Extraordinary couple Ralph Bender and Liz Fritz
stay fit to travel the world
They
are a couple like no other. Long-time San Antonians Ralph Bender, 82,
and partner Liz Fritz, 46, exude health and well-being. They've spent
decades traveling the world, punctuating every few years with Olympic
games attendance. When you meet them, their vibrancy and energy are
contagious. Could it be travel, or is it the 36-year age difference
that's the anti-aging elixir we've all been searching for?
"It's very important to be around young people because they are the
breath of life," says Bender, architect emeritus and former San Antonio
City Planner. "So don't hang around a bunch of old people. They're very
nice, and we love old people, but don't hang around with them."
Their choice of kindred spirits certainly adds spice to their youthful
recipe. But the main ingredients are regular exercise and good
nutrition. "We've both been committed to staying in great shape so we
could do things around the world," Fritz says. Things like reporting
for News 4 WOAI as Olympic correspondents at the Salt Lake City, Utah,
and Torino, Italy, winter games. With seven Olympics under their belts,
both say being in good physical condition is a must for doing the games
right. "We walk all day and all night when we're traveling," says
Bender. "It's a blast!"
Travel isn't their only motivation though. Continuing their work as
early-childhood advocates with organizations that Ralph helped found,
such as Voices for Children, the Alamo Community College District and
LULAC Parent/Child Scholarship Trust program, also keeps them moving.
Staying in shape means they've tried all kinds of fitness regimens.
"We've done running, walking, skiing, Spinning - even worked with
personal trainers. Ralph also fenced for many years. But it wasn't
until a little over a year ago that we found a workout that we both
like and that works," she says.
Taking it super slow
That regimen is known as SuperSlow, a high- intensity, low-force
exercise strengthening method that is comprised of a cycle of
weight-lifting repetitions. Monitored by Dr. Charles Christian and his
certified instructors, exercisers complete 20-second cycles (10 seconds
lifting, 10 seconds lowering) on specialized equipment until they reach
momentary muscle failure. The whole-body workout lasts approximately 20
minutes and should be done two times a week. The philosophy behind the
program is to safely build muscle and increase the resting metabolism,
allowing the body to burn more calories even while at rest.
At age 72, Bender quit fencing and gained a lot of weight. "He went on
these crash diets off and on for years," says Fritz. After his last
crash diet he lost 16 pounds in only a few months. However, he was
devastated when his doctor told him he'd lost mostly muscle. "That's
why I'll do SuperSlow the rest of my life - because I've not only
gained that muscle back, but I'm maintaining it and have remained
injury free. At my age that's something!" touts Bender, one of the
founding members of the San Antonio Sports Foundation and past
president of the USA Pentathlon, the national governing body for the
Olympic sport.
Both of them not only swear by the strength-training program, but also
its nutritional component, Dr. Barry Sears' Zone Diet®.
After witnessing overweight friends die young, Bender and Fritz have
become even more committed to their healthy lifestyle. "The reality is,
many people don't know how to stop creating fat on their body. They
think they can lose all the weight they need to by exercise alone.
That's just baloney," exclaims Bender. "The key is not to get fat in
the first place - stay at a reasonable weight and you can avoid a lot
of hell when you get older."
Make no mistake, they're not sacrificing anything in the meal
department. "Dr. Sears' diet is simple: 40 percent good carbohydrates,
30 percent protein and 30 percent good fat. That leaves plenty of room
for variety. We enjoy everything we eat," claims Bender. "Ralph
especially enjoys jelly beans," chides Liz with a smile.
Natural body building
Liz Fritz has recently taken her fitness to a new level. A former
commercial real estate maven, she's been ardently raising money for
children for the last 10 years, in addition to her travels with Ralph.
About five months ago, she went looking for something that would help
strengthen her back because she was feeling the effects of sitting at a
desk for years. During this same period, she ran into one of her
original fitness trainers from the 1980s. "I was amazed to see even
after all these years, she hadn't let go of her fitness," remembers
Fritz.
That's when she realized her "happy hour" diet just wasn't going to cut
it anymore. "I looked around at my peers who were at the top of their
game and knew I could take my body to another level," she shares. It
was one of her SuperSlow trainers, Amanda Antonini, who introduced her
to Karen Martinez, her current fitness mentor.
With Martinez' expert guidance, Fritz spent five months preparing for
the 2006 Alamo Classic Showdown, a natural bodybuilding and fitness
competition held in October. (Note: This publication went to press
before the competition was held.)
She stopped eating candy, desserts, cut out the alcohol and religiously
followed a comprehensive training program that basically had her eating
every three hours and adding weight-lifting to her cardio exercising
three times each day, as well as drinking at least a gallon of water.
She went from 132 pounds to 118 in just five months. "She completely
transformed her body," says Bender proudly. "She's always had a nice
figure, but now she has this athletic physique - she's toned and
radiant."
"For me this training has been the greatest education in nutrition. I
understood how cardiovascular and strength training worked, but I could
never get my body to respond," explains Fritz. Although she won't
continue as rigorous a schedule after the competition, "it's more of a
seasonal thing," she says. She has taken the nutritional concepts to
heart and feels she'll be able to maintain her newly toned physique.
"I don't sleep in anymore because I'm so excited to start the day. I'm
so turned on to the fact that I know how to make my body healthy - it's
amazing motivation," she says.
Fritz says her newfound nutritional knowledge will also help her with
her volunteer work with a new program called "Go Girls Go." "This
program recently launched by the San Antonio Sports Foundation
addresses health and fitness issues young girls are facing today -
diabetes, obesity, lack of interest in physical activity. I wanted to
make sure I understood not only the fitness component of health, but
nutrition too, so I could be confident in helping girls with these
challenges," she says.
Fitness equals freedom
It's their lifetime partnership in taking care of each other that
promises to keep this couple trotting the globe. Both are keenly aware
of the freedom good health affords. "We have so many places we still
want to explore," says Bender with a gleeful look in his eye. "Not to
mention the Beijing Olympics in '08 to attend!"
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