Contestant Nicholson aims to get back in shape
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Jeff Nicholson works with the hand weights during the group workout.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Jeff Nicholson (left) gets some help from Andrea Shepler, YMCA personal trainer, as he works out on the leg lift machine.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Jeff Nicholson works out on the leg lift machine.
Andrea Shepler (left), YMCA personal trainer, weighs Jeff Nicholson during the second week of the 2017 Shape-Up Challenge.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard Time to move to the steppers for Jeff Nicholson (left) and Debbie Whelan.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Time to move to the steppers for Jeff Nicholson (left) and Debbie Whelan.
Contestant Jeff Nicholson wasn’t quite sure what to expect as a competitor in the 2017 Shape-Up Challenge.
The only man in the competition, Nicholson said he didn’t anticipate it being this difficult.
“There’s no fooling around — we jumped right into it,” Nicholson said with a laugh. “That’s a good thing though. We are here to lose weight.”
With an easy grin on his face, Nicholson tackled the cardio, lower- and upper- body workouts during one of the Week 2 workouts.
Though sweat dotted his forehead, his determination to learn the new machines persevered.
“I haven’t exercised like this in 20 years. I’m a little sore,” he said.
The former Columbia Gas worker said he always wanted to get back in shape but never joined a gym. Though he enjoyed reading about other contestants in the newspaper in previous years, he’d never been accepted into it himself.
The third time was the charm for Nicholson, though, as he was finally accepted into this round of Shape-Up.
“I enjoy the challenge,” he said. “I came into this excited.”
Over the course of the first week, Nicholson said changing his eating habits was one of the tougher challenges. Often skipping breakfast and lunch, Nicholson would instead eat dinner between 6 and 9 p.m. and then head to bed.
Now, he’s made an effort to be more conscious of what, and when, he’s eating. He’s also made drinking plenty of water a priority.
“I never realized how many fast food commercials there were,” Nicholson joked.
He added that the schedule regulated by the competition is just what he needed — whether it’s through mandatory workouts, voluntary fitness classes or food logs.
“I really did need a set schedule,” he said.
As for his life outside the competition, the currently self-employed Dunbar man enjoys gardening.
“I do like fresh vegetables,” he said, adding that he also maintains a berry patch. “I like to share it with others.”