Jack Nunn is the head trainer and owner of Roworx. Jack is a former national team rower who has competed in more than 100 triathlons, including 9 full Ironmans. He has created a system of rowing that prepares the whole body for both competition and fitness longevity.
Karla Burgess’ experience training for a triathlon was life-changing. I am so proud of her accomplishments and her commitment to fitness. In my previous job as a trainer in the South Bay near Hermosa Beach I had the joy of coaching and training Karla in her triathlon. I held her accountable and she was very responsive and dedicated as she began seeing results quickly. It drove her to become very motivated. She is a true inspiration to everyone out there looking for an amazing workout.
On the Inside Looking Out: How to Use Indoor Cycling to Become a Better Outdoor Cyclist
Published in City Sports Washington and City Sports Florida, March, 2000, then later in City Sports and Competitor California.
I can totally relate to this article from my own training when I completed my first Ironman in Nice, France in 2008 and my second Ironman in Florianopolis, Brazil in 2009. Approximately 90% of my cycling training was on the Spinning bike! Also, while training at Cal Berkeley on the Men’s Varsity Crew Team a group of us took up cycling as a perfect way to cross-train for rowing.
Jake Wetzel, my former teammate at Berkeley, was recruited to row from the Canadian National Cycling Team and several years later ended up winning several Olympic Medals in rowing, Silver Medal in 2004 Athens, and a Gold Medal in 2008 Beijing. He explained to all of us that throughout his childhood and training as a cyclist, it was a direct cross-over to rowing. This was a testament that cycling does in fact contribute to the leg power that you use when rowing. Cycling along with Rowing is yet another low-impact sport that you can do your whole life.-Jack Nunn
Three-time Olympic rower, Miroslav Vrastil of the Czech Republic has taken his love of competing to a new level. Vrastil, 58, plans to break a world record by completing 22 Ironman triathlons in one year and the father of five has already begun. Vrastil started rowing when he was 12 years old in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia. For 18 years he competed in rowing while representing his country up to the age of 35. After competing at three Olympic Games (1972, 1976 and 1980), Vrastil was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his leg.“I was not sure if the doctor was telling me or somebody else,” says Vrastil. “I could not believe it and my hands started shaking. I was only 30. Their final diagnosis was a necessary amputation of my right leg. I made my decision of not having my leg amputated even if that meant living for three months only or less.”Vrastil received no cancer treatment, opting just for surgery to remove the tumour. He estimates he stepped back from training for just six months.” I was not doing sport actively during this six-month period – my knee was out of function and I was trying hard to make it move with the help of my father no matter how painful it was. It went very slowly but it went. The tumour was still growing but it stopped after three months from the operation. I started to train again slowly in a rowing swimming pool with the help of my colleague Pavel Konvicka in the spring of 1982.” That year Vrastil rowed at the world championships finishing fourth in the men’s four. After retiring from competitive rowing, Vrastil remained involved in the sport as a professional coach. He continued this for five years but with the political change and his country becoming the Czech Republic, Vrastil stopped coaching to become a school teacher. Even when two of his children started to row, Vrastil did not come back to the sport. Then triathlon entered Vrastil’s life. After a 10-year period of doing very little physically, Vrastil was persuaded to try triathlon. His first race, a duathlon, is memorable in his finish.”The result was horrible for me, in fact I was nearly the last out of 130 competitors of all age groups. It was there (in 1988) that I decided to change it and go for it with all that it takes,” says Vrastil.”My rowing experience and sports experience in general have helped me in life. To strive, to compete, and not to give up, and that reflects in triathlons too,”says Vastil.Then along came the idea to beat the world record of doing 20 Ironman races in a year. Vrastil has set a target of 22 races and his list includes races around the globe. An Ironman consists of a 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and a 42.2km run and to reach the target of 22 Vrastil will be doing two, sometimes three, in a month.
Dr. Mitra Ray, PhD, Stanford University, Bio-Chemist: talks about Exercise Induced Oxidative Stress, Exercise and Diet.
Typically, when a person decides that they are ready to take their health seriously, one of the first things they’re taught is to begin to exercise. There’s all sorts of logic to this, as the benefits of exercise are dramatic, however it’s actually NOT the first thing a person should do when they set out to get healthy. For many people (including myself) adding exercise to their lives is easier than dramatically changing the way they eat. And we have been taught that if you exercise enough, you can eat just about anything to stay healthy. If you exercise enough, you may be able to keep the scale weight stable, but again that’s NOT necessarily ‘healthy.’ In fact you may become unhealthier in certain ways if you exercise vigorously but don’t eat the right food.
Guess What?? We are going to be unique this year and offer class at 9:30AM at the Warehouse (1347 Loma Ave, L.B.) on Thanksgiving Day in order to kick off the 2010 Holiday Challenge. Jack Nunn will be leading class and making sure that can maximize your Thanksgiving Day.
Be sure to join in the fun on the Holiday Challenge and log your meters online at www.Concept2.com under team affiliation Powerhouse Fitness . It’s FREE..It’s FUN.. It’s VERY MOTIVATING and..It’s for CHARITY!!!
Support a Good Cause with Your Meters!
