By Michele Deluca<br><a href="mailto:delucam@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Michele</a>
The cartoon character Popeye relied on his can of spinach to create big muscles, but a trainer in Lewiston is promising that cans of other vegetables can work just as well.
Chris Tybor, a personal trainer from Niagara Fitness, 734 Cayuga St., is providing free personal training sessions to anyone who brings in 10 cans of food for the Niagara Falls Community Missions.
He is offering up to two free half-hour sessions in weight training, fitness program development or nutrition counseling.
The idea came from some successful fundraising he did last March. “I shaved my head for the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser and raised $1,500,” he said. “It was a lot of fun, and I got a great response from my clients.”
“I figured with the holiday season I could benefit two different types of people,” he explained. “I could help those that desire to improve their fitness but don’t necessarily know how, and I could help those at the Community Missions.”
He’s already collected more than 300 cans and dry good products. “I expect to come close to 1,000,” he said.
Tybor is running a six-week nutrition class at the center where students are taught to structure nutrition for optimal performance, keep food journals, read food labels and learn about body composition.
Some participants in the nutrition class have lost between eight to 13 pounds in four weeks just by altering their nutrition and staying with their current fitness routine, he said.
Tybor also offers kettle bell classes, which he says are so friendly that classmates have been known to share vacation homes and condos. The class, which features an instrument that looks like a bowling ball with a handle, also includes meal planning and food shopping information.
Those who want to sample Tybor’s fitness expertise can read his monthly newsletter on his Web site, chrisfit.net. He features free recipes, weight training advice and other health and fitness related information.
To those who just want some simple healthy advice at right this minute, he offered these tips for staying fit during the holiday season: “Try not to fall into the all or nothing trap,” he said. “If you can only make it to the gym one or two times, that’s better than none,” he said.
Also, for dessert eaters, he had these words: “Use portion control. You don’t have to have five or six servings of pie. You can have just one serving and still be OK.”
