Karl Kaufmann, 59, Gainesville, FL, Owner Kcom Media / Director Sales & Marketing Hilton Ocala
How often do you exercise? Five times per week
Brief description of your workout routine: Combination of routine and mix-it-up: walk the pooch at least one or two miles a day, preferably in the morning, 100 sit-ups every morning and every evening, six days a week (OK, so I miss one), 25 push-ups using rotating floor grips every morning and evening and Gainesville Health and Fitness Center (GHFC) every M-T-W-Th-Sun and sometimes Friday and Saturday. There I do:
o Elliptical every visit for 30 min (varied program each day)
o Treadmill for additional 20-30 minutes (while reading a book)
o Mixed dumbbells in free weight area for upper body
o The “line” two days a week
o Core machines three days a week mixed with other machines downstairs. Focus is on average weights and mix-up number lifts per rep and number of reps each day
Brief description of your eating habits: VERY LOW sodium diet. Very high in protein and vegetables.
Every morning: Four to six ounces of plain old-fashioned oatmeal and one egg and banana (or pineapple and melon). One cup of coffee in the morning, glass of apple or cranberry juice mid-morning.
Lunch: Nothing fried, no processed meats, no pastas. Salads, grilled or steamed veggies, an occasional sandwich with grilled chicken or other lean choice. Water with lunch.
Dinner: I cook at home at least five days a week. Dinner out is usually grilled proteins, salads and seafood. Stay away from pizzas (but an occasional thin crust Nappy’s veggie pizza with olive oil and no red sauce). OK…my one vice is chicken wings….yea, I love ’em and eat them when I dine out, if possible, but never breaded. Been known to have a glass or beer with dinner.
Have you always been fit? If not, describe what you used to be like and how you came to be fit now. I was a really FAT kid. I weighed 20 pounds more now than I did when I was 10 years old. I have weighed the same since I lost weight at the age of 13 through the sports of swimming and martial arts.
Favorite Workout: Any day at my local gym, GHFC, and my one day a week at the Dojo teaching kids and riding my bike.
Least favorite way to workout? Running. Yuck. If it was not for reading a book or watching TV on the treadmill I would not do that either.
How does fitness affect you as a professional? In many ways…if I miss a day I feel tired and perform at a lesser level at work. The better I feel about myself, the more confident I am on the job. Every day I watch the younger staff and my peers experiencing countless health issues – all because of their daily lack of fitness. I have also seen employees who, once becoming really passionate about their fitness routine, completely change their performance at work for the better. I have one director who, right now, is about two months into a total fitness makeover and she is happier, funnier, her marriage is now solid and she bounces around the office every day. She comes in every day and asks about my workout the night before; BIG CHANGE.
Would you be as good at what you do if you didn’t pursue fitness? Not at all. I can easily track the ups and downs in my career to the same highs and lows in my fitness path.
How do you squeeze fitness in on a crazy busy day? I have to make it something that I put in front of all other commitments. The “speed bump” I went through with a damaged heart made that even more important. Once I realized that in the past I put activities with my kids or work first and was blowing off the gym, I immediately changed it. I got my kids memberships to our gym, GHFC, I plan dinners in advance, we go in the morning before school if we know we have an evening event – it’s a priority.
How do you fight the urge to skip workouts? I know how much better I will feel when I am done. If I am tired, I know I will feel energized after the workout. I also got that goofy FitBit and now it’s quite a game to play to hit the goals.
If you travel, what kind of workouts do you do on the road? I make sure I stay at a hotel with a fitness center. I walk to meetings, even if they’re blocks away. Still do the sit-ups and push-ups.
What other obstacles do you face (health-wise) as part of your work? Have you found a way to overcome them? Ahhhhh. This is where it gets interesting. It’s not work-related but certainly I have developed what some might consider an “obstacle”…however I tend to view it as a new “opportunity.” I was always a very high level athlete. I played baseball and was a cheerleader for the University of Florida (UF), held two black belts in karate, worked out daily and rode my bike at least 50 miles a week for over 30 years. But I CONFUSED EXERCISE WITH DIET AND HABITS.
Almost seven years ago I had a near fatal heart attack. This event made the fabled “widow-maker” heart attack look like child’s play. 24 days in the hospital, 19 of them unconscious in ICU, my kids mom told to “call a priest” at day seven, and later was told I was not leaving without a new heart. Somehow, with a lot of prayer and me refusing to stay in my bed once I woke up and moving to a private room (they would find me walking the hallways dragging my machines and holding onto the wall) I was told “for whatever reason, you have a very unique circulatory system and your organs are actually improving (other than the heart).” The day I got home I was on the heart transplant list as a B1 (pretty high). But I liked the heart I had, so I did not listen to the doc who told me to “take it easy.”
The first week home I walked a half mile. The next week it was a mile. It hurt, I got short of breath, I nearly passed out countless times…but it got stronger and stronger. Four weeks later I was on my bike riding five miles, then 10, then 20. I went back to the GHFC, talked to their staff and really focused. I changed my eating habits and listened to my body when it told me something was wrong. I am not OFF the transplant list, I see my cardiologist every six months instead of every six weeks and it feels great. The heart is still busted but it’s happy to get the workouts.
Does your company offer incentives for exercising or eating right? If so, how do you take part? They have allowed me to put in a “fitness trail” with workout stations around the back land of the hotel and promote this to employees and guests.
Do you have a family, and if so … how do you juggle work, fitness and family? Yep. I have a 15 and 19 year-old daughters. They are very active and we do quite a bit of things together for fitness. We all support healthy eating and habits. We try to discuss schedules and juggle them around the set fitness schedule.
Greatest accomplishment in fitness/athletics: Hmm…not in this order; overcoming the cardio event to get back to where I am today; Shodan rank at 17 (karate); being friends with Fitz Koehler (slightly sucking up here…haha); UF Cheerleading (yes, it’s a darn tough sport) after getting hurt as a UF baseball player and having to stop playing.
Weirdest/funniest/craziest thing that you’ve ever experienced while exercising: OK…actually tripping on a treadmill and flying off the back of it (yes I admit it).
Must-have training equipment: 10 and 25 lb. dumbbells at home; you can target almost any muscle of the body with these.
Favorite training tune: For some reason I like reggae and Buffet.
Favorite healthy food: Yogurt fresh fruit smoothies. Any kind of fish. Steamed broccoli or carrots with honey and ginger.
Favorite not-so-healthy food: Chicken wings. Nappy’s Oreo ice cream pie.
Do you think fitness is a factor in being successful in business? Why or why not? Absolutely. It shows a respect for your body and the discipline to get it there and keep it there. If you can empower and motivate those around you to follow in your fitness footsteps, then you can do the same at your job.
What fit professional inspires you? Fitz Koehler, Jor Cirulli, Jerri Spurrier.
Advice for others trying to become more fit: START…that’s the hardest part. Be realistic in goals and don’t worry about occasional bad stuff. Ya gotta eat ice cream now and then.
Best piece of business advice you’ve ever received: Karl, you think and move like a Ferrari and you will never affect change going too fast. Treat work and fitness like the most graceful of giant cruise ships and slowly turn it in the direction you want it to go.
