June Fusion Athlete: Marc Sturdivant

We’re pleased to announce our first June Fusion Athlete, Marc Sturdivant! You may have seen Marc compete in this month’s AFM FITTEST competition, where he knocked out an insane amount of burpees in only a minute’s time. Well, Marc eats

burpees for breakfast, but he worked incredibly hard to get to this point. This is precisely why we voted Marc to be one of this month’s Fusion Athletes. Take a second to get to know Marc. Marc, you’re regular at our free Pease Park bootcamp held every first and third Sunday. How did you initially hear about our Free Community Boot Camp? I first heard about the free boot camps from my cousin, Terryl, when they were held at Whole Foods. We had just signed up for our first Tough Mudder and we were looking for a way to get into better shape. What was it about the people, the workouts, and overall experience at Community Boot Camp made you want to venture down the road to the Shop? I went to my first boot camp and promptly had my butt handed to me (I wasn’t as in shape as I thought I was). [Regardless I] fell in love with it. Everyone was friendly and encouraging, the workouts were fun and challenging, and then we would go to brunch afterward, which sometimes turned into epic Sunday Fundays (I’ve got some good stories if you ask me). I thought to myself, “If the boot camps are this much fun, I bet the Shop is even better.” You often attend the Fusion workouts as well as strength classes. How do you plan your workouts and how many of each type of class you attend each week? I like to workout 5-6 days a week, Mondays (lower body), Fridays (upper body), and Saturdays (total body) are my Fusion days; Tuesdays and Thursdays are my strength days; and, of course, [I workout] Sundays in the park. Wednesday is my rest day. You have a knee injury. How have you been able to work around the injury in classes? I try to get to class a little early to stretch and roll out to loosen up a bit, and I work hard, but take it easy, during class as to not exacerbate the condition. If I feel my knee can’t handle the stress, I ask for alternate exercises. I’ve also found that if I pay attention to proper form and technique, I experience less pain and discomfort. My knee doesn’t bother me as much any more, but you’ll notice that I still have a slight limp, especially when I run. I’m just going to blame old age for that.

Photo by Robin Silberling What goals do you have for yourself? One of my goals is to try and stave off diabetes, which seems to run in my family. I hate taking medication, so I figure exercise will give me a better chance of doing that. Also, even though I eat relatively healthy (and I use the term “healthy” loosely), I tend to eat a lot and partake of Adult beverages (see comment on epic Sunday Fundays). So If I didn’t workout, I would probably be on one of those TV shows where they would have to break down a wall in my house and get me out using a forklift. My main goal though is to just be happy and healthy. I’ve never really told anyone, but a couple of years ago I was diagnosed with depression, so happiness was a rarity. And with that, my health was slowly suffering and since I don’t like taking meds. I needed an outlet to help combat the symptoms. The Shop has seem to help me maintain my goal of not slipping into depression anymore. You have competed in the Tough Mudder and other adventure races. Do you feel the Shop has prepared you for these races? Most definitely! The Fusion and strength classes are a big help. Classes may not be specifically designed for adventure races, but they tend to translate very well. What’s your usual spiel when describing the Shop to your friends? When they ask, I usually tell them about the commercial, the free boot camps, the friends I’ve made, how this is the healthiest I’ve been in the past 15 years, the community gains, and how much fun I’m having doing it all.   To start your Dane’s Body Shop membership, click here!