe?

Jack: Danielle and I make ground beef, green peppers, onions, lots of ground red pepper, and canned tomatoes. Very yummy!

RF: What's your favorite song to workout to?

Jack: It used to be loud, angry music... Right now it's Massive Attack's song Angel. Check out the video, it's cool!

RF: What's your favorite workout?

Jack: Fitness Fire classes and running.

We are so glad to have Jack as a RF member and appreciate him greatly. His continued hard work and dedication is most definitely only going to help him reach goal after goal. Here's to all our amazing, dedicated members!

Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy of continuous growth and improvement of working practices and personal efficiency. Wether it be excelling at work, changing career paths all together or getting to the next level in your workouts; kaizen urges you to push through your existing comfort zone to find true happiness and be the best you.

We spent a lot of time this week in Fitness Fire classes talking about getting out of your physical and emotional comfort zone and pushing through. I believe that some of the best personal growth can come from pushing through your comfort zones. If you think about it, it begins at birth. A baby is safe, warm, and content in its' mother's womb but at a certain point, it is time for it to join the unfamiliar world. Each step of growth for a baby is forcing it to leave it's comfort zone. The baby's first days out of the womb, crawl, step, etc. Each sign of growth is a step out of its' existing, familiar comfort zone and into the strange unknown. For the baby, pushing through leads to more independence and the formation of their own unique personalities.

The same principles hold true in ones' adult life. New, fresh experiences are vital to enrich ones' life. Personal growth stems from new challenges that lead you to new life experiences. It is easier to remain static and not push forward; fear of change and the unknown are huge factors.  Fear is your body's natural way of letting you know your comfort zone is being compromised. One should be aware and respectful of the feeling of fear but do not let it hold you back. Fear is not a comfortable feeling and usually we avoid it at all costs. Remember we would all be (twenty,thirty, forty,etc) fifty-somethings living in our mother's womb if facing fears were not necessary.

Every time we face our fear and push through our comfort zone, growth happens! Growth is not supposed to come easily. Again, think of the tiny baby taking all its' firsts. Or another example would be any business owner that has taken a risk; for their business to grow they must constantly move forward and be comfortable with change to keep up with the industry. Successful businessman and author Robert Cushing stated, "The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can."

Something to keep in mind is once we've pushed through one comfort zone into the new zone, over time the new zone can become yet another comfort zone. It is important in life to continually challenge oneself with new goals and experiences; this allows for personal growth which sanctions ones' best life possible. It may seem trivial but when you are sweating, out of breath, and feeling uncomfortable during a workout and you make the decision to continue and push yourself by going even faster or picking a heavier weight or just finishing all the way through, you are practicing kaizen. I urge you to take that feeling of empowerment and succes and continue to grow!

• By Erica Sigel

February's Member of the Month: Bob McCool

Bob became a member of Restoration Fitness in October of 2011. Since then he has been committed to improving his health and has had some awesome results. We are also very proud and impressed by Bob’s learned perfection of squats! We sat down with him recently and asked him some questions. Meet Bob!

(RF) Tell us a little background info about yourself:

(Bob) Originally, I’m from Columbus, OH and was raised in PA. I’m the youngest of 8.  I’ve been living in Colorado since 1994 with my wife Daryl and our 7-year-old son, Jackson. I work as a partner of a computer services company.

(RF) What results have you seen since joining RF in October?

(Bob) To start, I’ve lost 20 pounds! My energy level is ten times higher than it’s ever been which helps me keep up with Jackson. I’ve noticed continuous improvement of previous injuries. I can also snowboard much better than I ever have been able to in the past. Another positive result is that with the help of RF, I’ve been eating so much healthier.

(RF) What keeps you motivated?

(Bob) The accountability of RF has been great. I love coming here! It’s also been a great stress relief and managing stress is important to me. I want to feel good! And, above all else, having the energy to keep up with Jackson. Being healthy for him is very motivating to me.

(RF) What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?

(Bob) Food. I used to stress eat a lot. Having workouts as my new stress relief is great!

(RF) What’s your favorite healthy food?

(Bob) Grilled trout with a spicy rub

(RF) Yum!!

(RF) What’s your favorite song or artist to workout to?

(Bob) The Police

(RF) What’s your favorite type of workout?

(Bob) Fitness Fire classes! They’re a really great, hard workout and they’re fun!