Beijing Olympics silver medal champion Tim Morehouse
Beijing Olympics silver medal champion Tim Morehouse began his fencing career in middle school. "I was the last person anyone expected to see in Athens in 2004 because I’m not a natural athlete, I don’t fence by the book, and I had no financial backing as I traveled around the world attempting to qualify for the Olympic team," recalls Tim. He eventually became an alternate.
After last year, however, when he "traveled to Beijing as part of the Men’s Fencing Team" and won a silver medal as part of his team, Tim is a sports star.
A year later, Tim continues to train four to six hours daily. His goal: "maintain a top ranking as I pursue my next Big Goal: a Gold in 2012.
A New York resident, Tim spends most of his time "either training with the Manhattan Fencing Center or traveling to compete in fencing competitions across the globe. In my spare time, I enthusiastically promote fencing by blogging, tweeting, and speaking to corporate audiences, schoolchildren, and anyone who has an interest in the sport I love."
What helped him to succeed in his fitness goals was developing "strong habits that helped me to continue to improve each year. As a fencer, you need to be strong, but also light and explosive. That means my diet has to help me maintain and build muscle while also keeping my body fat low so I can move quick and dynamically."
Whether you are aiming for the Olympics, planning a red carpet event, or want to lose weight to look like your favorite celebrity, "planning is the key to a successful diet," says Tim.
Every day, he seeks to "include healthy elements: I know I’m going to eat a breakfast that includes oatmeal, fruit, and a protein shake. Throughout the day I plan for snacks so that I’m not forced to eat whatever is around. Nuts, fruit salads, and soups are my favorite daytime snacks. My regular diet includes grilled chicken, salads with a mixture of meats, nuts, and vegetables."
In addition to taking care with what you eat, Tim emphasizes that what you put on your don't eat list is just as important. "What you avoid eating is as important as what you eat. A lot of the “health” bars sold over-the-counter contain really high levels of sugar that can be detrimental to a good diet. Eating late at night is also something I try to avoid doing. I do eat ice cream and my favorite is chocolate chip cookies, but everything in moderation!"
Currently, Tim trains 4-6 hours a day, 5 days a week. In addition to fencing, he does Pilates three days a week, stretches, and does "all kinds of dynamic exercises: a lot of plyometrics, exercises with ladders, jumping, lunges, resistance bands, and all weight training that involves different sequences of motions."
Tim cares about the health of the nation's children and seeks to help them through his fitness experience and knowledge. "As an Olympic Athlete and former teacher with the Teach For America program I saw first-hand the issues our country’s children are having with eating and healthy living. Many of my students drank soda and had candy for breakfast and as their only meals during the day while getting minimal exercise. As National Spokesperson for Kid Fitness (www.kidfitclubtv.com) I’m excited to help tackle this issue in our country."
The Kid Fitness show on PBS has aired in more than 82 million households in the USA, using animal characters performing exercises to encourage children to move. The show delivers messages about healthy living. Kid Fitness also includes "a classroom program reaching 400,000 children in the US providing teachers with resources for fun fitness breaks for children throughout the day to supplement physical education. We’re in states throughout the country and we also do events where I talk to children about the importance that eating well and living healthy has on achieving your dreams."
Comments