HEALTH
words by SIRI FREEH photography by DENNIS KRULL, 5 FOOT 20 DESIGN LOUNGE
physically fit,
functionally strong meet the newly moved Maximum Performance & Fitness
I
magine a workout that you did not have to plan. One that you did not dread. One that left you with only one regret: “That I didn’t come here sooner!” laughs Christy Eickhoff. She is a busy wife, tax preparer and one of three women among many clients that share this reaction to the recently moved Maximum Performance & Fitness (MPF) — a gym founded and developed by North Dakota native, Brad Nordstrom. The brand new facility matches the newness of its location in West Fargo. Yet the principles and experience that built it go back many years to a field in South Fargo. Kelly Kukowski remembers it well. “My neighbor invited me to come,” she says. “I thought it was totally different. It was unbelievable.” Kukowski is a data analyst and mom of two teenage boys, including a 16 year old who now also comes to MPF, “I can still lift more than him
so that’s kind of fun,” she laughs. It is a long way from where Kukowski has come. Having served in the military, she says she lost much of her fitness over the years, only casually running from time to time. The fear of a family history of chronic health issues motivated her to check out the program that her neighbor could not quit talking about. She started over six years ago — and now? She gets up at 4:15 nearly every morning to be at the 5 a.m. MELT class at MPF. What is MELT? According to Nicole Kungel, "It’s like personal training but without the same cost. You get individual attention in the group setting.” It stands for “Motivate, Educate, Lose Fat, and Teamwork,” and it is the product of Nordstrom’s many years of experience in exercise physiology, collegiate strength and conditioning, and personal training. The sessions are delivered in a circuit style that combines traditional and non-traditional exercises. For Kungel, busy mom and implementation program manager, it is a necessity, "For me it’s a lifestyle. I come six days a week and it’s different every time. For those of us that work and have a full-time job and families, we have such busy lives. I can just come here and shut my brain off and just do it.” The results speak for themselves. According to Eickhoff, “I am down 70% of my fat [weight].” And it all began at a concert merchandise table. "I asked for t-shirt that was a large and they asked me if that was going to be big enough,” explains
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a r e a wom a n
| areawomanmagazine.com