SIOUX CITY | Rod Ketchens has a knack for picking things up.
After all, he's already picked up titles such as Mr. Iowa (three times). Mr. America, Mr. USA and capped off his amateur career by qualifying to become an International Federation of Bodybuilding Professional Body Builder.
That's to say nothing to barbells and dumbbells Ketchens, a certified fitness coach, picks up when he teaches students on ways in which they can pump up.
But the most important thing the 45-year-old Sioux City man has picked up was a desire to live a healthy lifestyle, which began when he was 11 years old.
"That's when I got my first weight set," Ketchens, who runs RK Solid at the Four Seasons Health Club, explained. "I started lifting weights to stay out of trouble. Instead, it changed my life."
A competitive track and field athlete as well as a former football player at Morningside College, he recalls a time when having a bodybuilder's physique was frowned upon in many sports.
"Believe it or not, people thought muscle equaled bulk," Ketchens said, remembering fitness attitudes from the 1980s. "They thought it would slow you down."
Today, track stars, tennis players and golfers are lifting weights in order the raise their game.
"It's all about strength, balance and working your core," Ketchens said. "If you want to maintain your competitive edge, strength training is an important component as is a cardiovascular routine and proper nutrition.
Yet, most people don't want to train like an athlete. They just want to be healthy.
Ketchens understands that. In fact, his clients include men, women, kids, even the elderly.
"For seniors, it may not be strength training as much as it is increasing bone density," he explained. "Men may want muscles, women may want a toned body, kids may want a vigorous workout but it all begins with a commitment to get healthy."
