Most sports journalists are former athletes who eventually got passed up by the game. The rest are athletes who achieved all that was possible in their respective sports, then transitioned nicely to cushy media gigs. It happens to everyone, just a question of when.
I’m no different in that I’m a washed up former athlete myself. Except I wasn’t actually good even when I was in my prime. At least my Al Bundy/Uncle Rico type stories recapping the glory days (“hey, did I tell you about that time I intercepted Antwaan Randle El in high school?” “How ’bout that time I held Eric Parker to no catches?”) are excellent. Those tales….might be true…or not.
No matter what your past is, Nike Train Chicago gives you an opportunity to create a more athletic future. You can repeat the past, Old Sport.
Nike has selected the city of broad shoulders, the city that’s second to nine for a six-week training journey session by professional sports and led by Chicago’s top personal trainers. Train Chicago begins tomorrow.
Train Chicago events take place each Saturday, May 9-June 13 (May 23 is a bye week) from 10am-12pm. Starting May 12, weekday workout sessions will be scheduled at 6pm each Tuesday and Thursday to complement to the weekly Train Chicago workout.
- May 9: Gridiron-Fit with Chicago Bears Sherrick McMannis (Go U! NU!) (more on him and his involvement here)
- May 16: Ice-Fit
- May 30: Diamond-Fit
- June 5: Pitch-Fit
- June 13: Hoop-Fit
- June 20: Final Train Chicago Session hosted by Bo Jackson
Nike Master Trainers Jason Raynor (former strength coach with the Washington NFL team) and Emily Hutchens lead the workouts; and Chicago’s top trainers are onsite to help participants “push it to the limit. Limit!”
Just in time for summer too; as bathing suit season gets here in about 6-8 weeks. I got a media sneak preview yesterday, and man oh man am I’m sore. Train Chicago really utilizes your core, and challenges you to burn calories with your arms.
It doesn’t involve a lot of running. There’s planking, pilates and yoga type stuff. Like I said, it’s very grueling, but also very rewarding. If you’re up for it, registration opens Monday at 10 am.
For more information about Train Chicago, including event registration, go to nike.com/Chicago It was an extremely rewarding experience for me, and once I re-hydrated, I felt excellent for having done it. Plus, I got to meet a lot of great people in my field.
Any time you can combine being-out-in-the-field-doing-a-story with going-to-the-gym that’s a win-win right there. (Hyphens!) Synergizing work and working out is time management at its best.
Working out at work w/ @PaulMBanks. @cbschicago #trainchicago cc…@JeremyAdamRoss pic.twitter.com/gSGko8nOPF
— Derrick Young (@Derrickcyoung) May 7, 2015
Now, here’s more pics from Train Chicago. Including a couple “in action” photos of me. Because obviously that’s why you come to this site- to see photos of me working out. :)
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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