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Intensive Health Programs Are Changing Boomers' Lives

Posted on: Monday, 27 March 2006, 18:00 CST

By PATRICIA GABBETT SNOW For the Journal

This isn't your typical battle of the bulge; it's more like an all-out war.

Baby boomers around Albuquerque are attacking their flab by competing in various fitness challenges, intensive 12-week programs that incorporate weighttraining, cardio workouts and healthy diets.

"I have had a bunch of friends do this, and they're all people in their 40s, professionals or parents, so I just decided to try it," says Julie Wylie, 44, who joined The Challenge at The Training Sensation in January.

Wylie wanted to lose 15 to 20 pounds, but it wasn't until her sister-in-law talked her into it that Wylie agreed to give the program a go. "I have three kids -- high school, middle school and elementary -- so it's quite crazy, and I just thought, 'There's no way I could do anything like this.' ''

Almost as soon as she started, Wylie's life changed. "I've been shocked. I thought this was about losing weight, but it's way more than that," she explains. "It's about your health and getting your health back."

Participants take before and after pictures and attend weekly weigh-ins and support and educational meetings. There are in-house contests, boot camps and sprint clinics. At the end, there's a big party, where the champions receive cash prizes, and all the participants celebrate their successes. This time, there will even be a dance with a DJ.

Wylie's reaction is typical, says Mark George, owner of The Training Sensation, 5200 Eubank NE. "It's pretty awesome. So many people meet new friends. They become a huge support group for each other," he says.

This is the gym's seventh challenge, and 400 people are participating, he says.

The gym hosts two challenges each year and donates some of its proceeds from each one to the Make a Wish Foundation.

"Typically, what we see is that in the first four to five weeks, people are getting stronger, but they're not seeing the results they think they should see in the mirror or on the scale," George says. "People see their most dramatic changes in the last three to five weeks of the program."

The Challenge appeals to so many people because it's a manageable time period. "People can deal with a 12-week goal," he explains. "Once they get through that 12 weeks, they realize they've made a lifestyle change."

The Challenge costs $100; participants can buy a gym membership at The Training Sensation or work out elsewhere.

The gym's "biggest loser" was a man who lost 55 pounds during one challenge and went on to lose another 30 pounds. Some people are now on their fifth or sixth challenge. "It's a pretty overwhelming experience," George says.

Billie Jo Houvener, 44, wouldn't disagree. She's on her fifth challenge at The Training Sensation.

"I got started because I was way overweight, I was depressed because I'd tried all different diets," she says.

When she started the first one in 2004, "I was lucky if I made it for 10 minutes of a cardio session," Houvener says. "Now, I can do an actual aerobic session for an hour. I love working out."

Houvener has lost a total of 68 pounds and about 27 percent body fat. "When I first started, I was wearing size 16 pants. Now I wear a size 5. I love to shop."

She continues to participate in the challenges to improve her body fat and to maintain the fitness level she has worked so hard to attain.

Last fall, Patty Schell's daughter-in-law signed up the two of them for the Body-for-Life fitness challenge at the Jewish Community Center of Albuquerque. "We liked it so well, although we didn't get to do as much as we planned to because I had some back surgery," she says.

Still, she managed to lose 13 pounds, and when her daughter-in- law signed her up again for the program that started in February, Schell was glad. Even while recovering from sinus surgery, the 60- year-old grandmother says she's enjoying the program.

Body-for-Life is touted as a 12-week path to mental and physical strength. Creator Bill Phillips advocates eating balanced, high- nutrient meals frequently throughout the day, combined with three days of weight training and three alternating days of cardio workouts each week.

JCC participants get seven sessions with one of the center's personal trainers during the 12 weeks, plus educational and motivational sessions a couple of times a month.

Even though the Body-for-Life book and materials are full of photos of buff bodies of people who have completed the program, Schell says she didn't feel intimidated.

"The people at JCC are actually very laid back," she says. "They're very helpful; they really make you feel comfortable and not like a dummy that you haven't been there before."

Schell says she wanted to improve her balance and strength post- surgery, and she credits her personal trainer with helping her to accomplish those goals.

Some 160 people are participating in the Body-for-Life programs at the JCC, says Jeremiah Karl, director of fitness, health and wellness. Boomers make up 65 percent to 70 percent of the participants.

The JCC has run the program three times a year in the past, but will probably offer it at least five times this year because it's so popular, he says.

Spring training

All five locations of New Mexico Sports and Wellness will launch a new Total Body Challenge this spring, says Jon Pier, personal training and fitness director at the Del Norte club.

"I would say 90 percent of people who join say their goal is weight loss, but if you get deeper into that, they just want to feel better and feel good about what their body looks like," Pier says.

The competition aspect also appeals to many boomers, he adds. "They say, 'I can actually be really successful in this.' You just have to get a fire lit under them. A lot of them think, 'I can pretty much do anything for 12 weeks.' I think everyone has a little bit of the competitive spirit."

It doesn't hurt that participants can win prizes.

The program will wrap up with a catered banquet and awards ceremony.

While it's easy to get caught up in the numbers game -- the pounds, inches and body fat lost -- converting to a healthier lifestyle is the ultimate goal, program participants say.

For Wylie, her greatest victory will be an emotional one. "My goal is to finish and have my kids watch me make a commitment and follow through."

Freelance writer Patricia Gabbett

Snow is participating in her first

Body-for-Life Challenge at the JCC.

Source: Albuquerque Journal

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