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!

Which Would You Rather Lose?

There's a difference between weight loss and fat loss.  For those of you who read magazines or blogs promising miraculous weight loss, you might be led to believe that losing weight is just as good as losing fat. Ah, but the real evidence of health is having a good balance of fat and lean body mass.  You read it right, it isn't healthy to lose too much fat or too much lean tissue.  In fact, losing too much fat (below 9% for women and below 5% for men) can actually lead to death much faster than being obese.  The real question, and the one that really hasn't been answered definitively yet by modern science, is what ratio of fat to lean body mass is best for your body?

"No diet will remove all the fat from your body because the brain is entirely fat.  Without a brain, you might look good, but all you could do is run for public office."  -George Bernard Shaw

Which Weight are We Weighing?

Although I may not be able to specifically answer the very individual question of what body fat percentage vs. lean body mass (connective tissue/bones/muscle) percentage your body functions best at, there are many different charts that give us ranges to shoot for. If you'd like to know what these ranges are for your age group and sex, here's a link. What I find more interesting is that although these charts would lead us to believe that we can all fit into a little category, each and every one of us has a unique body that can both be manipulated to perform and change, and that will also find a way to lean toward its own set-point.

Data from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study out of Dallas, TX found that men who were physically "fit" (scored in the top 80% of one's age group while performing a treadmill walking test) had death rates one-half those of lean unfit men.  So, even though they had a significantly higher body weight than others, because they were active and fit, their likelihood of living longer was still double!  Our body weight is a measure of our total mass regardless of what that mass is composed of. When we look at body fat, we are looking at both subcutaneous fat and the fat that protects and surrounds our organs. Our lean body mass is made up of muscle, connective tissue, organs, bones, and really everything besides fat. In theory, the less excess fat we have, the less work our body has to do to overcome our total mass to move and play and live. However, without adequate fat, our organ systems shut down, our hormones deregulate, we don't think as clearly, and we have no energy reserves to do anything beyond very minimal activity (unless you are eating 8 times a day).

To reach a balance of healthy body fat and an active, flourishing amount of lean tissue, you must eat a diet rich in colorful vegetables and fruit, lean protein, omega 3 fats, and you must do some form of regular activity that forces you to resist your own body weight and beyond. We build muscle tissue when we stress the muscle enough that it lays down more muscle fibers so it can meet the challenges we impose upon it the next time we place a demand on it.   This requires that we come within a few repetitions of near failure, and that we do different things to challenge the muscular system all the time.

We love resistance training and have found it to be a great compliment to nearly all of our clients lives outside of the gym to help them improve performance in other activities, reduce injuries, improve metabolism, and give them more energy. And, when one thing improves, it's easier to gain momentum to make other health changes too!

Please feel free to respond with your thoughts or comments on health, wellness, or your energy anytime.  We love it when this newsletter is shared and forwarded to friends or when readers give us their suggestions or ideas!

Have a beautiful week!

In love and health,

Nicole Irlbeck and the Restoration Fitness Crew

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!