Introducing our team of all-star trainers and an integrative nutritionist!
After hearing about the United World Challenge at the Deloitte Well-being Fair in October, the Colorado Athletic Club Union Station decided to offer me 3 free personal training sessions each week with 2 of their best trainers.
I’m now working with Karen Kish, a strength and endurance specialist, and Bobby Sager, an injury prevention specialist with a Master’s Degree in athletic training. Karen and Bobby bring unique perspectives to the team and work hand-in-hand with Philipe Setton, my physical therapist and personal trainer from the Boulder Colorado Athletic Club who’s been donating his time to help me train since March 2019.
Thanks to their support, my back injury that kept me from rowing earlier this year is almost 100% better (it’s been 3 weeks since it last hurt), and we’re systematically targeting each of my muscle imbalances and weaknesses and building me up piece by piece.
I am so grateful to be working with these 3 amazing trainers, who not only help me get prepared physically, but laugh with me as I make a fool of myself. I couldn’t imagine having a better team.
And that’s not all. Luke J. Terry of the Mandala Center in Boulder is an integrative nutritionist who’s helping me manage my diet. Ocean rowers can lose up to 20% of their body weight during a crossing, so leaving shore with muscle for power and fat for fuel is essential.
After months of attempting and failing to gain weight – plus experiencing debilitating swings in my energy and focus from day to day – I realized I was in over my head and simply not managing my diet well enough. And as an ultrarunner, I was used to keeping a lean body and powering myself from my reserves rather than storing new fat, so this was a new challenge and not one I was winning.
Just two weeks after telling the universe I needed help, I met Luke at a Wim Hoff breathwork event led by renaissance man Pavel Stuchlik in Golden, Colorado. Luke kindly agreed to donate his time to help me solve my nutrition challenge.
With Luke’s help I’ve begun tracking every calorie in my diet, targeting my intake to meet energy and macro targets (4000 calories per day, with 40% fat, 30% protein and 30% carbs). I’ve put on two pounds already and am feeling more balanced, fueled, and energized every day.
Philipe, Bobby, Karen and Luke – I appreciate you and everything you’re giving to me and the United World Challenge. I could not do this without you! Thank you so much.
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Philipe Setton is a former professional football/soccer player in Brazil and has close to 20 years experience competing and training across the globe. I can’t give him enough credit for helping me solve my back injury. When we began working together in March, I couldn’t row for more than 5 minutes without getting crippled with lower back pain. Today, I row pain free.
Bobby Sager has a Master’s in training and specializes in injury prevention and Posture Respiratory Institute therapy. And after just 3 sessions together, it’s clear he isn’t afraid to make me hurt. Don’t let Bobby’s sweet smile fool you – he takes no prisoners.
Karen Kish is a self-taught weight trainer who turned her life around through health and fitness. She’s certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine and is doing everything she can to make sure I lift weights properly (not like below…). Her amused yet fraught face says it all: we have work to do.
