Best workout pace: Take the ‘talk test.’
Best diet: No such thing
“If you can’t carry on a conversation while working out, then your intensity is too high for a safe cardiovascular training zone.”
“Portion size is the problem. We, as a society, simply eat too much food. We could eat chicken wings for every meal if we only ate two.”
That passion prompted Pelitera to further his own education. He is preparing to defend his doctoral dissertation in health curriculum and instruction from Argosy University. Pelitera’s fervor for fitness also fuels his personal regimen, which includes four-mile runs three days a week. He lifts weights four days a week. Pelitera doesn’t consider himself a ‘nutrition nut’ (chocolate is his weakness) but he does stick to a diet of produce, protein, fish and meat. “The only foods you need in a grocery store are those found around the outside,” he says. Pelitera is in bed by 10:00 p.m. Outside the classroom, he develops strength and conditioning programs for athletes at Canisius High School, Holy Angels Academy and Mount St. Mary’s High School, to name a few. He also advances the physical endurance of crew members at the West Side Rowing Club. When the Starpoint Central School District constructed a new high school, Pelitera designed its weight and exercise rooms, and implemented a wellness program for students. Pelitera began customizing fitness routines for people nearly 30 years ago, when he opened his health club business in the basement of his Snyder home. Today, he operates Pelitera’s Fitness Consultants at the Women’s Wellness Center in Williamsville. His client list includes professional boxers such as Buffalo’s former undefeated heavyweight Baby Joe Mesi but most people who seek out Pelitera want to improve their overall wellbeing. For them, Pelitera has three universal pieces of advice. Chuck Pelitera trains Mitchell Maraschiello, a junior A hockey goalie.
He came to Canisius as a business student in 1976 from Whitesboro, NY but changed his major to physical education and athletic training. Pelitera pursued his master’s degree in physical education, with a concentration on strength and conditioning, while he worked full-time at UPS and started a family with his wife, Ann. It was also during this time that the college’s athletic coaches approached Pelitera to work with student-athletes to improve their core strengths, speed, agility and competitiveness. Pelitera devised workout regimens that incorporated the latest training techniques and equipment, as well as some old-school tools, such as medicine balls and weight vests. The part-time position evolved into full-time work.
“Be more conscious of sleep,” says Pelitera, who recommends seven hours a night. “Lack of sleep affects a person’s immune system. It becomes depressed and a better host for viruses.” Pelitera also says to do away with diets. “They are temporary fixes.” For safe and sustained results, set a goal to lose one pound a week. To do this, the average person needs to cut 500 calories a day out of his diet. This can be achieved - in part - by drinking more water and substituting simple carbohydrates with complex carbohydrates (i.e. brown rice, whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta). Most important: reduce portion sizes. “The biggest problem we have in this country is that we consume more food in a day than we ever need.” Pelitera’s final piece of advice is to identify a form of physical activity that you enjoy and then get moving. “Tweak your workouts every so often to keep them interesting,” he adds.
“Chuck was pretty honest with me that I needed to get in better shape,” recalls Joseph R. Mamott MSEd ’07, a former Golden Griffin pitcher (1993-1994) who teaches in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department at Erie Community College. “He encouraged me to workout and start eating healthier. I lost about 35 pounds, became a more conditioned athlete and a better baseball prospect,” adds Mamott, who was a sixth-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox, where he played for three seasons. “He is very personal, approachable and down-to-earth.”
And for those who want to start more slowly, Pelitera offers some less structured options: walk the dog, rake the leaves, garden, park farther away at the store, ride your bike, and take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Pelitera employs the same strategies in the classroom.
It’s food for thought from someone who makes it his life’s work to help others get healthy.
“I think what makes Chuck such a dynamic professor is that he balances the coursework with personal experiences he’s had throughout his profession,” says Gregory T. Goldin ’11, a physical and health education alumnus. “Everything he teaches is applicable in real life situations.” Pelitera’s tenure as an educator came about somewhat unexpectedly when the college asked him to fill in for another professor. He agreed to do it and “discovered I have a real passion for being in the classroom.”
“It really all comes down to quality of life,” says Pelitera who adds, simply, that regular exercise prolongs optimal health. “People live longer nowadays but the question we all need to ask ourselves is ‘Do we really want to live longer if we don’t have the quality of life to enjoy it.”