As in the past two years, we have selected several charities to choose from for those who wish to allocate their meters to a good cause. This year, the theme is water—protection of this resource for both health and conservation.
This past Friday November 19th, I was sitting down at the Potholder restaurant getting breakfast and picked up the local Long Beach Press Telegram Sports Page. As I opened to the first page I found a little article about a family friend of ours, Louie Zamperini. I have met Louie at numerous U.S. Olympic reunions that my father John Nunn would invite me to as a kid. As I grew older I would have the pleasure of hearing more and more about Louie’s life-inspiring story. A story for the ages, one that will sure keep with me for the rest of my life. As we all approach Thanksgiving and the Holidays I just wanted to share this truly amazing story.
By the way.. I did give Louie a few rowing lessons 🙂
The Press Telegram had this to say about Louie Zamperini and the new book that was written about him by Laura Hillenbrand. You can find Louie’s other book ‘Devil at My Heels: A WW II Hero’s Epic Saga of Torment, Survival, and Forgiveness’ in book stores as well.
Each month owner, Jack Nunn welcomes everyone (members and non-members) to Roworx Rowing Warehouse For a FREE One Hour Seminar on Health, Nutrition, and Fitness. This month’s seminar on Women’s Health is Thursday November 4, 2010.
Whether you are a woman or a man join us for a very informative session with a video presentation featuring Dr. Delia Garcia, Radiation Oncologist discussing The Role of Nutrition in Reducing the Risk of Cancer and Other Degenerative Diseases.
Some Facts you may not know:
Breast cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death for women.
215,900 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in 2004, and 40,589 women will die of breast cancer this year – 1 every 13 minutes.
A new breast cancer diagnosis is made every 2.4 minutes. Even men can be afflicted. You can reduce your risk of disease by 50% or more through a healthy lifestyle and the food that you eat!
If you take Roworx Rowing Classes at 6:30pm with Jack Nunn at the Boathouse (5750 Boathouse Lane, Marine Stadium) you have probably had the pleasure in meeting Angela Madsen or watching her go by as I tell class her amazing story. She is a true inspiration of the will to live life without limits!!! If you have not had the pleasure of hearing her story… here it is:
Angela Madsen of Long Beach became part of the first all-female team to row around Great Britain nonstop and unaided on July 23, 2010.
Fifteen years ago, Madsen, 50, could not imagine completing such a feat. After sustaining a back injury in the Marines, she underwent a surgery that did not go as expected. During the operation, her spinal cord was punctured.
This camp was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to meet the best of the best in the sport of rowing, especially in the singles event. The singles event is known in the world of rowing to be the toughest of all rowing events and respected by other sports as being one of the hardest things to master. To be the best in the world in the single is like being Superman in my eyes. There are 8 Parts to this Blog simply because each one of these athletes has had such a tremendous impact on the world of rowing and beyond. I want to share my experience with each of these great rowers. Part 2
Rob Waddell
Robert (“Rob”) Norman Waddell, ONZM, (born January 7, 1975 in Te Kuiti) is a New Zealand rower, yachtsman and rugby union player. Waddell has one of the highest VO2 MAX (oxygen lung capacity intake) levels of any athlete ever tested…even higher than Lance Armstrong! Standing almost 7 feet tall he holds the fastest 2000 meter indoor rowing machine time in the world, clocking a time of 5mins 36.6secs (5:36.6). For those of you who use Watts as a measure of power in class… imagine trying to hold over 700 Watts for almost 6mins. And if you are using Split times..imagine holding a 1:24 Split time to get a score like Waddell’s. Last year Waddell also broke the record for the 5,000 meter test clocking a ridiculous time of 14:48 becoming the first person ever to break the 15min mark for 5,000 meters. Imagine trying to hold close to 600 Watts for 15min straight or a 1:29 Split time in order to break the record.
2000 meters are universally considered the grueling standard for indoor races. To further grasp the magnitude of Waddell’s accomplished visit theConcept2 website and take a look at some of the world wide fastest 2000 meters times achieved on the Concept2. You’ll notice these times are listed by gender and age.
To give you an idea of how crazy this story seems imagine doing a Full Distance Ironman while undergoing treatment for stage 4 cancer. I read Lance Armstrong‘s book in college “It’s Not About The Bike: My Journey Back To Life,” as Lance talks about his fight to survive Brain, Lung, and Testicular cancer from a hospital bed. Clayton Treska meanwhile is fighting cancer during chemo treatments by competing in an Ironman!!! I myself have completed 2 Ironman’s. One in Nice, France in 2008 and the other in Florianopolis, Brazil in 2009 and I remember crying in pain and filled with emotion while just trying to finish both races.
While reading Clayton’s story yesterday in the paper I had a whole new appreciation for life! Thoughts of my Ironman experience came full circle as tears came from my eyes once again. Clayton is fighting for his life, a true hero, and someone we should all look up to!
Each month owner, Jack Nunn welcomes everyone (members and non-members) to Roworx Rowing Warehouse For a FREE One Hour Seminar on Health, Nutrition, and Fitness. This month’s seminar on Women’s Health is Thursday November 4, 2010.
