Posted on: Monday, January 31, 2005
FITNESS PROFILE
Measuring up to the Merrie Monarch
By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer
Kauila Casison is a nurse by vocation and a hula dancer by avocation. Nursing is a physically demanding career, often requiring heavy lifting and long hours on the feet. In addition, it takes a fit person to dance hula at the highest levels of achievement, such as the Merrie Monarch festival. Although he has danced with Johnny Lum Ho's halau for 11 years, it wasn't until 2003 that Casison made his commitment to fitness. As he prepares himself for the 2005 Merrie Monarch performances, Casison is hitting the beach volleyball courts, the ocean and the weight room.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser Neighborhood: Waipahu Profession: Nurse, Straub Hospital Weight: 156 pounds (target weight 150); he's 5 feet 7. Workout habits: He works out with weights at a fitness gym three times/week; plays volleyball weekly; bodyboards once or twice a week. When and why I started working out: "I've been working out continuously since 2003. I began because I lacked energy, lived a sedentary lifestyle and started gaining weight." My good foods: Salads, fish, beef, chicken, foods high in protein. My bad foods: Fast foods (combo meals with fries), pastries, and chocolate-chip mint ice cream with marshmallow topping. My biggest motivator: Seeing all the hard work in the gym and on the court positively affect the way I look and feel. My biggest roadblock to fitness: Getting up and getting started, and being motivated daily. What saves my sanity: Positive thinking, positive attitude, and surrounding myself with people with that same energy. Advice for those in the same boat: Be positive, committed, and consistent.
Name: Gary Kauila Casison, 35
Kauila Casison plays beach volleyball at the Fort DeRussy courts as part of the fitness regimen that prepares him for the Merrie Monarch hula competition and the demands of a hospital nursing job.
