In the Media
2005-01-10, The Edmonton Journal
Body & Health Personal Trainer Feature
Mark is a personal trainer with Defining Eve Fitness and Personal Training. Is currently helping ordinary people to train for the World Masters Games, which will be held in Edmonton on July 22-31. Certified by the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Has a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
- PERSONAL WORKOUT: “My program is a split-training routine so I usually work a different body part with weights, four to five days a week, for 45 minutes to an hour. I’ll do two to three days of cardio or aerobics for 30 minutes to an hour.”
- LIKES: “I like cooking. I like caking desserts,” he says breaking into laughter. “I’m known for my cranberry cake.”
- DISLIKES: “The dentist.”
- GREATEST FEAR: “Outliving my wife or kids.”
- GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: “My wife and children. (He has two children.) I’ve always really wanted to have a family and always thought there’s a high importance in life to get married, having a big family and passing on a family legacy.”
- MOST TREASURED POSSESSION: “My medal for winning the biathlon. I competed in a biathlon in Norway for the U.S. Minnesota National Guard in 1998 and our team won.”
- CURRENTLY READING: “I just finished The Millionaire Next Door: The surprising Secret’s of America’s Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko.”
- CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: “What have we got in the car? Raffi… Kid-music.”
- TALENT YOU WOULD MOST LIKE TO HAVE: “I don’t know if it’s a talent, but being a good parent.”
- ONE THING YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF: “I’d like to be a better public speaker.”
- THE SCAR BY MY RIGHT EYE IS: “Fifteen years ago, when I was 15, I was in Colorado at Steamboat Springs, downhill skiing – that’s probably my biggest sport – and I fell down and hit a tree and crushed the side of my skill there. I tore all the muscles on my right side, crushed the cheek bone, the bones above the eye. I almost lost my eye, almost broke my neck. We just got back from there and my wife fell down that same exact run and had a concussion. It was pretty eerie.”
- YOUR DREAM: “To have a big family with four kids and have my own successful personal training company that affects people in making positive changes in their lifestyle.”
- IF YOU COULD INTERVIEW ONE PERSON WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT ONE QUESTION WOULD YOU ASK THEM? “I would ask Jesus how did we get here, how is everything the way it is today?”
- SOMETHING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU: “That I like to bake or that I have 12 years of military experience. I was in the active navy for four years, the naval reserve for four years and the national guard for four years.”
- IF YOU WERE TO DIE AND COME BACK AS ANYTHING WHAT WOULD IT BE? “A big redwood tree, hundreds of years old, on top of a mountain. I love the serenity of the mountains and being up on top and looking out over the landscape and enjoying that.”
- WORDS YOU LIVE BY: “Be a morally sound person.”
Mark’s tips
Chris Zdeb; journal staff writer, Edmonton
There are 192 days left before thousands of people from all over the world come to Edmonton for the 6th annual World Masters Games, July 22-31. Plenty of time to train for one of the 27 sports you can sign up for, even if at this very moment, you’re a total couch potato. Because as the games’ slogan says, ‘Passion Qualifies You!’
If you are sedentary and are intimidated by the thought of competing against other people, you’ll probably fell more comfortable taking part as a recreational athlete, says personal trainer Mark.
“The games sound like a really big deal but most people taking part are average people. There’s going to be a few that are a little bit more experienced and on the elite side of the athlete level, but the majority are recreational athletes or not athletes.”
For them, personal achievement and bragging rights that they took part are the goals of the games, not a gold medal.
“Personally, I’ve competed in marathons and I’ve competed in a biathlon in Norway and when you get to a certain level of competition that you never thought you’d be competing at… it’s a really exhilarating feeling,” Mark says. “Afterwards you kind of see yourself a little differently because you’re like ‘Wow! I actually did that!’ You feel proud to be yourself, your self-esteem goes up.”
To take part in the World Masters Games or any competitive event you have to have the urge to do it and the education or training to be able to do your best.
If you’re new to the fitness game, a personal trainer can help you make the most of your training sessions by tailoring a program for your specific sporting needs. For those who are already recreational athletes, a trainer can help you reach the next level, Mark says.
It’s easier to train for a sport you like and area already familiar with, even though the last time you took part may have been high school. But if you’re motivated, try a new sport.
“The give-kilometers and 10-kilometere race events draw the most fitness newbies because you don’t have to have an established fitness level to compete or even finish the event,” Mark says.
Beginners should start with a fitness assessment by a trainer and check with their doctor if they have any medical health limitations.
The training program designed for them should bring the person to a competitive level as soon as possible though nto too soon – ideally a month before the big event.
If you actually peak before the actual race, you might not compete at your best, Mark says. “By preparing yourself a little bit beyond the event the actual race won’t seem as hard as you thought it would be when you first decided to train.”
To accomplish this, take the next six months and divide them into three phases, each two months long. If training for a run for example, the cardio or running portion of your training should be consistently worked at throughout this time. Mark says.
But you can’t just work the parts of the body that will be called upon for your even, you’ve go to work all the muscles to prevent injury.
The first phase of training should focus on building a base or foundation of overall muscular strength and endurance.
The second phase should increase your endurance while building up your cardio speed do interval running – varying the intensity of your cardio workouts by adding hills or springs to your normal runs.
The final or pre-competition phase should gear you down for the actual event.
“Training should actually be harder than the event itself,” Mark says.
If you do no physical activity right now start by walking 20 to 30 minutes a day. If you’re already running two to three times a week gradually increase the duration of your workouts by about 10 per cent per week until you reach the level you’ll be competing at.
“Always increase the duration of your training sessions before increasing their frequency,” Mark advises.
If you focus only on your goal and work only the muscles that will be used in your sport, you’re setting yourself up not only for injury but failure, which will discourage you from taking part in other events or from continuing to play the sport after the games have come and gone.
One of the main purposed of the World Masters Games is to encourage participants to establish a healthy active lifestyle that they can maintain for the rest of their lives, Mark says.
(You can reach Defining Eve Fitness and Personal Training at www.definingeve.com or 482- 7030)
