FITNESS CHALLENGE
On Saturday, Lee Haney will kick off his Ultimate Sports and Fitness Challenge. Available for ages 8 and up, Haney has put together many fitness events and competitions for anyone or any team willing to take on these challenges. From the Iron Teen competition to the Ultimate Agility Challenge, these events are set to test your stamina, strength and resilience.
Haney created this challenge to bring Georgia community fitness enthusiasts of all ages together. It is never too early or too late to start a healthy regimen.
Haney's Ultimate Sports and Fitness Challenge takes place 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at Sandy Creek High School, 360 Jenkins Road, Tyrone. General admission is free, athlete registration begins at $25. Team and group rates are available. www.leehaney.com/fitnesschallenge.
Events
Kids Challenge (ages 8-12), free
Teen Challenge JV (ages 13-15), $25; $120 group
Teen Challenge Varsity (ages 16-18), $25; $120 group
Iron Teen (ages 13-18), $25
5K Obstacle Run (Adults 18+), $25
Endurance Challenge (Adults 18+), $25
Agility Challenge (Adults 18+), $25
Strength Challenge (Adults 18+), $25
Endurance, Agility and Strength challenge package, $65
Being healthy doesn’t stop when you’re 50. It can be the beginning.
It has been 23 years since Lee Haney competed in his last bodybuilding competition. That final championship in 1991, Haney took home his eighth title as Mr. Olympia, breaking Arnold Schwarzenegger’s record of seven Mr. Olympia wins.
Now, at age 54, Haney says he’s never felt better and shares his key to the fountain of youth through his new workout plan geared specifically to men and women who are 50 and older.
“I feel good all the time,” said Haney, who was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in March and was given the award by Schwarzenegger. “Now it’s time to take what I’ve learned and what I’ve done and share it with others.”
Based in Fayetteville, Haney’s fitness program focuses on age management. He calls it functional training because every exercise is based on functional movements used in day-to-day life. From side squats to lunges, Haney’s program helps participants master daily tasks of picking up and reaching by doing exercises standing on the feet.
“I see so many exercise programs on television (where) it’s a bit overwhelming. We can’t jump up and down the way you see people do on these programs. It can be detrimental,” Haney said.
His functional training system is designed to strengthen your core, balance and flexibility without stepping foot onto an exercise machine. Haney believes these machines hinder more than help, encouraging the user to sit down on a bike during spin class and being limited to walking and running with treadmills and elliptical systems.
“The last thing you need to do at this age is sit because your stabilization and balance is lost. You have to make sure it’s a program given to train the whole person,” Haney said.
At the basketball court of New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Haney trains a group of 50-and-older individuals with his age management program each week.
“Now that I’m in my 50s, I know how it feels and I know how to give fitness in every different area. This group has been way underserved,” Haney said.
The training session on a recent day consisted of a majority of women. These ladies worked hard and encouraged one another to keep pushing throughout the 40-minute class. No machines were used — it was just bodies stretching and reaching. Hand weight balls were used as the women got into pairs to squat, toss and catch the weights.
“I am happy with the fact we got through it. You don’t realize how much you’re doing until you’re finished,” said Libby Baker, 57, who attends Haney’s functional training session every week.
The training allows each person to go at his or her own pace.
“He makes it tough but he’s kind and gracious, so if we’re doing it wrong where it could injure us, he helps us so nobody gets hurt,” said Donna Conrad, 53.
Haney’s age management training can help those under 50, too. At the time of the class, Keisha Sykes, 41, was on her second week of the program and had already lost 6 pounds. It also helped her deal with her longtime insomnia.
“I’ve lost a pant size and I have more energy. I leave here wondering what am I going to do next? I sleep through every single night, which I have not done in 13 years,” Sykes said.
Haney, along with two personal trainers who are undergoing Haney’s international association of fitness sciences certification program, kept a watchful eye on the class.
His IAFS certification program, geared to corporations and churches, certifies in functional training and age management. Once certified, these “ministers of fitness” construct a cost-effective fitness program for churches or corporations where there may not be a gym or a trainer.
“50 years old is the best time. You can play with your grandkids, and you can do whatever, because of having done the right thing to manage your age,” he said.
