Fitness Wrap: Christian J. LeBlanc
Diet
“I’m a good exercise person but I am an excellent eater. That comes from being a Cajun. If it moves slower than me, it’s food, but I’ve gotten to the point where I eat really carefully. What saves me is I’m a good cook. A lot of Cajun food is really healthy and I’m never a big fry person. I believe in breakfast, so I’ll usually have some egg whites and toast. I’ll eat things through the whole day. I’m a snacker, but it’s good stuff, like raw almonds and fruit. I love fruit. I love the thought of a dinner salad. I’m very lucky to really like food that’s healthy for you. I love chicken and fish, and I make gumbos, which are really healthy. Again, my ace in the hole is I can cook. If you don’t cook for yourself, then someone else is in charge of your portions and the ingredients. I try to not eat past 6 p.m., just because sleep is important. If I’m really working hard at something [regarding my physique], the carbs go out the window and I add more and different proteins. I’ve learned that when something is not in my house, I have no danger of eating it. If somebody leaves a bag of Doritos, like after a party, they’re gone in about five seconds. I know my limits.”
Fitness:
“I used to take two hours in the gym with my friends and talk and have a good old time while concentrating on your muscles — your chest and your biceps. When I got a trainer, he took that two hours and reduced it to 20 minutes. I’ve taken that with me and it’s like, ‘Get out of my way and don’t talk to me.’ One of the great things for me is getting into a routine. When you’re scheduling, you make the good things you do in life a habit. There’s a new kind of workout where you start concentrating on things that, as an older person, generally give out, like my hips, my legs. So there’s a lot of squats. There’s actually a move that I do with two dumbbells, which is a squat, then you stand up and you raise them over your head in one move and then go back and do it again. I do tons of push-ups in different ways, flat and on different down inclines, and also tons of chin-ups. You make the moves clean and correctly and safely, and you don’t do them to exhaustion. For people who don’t think they can afford a gym, there’s a lot you can do with dumbbells and it’s all about balance and strength. If you do get a personal trainer, you have to learn to trust them implicitly. In 20 minutes, my workout entails most of the body. When I described the squats with two dumbbells, that’s your whole body workout right there. I work out five days a week and I’ve started incorporating yoga, as well, for good stretching.”
Conversation
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