thedrifter
07-22-09, 03:34 PM
Shape Up: Ex-Marine rebuilding his body with trainer
Eddie Albert makes progress with aid of no-nonsense trainer.
By Jeremy Cox
Story updated at 11:46 AM on Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2009
One of the major themes of Eddie Albert's life story is survival. He has been involved in three helicopter crashes, three motorcycle accidents, a car rollover and a war in the Middle East and lived to tell the tale.
Add this to his accomplishments: training with Tim Burrows, the wellness director at the Brooks Family YMCA on the Southside.
Burrows is a taskmaster, no-nonsense. He leads the Shape Up Jacksonville participant through a vigorous strength-training workout twice a week that is designed to build muscle as well as raise his heart rate. That is essential because the former Marine's war-torn knees prevent him from doing traditional cardiovascular-friendly workouts, like running on a treadmill.
The result: The father of four has shed nearly 10 pounds of fat during the last 13 weeks. His overall weight loss, though, stands at 4 pounds because of the extra muscle all those reps have added, mostly around his arms and abdomen.
As his waist has shrunk, Albert has begun to look differently on the pink slip he received last January. The Southside man used to work as many as 100 hours a week as the vice president for global technology for Merrill Lynch, one of many financial institutions hit hard by the recession.
The layoff freed him up to do things to improve his health, he said. One of them was to apply for Shape Up, Jacksonville, a fitness program sponsored by the Times-Union and the YMCA of the First Coast. Albert was among five Northeast Florida residents selected in March from among hundreds of applicants to get fitness and nutrition help from YMCA staff.
"It may have saved my life," he said of his job loss.
Albert works out at the Brooks Family facility five times a week, including two times with the guidance of the man he calls the "fitness overlord."
Tim Burrows doesn't mind the nickname. He is impressed with Albert's zeal for working out and his progress. "For him," Burrows said, "I couldn't be happier. He's decreasing body fat while increasing lean tissue."
Both trainer and trainee have learned to work with what Albert's body will allow. America's first war in Iraq left Albert with creaky knees. So, instead of running, he swims laps.
As he continues to lose weight, Albert may be able to incorporate higher-impact workouts like yoga and running, Burrows said.
Outside the gym, life has changed, too. His diet once consisted of two large meals a day that were heavy on breads and pasta.
Now, he eats six small meals, each no larger than the palm of his hand, usually full of protein.
Albert acknowledges that he has a long way to go before he reaches his goals of trimming down to 195 pounds and being able to run like he used to in the Marines. But he knows he has come a long way so far.
"I feel a lot better than I did," he said. "I was incredibly apprehensive about what I could do. The walk from the parking lot took my breath away. But that's gone now."
jeremy.cox@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4083
Ellie
Eddie Albert makes progress with aid of no-nonsense trainer.
By Jeremy Cox
Story updated at 11:46 AM on Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2009
One of the major themes of Eddie Albert's life story is survival. He has been involved in three helicopter crashes, three motorcycle accidents, a car rollover and a war in the Middle East and lived to tell the tale.
Add this to his accomplishments: training with Tim Burrows, the wellness director at the Brooks Family YMCA on the Southside.
Burrows is a taskmaster, no-nonsense. He leads the Shape Up Jacksonville participant through a vigorous strength-training workout twice a week that is designed to build muscle as well as raise his heart rate. That is essential because the former Marine's war-torn knees prevent him from doing traditional cardiovascular-friendly workouts, like running on a treadmill.
The result: The father of four has shed nearly 10 pounds of fat during the last 13 weeks. His overall weight loss, though, stands at 4 pounds because of the extra muscle all those reps have added, mostly around his arms and abdomen.
As his waist has shrunk, Albert has begun to look differently on the pink slip he received last January. The Southside man used to work as many as 100 hours a week as the vice president for global technology for Merrill Lynch, one of many financial institutions hit hard by the recession.
The layoff freed him up to do things to improve his health, he said. One of them was to apply for Shape Up, Jacksonville, a fitness program sponsored by the Times-Union and the YMCA of the First Coast. Albert was among five Northeast Florida residents selected in March from among hundreds of applicants to get fitness and nutrition help from YMCA staff.
"It may have saved my life," he said of his job loss.
Albert works out at the Brooks Family facility five times a week, including two times with the guidance of the man he calls the "fitness overlord."
Tim Burrows doesn't mind the nickname. He is impressed with Albert's zeal for working out and his progress. "For him," Burrows said, "I couldn't be happier. He's decreasing body fat while increasing lean tissue."
Both trainer and trainee have learned to work with what Albert's body will allow. America's first war in Iraq left Albert with creaky knees. So, instead of running, he swims laps.
As he continues to lose weight, Albert may be able to incorporate higher-impact workouts like yoga and running, Burrows said.
Outside the gym, life has changed, too. His diet once consisted of two large meals a day that were heavy on breads and pasta.
Now, he eats six small meals, each no larger than the palm of his hand, usually full of protein.
Albert acknowledges that he has a long way to go before he reaches his goals of trimming down to 195 pounds and being able to run like he used to in the Marines. But he knows he has come a long way so far.
"I feel a lot better than I did," he said. "I was incredibly apprehensive about what I could do. The walk from the parking lot took my breath away. But that's gone now."
jeremy.cox@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4083
Ellie