As I look back in my athletic career it’s funny sometimes to see what my life would be like without the sport of rowing. It was not hard getting involved in sports when your father is an Olympic medalist. My father, John Nunn, was an Olympic Bronze Medalist in Rowing in 1968 and an Olympic Rowing Coach in 1976. He always told me that I had to be involved in something whether it was work or sports outside of school in order to stay active, more well-rounded, and ‘out of trouble.’ Both of my grandfathers were pro football football players, however my father always leaned towards non-impact sports because he valued the thought of mobility at an older age. However, I did grow up playing Ice Hockey, Soccer, Baseball, Tennis, and skiing during every christmas which all involve some sort of impact on the joints. My rowing career started relatively late compared with most other elite rowers. As a junior in high school at the age of 16 I came home one day from winter break out of Mary Star H.S. in San Pedro and told my father that I was not having fun playing soccer or baseball and wanted to quit. My father was sitting in the kitchen when I told him this and was fine with the decision however he said “You have to either find a job or something else that I wanted to do for a sport or activity.” I asked him about the junior rowing program in Long Beach and he literally jumped out of the chair he was sitting in and said he would make the necessary call to the coaches to get me started and the rest is history. It was the most excited I had ever seen my father get about something that I was interested in. The Concept 2 rowing machine was a huge catalyst for my rowing career and showed college coaches that I was in good shape and had great muscle endurance and mental concentration for a non-experienced rower. Within 16 months I was recruited to participate in the Junior National Rowing Team Selection Camp in 1997. I got cut within 2 weeks of the camp but came home to get in some good training and went on my way to go undefeated throughout my 1st year on UC Berkeley’s 1st Undefeated National Championship Season in 100 years in 1998. I rowed alongside teammates and future Olympians Jake Wetzel, Nito Simonsen, and Luke Walton. Then I repeated another Undefeated Season in 1999 only to lose in the finals and come 2nd to Cambridge University at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley, England. Rowing has gotten me into and through college at Berkeley, to England, Austria, Japan, Canada, Australia, Germany, and all over the U.S.- all kinds of opportunities! I feel like I owe the sport of rowing something back and that is why I am soon opening (December 2012) up a fitness package training deal with Roworx for all levels of athletic ability. It will be called the ‘Roworx Effect Program’ and will feature all the classes that Roworx has to offer plus more… A detailed nutrition transformation with whole food based diet plans (This plant-based food diet is included with this program) and unlimited personal coaching through emails and phone conversations via Jack Nunn! If you are a high-school student this also applies to you as well however with the benefits of my father and I reaching out to college coaches for you and establishing contact with those coaches for better chances of college recruitment. Since I have rowed with many current college coaches and have been personally coached by 5 of the 12 best U.S. college coaches in the history of rowing in North America according to Rowing News Magazine I would be able to have an extreme edge while being able to communicate with most of the coaches from around the country. I guarantee If I don’t know them my father will! 🙂
Roworx will be offering anaerobic style workouts every week in order to challenge everyone and mix up the daily rowing workout routine. This style of class offered throughout various Roworx Fitness classes and will give you an effective anaerobic high intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.) fat burning workout.
What do Cameron Diaz, Mathew Macconahey, Madonna, and Ryan Reynolds all have in common? Yes, they are all celebrities and went from ‘fit to fierce’ in a matter of weeks. Some highlights from each one of these stars and advice they give to the general public about taking charge of their nutrition and everyday active lifestyle.
When you begin a new workout routine you always need to remember to pace yourself with the workouts. The most common mistake I see in the fitness world is people coming in to a workout routine at full blast and doing way too much too soon.
There have been more stories on athletes who are making a comeback in sports or just training and succeeding in athletics well into there 40’s and 50’s. Low-Impact sports such as swimming, rowing, and cycling are activities that you can do practically your whole life.
In 2009 on the way to Florianopolis, Brazil my flight was cancelled because of a broken windshield on the runway at LAX 3 days before my Ironman race was set to go. I barely made it to Brazil on time in order to register for my race. The flight to Florianopolis, Brazil was about 20 hours on 3 connecting flights.
I hope all of you are enjoying all your success in accomplishing your goals for 2011. As I look back to the past 3 to 5 years I can’t help but think about a very different journey I had in my completion 2 full Ironman’s.
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.
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.
As I look back in my athletic career it’s funny sometimes to see what my life would be like without the sport of rowing. It was not hard getting involved in sports when your father is an Olympic medalist. My father, John Nunn, was an Olympic Bronze Medalist in Rowing in 1968 and an Olympic Rowing Coach in 1976. He always told me that I had to be involved in something whether it was work or sports outside of school in order to stay active, more well-rounded, and ‘out of trouble.’ Both of my grandfathers were pro football football players, however my father always leaned towards non-impact sports because he valued the thought of mobility at an older age. However, I did grow up playing Ice Hockey, Soccer, Baseball, Tennis, and skiing during every christmas which all involve some sort of impact on the joints. My rowing career started relatively late compared with most other elite rowers. As a junior in high school at the age of 16 I came home one day from winter break out of Mary Star H.S. in San Pedro and told my father that I was not having fun playing soccer or baseball and wanted to quit. My father was sitting in the kitchen when I told him this and was fine with the decision however he said “You have to either find a job or something else that I wanted to do for a sport or 
activity.” I asked him about the junior rowing program in Long Beach and he literally jumped out of the chair he was sitting in and said he would make the necessary call to the coaches to get me started and the rest is history. It was the most excited I had ever seen my father get about something that I was interested in. The Concept 2 rowing machine was a huge catalyst for my rowing career and showed college coaches that I was in good shape and had great muscle endurance and mental concentration for a non-experienced rower. Within 16 months I was recruited to participate in the Junior National Rowing Team Selection Camp in 1997. I got cut within 2 weeks of the camp but came home to get in some good training and went on my way to go undefeated throughout my 1st year on UC Berkeley’s 1st Undefeated National Championship Season in 100 years in 1998. I rowed alongside teammates and future Olympians Jake Wetzel, Nito Simonsen, and Luke Walton. Then I repeated another Undefeated Season in 1999 only to lose in the finals and come 2nd to Cambridge University at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley, England. Rowing has gotten me into and through college at Berkeley, to England, Austria, Japan, Canada, Australia, Germany, and all over the U.S.- all kinds of opportunities! I feel like I owe the sport of rowing something back and that is why I am soon opening (December 2012) up a fitness package training deal with Roworx for all levels of athletic ability. It will be called the ‘Roworx Effect Program’ and will feature all the classes that Roworx has to offer plus more… A detailed nutrition transformation with whole food based diet plans (This plant-based food diet is included with this program) and unlimited personal coaching through emails and phone conversations via Jack Nunn! If you are a high-school student this also applies to you as well however with the benefits of my father and I reaching out to college coaches for you and establishing contact with those coaches for better chances of college recruitment. Since I have rowed with many current college coaches and have been personally coached by 5 of the 12 best U.S. college coaches in the history of rowing in North America according to Rowing News Magazine I would be able to have an extreme edge while being able to communicate with most of the coaches from around the country. I guarantee If I don’t know them my father will! 🙂
