Posted on: Monday, May 2, 2005
FITNESS PROFILE
Contest provides kick-start for health
By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer
Fitness pays. For most people, it simply pays in the way they look and feel, and that's enough. However for student Jonathan Weigand of Hawai'i Kai, it also paid in big bucks. As a winner in the 12-week 2004 Body-for-Life Challenge, Weigand won $25,000. How? He lost 62 pounds and 15 percent of his body fat. He whittled his 41-inch waist down to 31 inches. And he learned a new approach to food as fuel.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser Name: Jonathan (J-J) Weigand Age: 23. Profession: Student majoring in exercise science, aspiring personal trainer and body builder. Height: 5-feet-8. Weight: Off season: 190 to 200 In season/contest: 165 to 175. Workout habits: "When I am in training for a contest, I train six days a week, alternating between three and six weight workouts. I do cardio four to six times a week and work my abs as many as 10 times a week. My favorite gym cardio exercise is the elliptical rider. I find it the easiest to do and it burns the most calories — my record is 447 calories in 20 minutes. I also do the stepmill (the one that looks like an escalator), the exercise bike and I jump rope. "My favorite outside exercise is running 'goalposts' on a football field, a mixture of striding and sprinting 120 yards from goalpost to goalpost. I also do different kinds of sprints on basketball courts and football fields, and enjoy playing basketball with my friends. ... This workout program is extreme, and I am doing it because I want to be a competitive body builder."
When and why I started working out: "I have played sports competitively since I was 7 years old. Exercise had always been a big part of my life until February 2003, when I was diagnosed with mononucleosis. I was ill for almost a year, and during that time I gained a lot of weight. I was unable to exercise and really missed it. I never felt worse physically. My physical fitness and a large part of my identity were gone. "I was studying to be a personal trainer, but had to drop out of school. I was unable to find a job and was running out of money. I decided to try to kill two birds with one stone by entering the Body for Life Challenge .... I knew that winning this challenge could reopen some doors that had closed for me as a result of my illness."
My bad/good foods: "Oh, man, I love junk food! I was raised on fast food. I love pizza and Taco Bell and Rainbows and frozen yogurt, hot dogs and pizza from Costco. I also love candy. "My good foods, the foods I eat when I'm training, are not quite as tasty. I eat oatmeal for breakfast, an EAS protein drink or protein bar three times a day, spaghetti for lunch, two apples, pears or peaches as a snack, and two cans of tuna for dinner. It can be difficult to adjust to a new diet, but you will feel better if you eat a balanced diet of nutritious foods. I would never go back to living on junk food again! The Body for Life program advocates eating five to six small meals a day. This keeps the metabolism going and reduces hunger and the temptation to overeat."
My biggest motivator: "I know it sounds shallow, but my biggest motivator is the money. I accepted the Body-for-Life Challenge because I needed money, and I wish to continue on as a personal trainer and a bodybuilder because I feel I can make good money doing this. My biggest inspiration: "My mother. She is my hero and my best friend. When I was 2 and my sister was 4 months old, our father died, and my mom was left with two small children and a home to care for. She worked hard every single day and sacrificed much of her life to raise us right. I owe it to my mother to be successful and to grow into a man she can be proud of." My biggest roadblock to fitness: "My own body — just being able to stay healthy and injury-free. Any lack of fitness throughout my life has been because I was injured or ill." What saves my sanity: "The wonderful friends I have here in Hawai'i who are like family to me, as well as my family and friends in Illinois." My next challenge: "I am looking to compete in the Illinois State Natural Bodybuilding Championships on July 23. It will be a great opportunity to show the people from my hometown area what I am doing." Advice: "No matter what you are going to do, you have to make the commitment on the inside first. When I entered the Body-for-Life Challenge, I was tired of being out of shape, out of money, tired of being ignored in the job market, and I was not going to accept that any more. You don't have to accept the things that you don't like in life. Do something about them. Change them. Don't just sit around and wish things were different or fantasize about the way things ought to be. That never got anybody anywhere. Have a goal, plan it out, make the commitment to yourself and don't give up until that goal is realized."
The 2005 Body-for-Life Challenge is open to anyone who begins the challenge by July 4. In honor of the program's 10th anniversary, the winner will receive $1 million. To enter, log on to www.bodyforlife.com and download the starter guide. It involves alternating weight and cardio workouts six days a week and eating five small, nutritious meals a day. On the seventh day, anything goes.
Jon Weigand describes his exercise regime as intense, but it's helped him lose weight and focus on his goal of becoming a personal trainer.
