I was so lucky to have such great workouts in high school because it helped me easily transition to college training and competition. No other girl on my team [University of Iowa] was doing nearly the amount of miles we got up to by the time I was a junior and senior in high school. I have not had to add any more miles in college and the workouts we do at Iowa are really similar to the ones you [Tim Ives] wrote for us in high school. You also played a major role in the success of my high school team and deserve a lot of credit for the success of the program. Thank you for all that you do and thanks for helping out the Dowling Catholic cross country and track teams. Watching the entire program grow and improve has been so cool! The team is so much larger than it used to be and people are really excited about running. Thanks for all you have done!

 

Betsy Flood, University of Iowa

2x NCAA Qualifier in Track

3x Medal Winner in Big Ten Conference

Team Qualifier for NCAA Cross Country Championships

PR's: 1500m - 4:17, 3000m - 9:22, 5000m - 16:32

Over the course of my high school career, the workouts provided to me from Coach Tim Ives helped me develop into the runner I am now. Tim provided me with a systematic, progressive training schedule that allowed me to maintain a high level of performance year in and year out. Just as important as the quality workouts were the recovery days. Without proper recovery, I wouldn't have maintained the level of performance necessary to compete at my best. I enthusiastically recommend Tim Ives and The Body Project to any and all aspiring distance runners. 

 

Katie Flood, Dowling Catholic High School (University of Washington, Class of 2014)

I spent most of 2008 injured and frustrated with running. I asked my physical therapist who he recommended for a coach and he pointed me towards Tim Ives and The Body Project. Of course, knowing better than my PT, I didn't get in touch with Tim until a year (and several overuse injuries) later.

I was terrified that Tim would simply make me run 400m repeats until I vomited, scream at me when I didn't finish my workouts as planned and generally be one of "those" coaches. In reality, he was open to my ideas and input, understanding of my goals and generally could best be described as a "running nerd". Perfect!

When I told Tim that my goal was to run an ultra marathon of 44 miles, he first told me he mostly trained people for marathon distance or less. But then a day or two later, and after some input on what I thought I should be running, he had a plan and was confident he could get me from the somewhat injured state I was in to finishing 44 miles with a smile on my face.

While I can't say I was smiling at the end (I hurt like hell to be honest), I finished my first ultra in 7 hours 30 minutes at a pace just over 10:00 a mile. I planned and trained for 9:30 miles so I consider this a huge success. And I wasn't injured! Simply amazing! Two years ago I couldn't string together three consecutive months of running and here I just completed eight straight months of ultramarathon training with literally only one week of downtime.

I continually told Tim that I couldn't have done this without his help and understanding. Through the time I worked with him and trained for this ultra, our first child was born and I accepted a job in California. Tim was more than willing to work around my schedule and ridiculously insane life changes and ensured that I stayed on target for my goal.

I can't recommend Tim and The Body Project enough, regardless of the distance or goals you want to achieve.

Plus I never vomited once:)

Recently, a friend told me, "You look better now than when we first met," which was 15 years ago.  I truly feel I am getting better with age, and I owe a great deal of my new look to The Body Project.

After working out with The Body Project for 18 months, I've lost 38 pounds and dropped two dress sizes.  My Body Mass Index is now a healthy 23, down from 29, which had put me dangerously close to that nasty "obese" section on the weight chart. My cholesterol has even dropped 50 points.

What's most important, the exercise and healthy eating regimen I learned has become part of my life, so I feel confident I'll be able to retain my svelte shape and the energy and positive outlook that comes with it.

When I initially signed up, my trainer asked me to name an overall workout goal.  I said I wanted to lose 20 pounds and get in good enough shape to climb the mountain by my Colorado cabin.  Obviously, I more than met the first goal.  My second was a little more elusive, and I ended up scaling a far different mountain.  Nine months into training, and with 22 pound lost, I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.  While I could have done without the whole experience, I feel that my improved fitness level made treatment far easier and will help me keep cancer from recurring.  In fact, research shows that chemotherapy and radiation are both more effective with thinner women.  The doctors say my prognosis is excellent.  And, while most women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer gain weight-a combination of drug effects such as metabolic change and a reaction to stress-I continued to lose.  During treatment, I lost 10 pounds, most of it fat.  I continued with strength training and walked two miles nearly every day.  Exercise made me feel physically and psychologically stronger.

A week after I finished treatment, I climbed up to 9,000 feet on that mountain, and the hike was surprisingly smooth.   I have a few thousand feet left before I make the top, but I will get there.

Hiring a personal trainer is the best investment I've ever made. Here's what I got:

 

Accountability: It wasn't so easy to skip workouts when I knew my trainer was  waiting. So I did it, and kept doing it. