FIT ON THE FRONT RANGE
Why Denver residents are
so fit and what we’re doing
to stay that way

By Lydia Rueger

When it comes to living fit, active lifestyles, you might say we have it good here. And the rest of the country seems to think so too.

Real Simple magazine declared, “Thin people live in Colorado,” in a recent health article. In Men’s Fitness magazine’s annual feature, America’s Fittest and Fattest Cities, Denver and Colorado Springs make the fittest list year after year.

Several organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Trust for America’s Health, named Colorado as the least obese state. And the list goes on and on.

Of course, many Denver metro-area residents aren’t surprised when we get national attention for our active lifestyles. “We are blessed with great weather, which allows people to be outside year-round,” says Ann Lantz, trainer, award-winning triathlete and member of the Sportswomen of Colorado Hall of Fame. “That definitely has its advantages, because indoor workouts can get dull.”

With 300 days of sunshine per year, little rainfall, low humidity and easy mountain access, Colorado seems to attract active people. And experts who have lived elsewhere agree there is a different mindset here when it comes to fitness. “Back east, where I’m from, people care about how much money they can make and not so much about what their bodies look like,” says Michael Karolchyk, fitness expert and owner of Bodies by Michael and Kelly in Denver. “There, if clients missed training sessions, it was because they had to work late. Here there is a much better absentee and tardiness rate. And if someone can’t make it, it’s usually because they are skiing or something.”

Lisa Holland, general manager of the three Better Bodies fitness centers in the area, also notices a difference from her home state of Michigan. “There was a different mentality. For the people I grew up with, fitness just wasn’t as important,” she says.

Outdoor activities
Perhaps it is the weather that influences priorities here, and once you’re out in it, the choices are endless. Ten major ski resorts in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver provide a wide range of choices and long seasons for skiers and snowboarders. Arapahoe Basin, for example, boasts the highest skiable terrain in North America, with a summit elevation of 13,050 feet. It often opens as early as mid-October and stays open until mid- to late June.

And there’s an even greater fitness benefit to high altitude than a long ski season. Altitude increases your red blood cell count and allows your body to hold more oxygen, which enables you to work out longer. It’s this fact, along with the weather and varied terrain, that’s brought many professional triathletes to the area as well, says Lantz.

“Denver is a great place for triathletes because of the fact that there are so many great trail and park systems,” Lantz says. “You can get from Confluence to Parker via trails.”

Even if you’re not a serious athlete, it’s easy to find a place to walk or jog around town, since Denver has the largest public park system in the United States (302 parks covering 5,643 acres, in addition to 13,600 acres of mountain parks).

There’s also a variety of walking/running races that draw record turnouts: The 5-kilometer Denver Race for the Cure, benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, has had the largest number of participants of all Races for the Cure for the past three years. “Speaking not as an athlete but as a suburban mom,” says Lantz, “it seems everyone in my neighborhood is involved in something active.”

Innovations in indoor fitness
Approximately 20 percent of Coloradoans belong to health clubs, making it the state with the second highest number of gym memberships in the nation. But as many people know, belonging to a health club and actively using it are two very different things. Michael Karolchyk and his wife, Kelly, have set out to put an end to neglected fitness goals with their new concept in workouts, Bodies by Michael and Kelly, that they call the “anti-gym.” The Karolchyks coach their clients through small-group training sessions, monitor their diet, weight and body fat and grade their performance with monthly report cards. Karolchyk says his program is different from gyms because he holds each client accountable, and different from personal trainers because he focuses on keeping weight off long term, not just dropping it quickly.

There are no contracts to sign, and Karolchyk offers a money-back guarantee. “Big health clubs don’t actually want all their members to show up, because they are most concerned with making money,” says Karolchyk, a former business executive in the fitness industry who admits he spent many years on the moneymaking side. “People need someone to hold them accountable and make sure they change their habits,” he says.

After first locating at 2134 Curtis Street in downtown Denver, the Karolchyks are opening a Cherry Creek location in December 2006 and a Greenwood Village location in March 2008.

Yet another trend in fitness classes is triathlon-training programs. Lantz teaches Tri Training Camp at the Goodson Recreation Center in Centennial and says, “I think you’d be hard-pressed to go to any club and not find some sort of multi-sport training program.” She says she’s seen the sport grow in popularity over the past four or five years, especially among women, which she credits to more achievable races, such as the Danskin Triathlon. And more first-time triathlon participants mean more demand for training programs.

City health and fitness efforts
For as fitness-friendly as Denver is, there still is room for improvement, and city health officials are striving to change the health habits of residents even more. According to the 2005 report released by Denver Healthy People 2010, the percentage of Denver residents who do not engage in leisure-time physical activity is 24.2 percent — which did not meet the national goal of 20 percent. For Denver women, the figure is even higher — 26.1 percent. In addition, the first Colorado Health Report card, issued by the Colorado Health Foundation in May, gave Colorado an overall grade of C+ after considering many different health factors.

“We are hanging in there as the thinnest state, but we are heading in the wrong direction. There is a wave of unhealthy people, too, and a concern about the obesity rate of children,” says Theresa Donahue, executive director of the Metro Denver Health and Wellness Commission. The commission, which was just launched in June, is striving to make metro Denver America’s healthiest community. In the coming months, they’ll be developing a strategic plan for metro Denver schools, employers and communities to help reduce obesity and related diseases through various programs.

“We think this is a unique effort because it is improving health plus taking advantage of the economic benefits of being healthy,” Donahue says. “It could become a model to be replicated all across the country.”

Meanwhile, efforts promoting active lifestyles in specific neighborhoods are already under way. According to a recent MSNBC.com article, experts are calling for new design in urban developments to help fight the country’s obesity problem. The article singled out Stapleton’s redeveloped neighborhood as an example of a community that promotes active living in its layout: All the homes, shops, offices and parks are connected by wide sidewalks and bike paths. Stapleton has received many national awards and recognition for its “walkable community” plan, and it’s still growing, proving that people will walk if given the opportunity.

In another part of the city, the Park Hill Thriving Communities initiative is creating healthy change in already established neighborhoods. The three-year initiative, which is part of the Denver Healthy People 2010 program, includes a variety of community-based activities to promote healthy lifestyles.

There are cooking classes for low-income families, dance classes, a healthy eating/active living program for school children and more. There will also be extensive efforts to create cleaner and safer biking- and walking-friendly areas in Park Hill over the next two years.

“People will not get out and be active if they don’t feel safe in their neighborhood,” says Ellen Dumm, director of communications for Denver Environmental Health. “It’s important that you do things to encourage healthy living as a culture.”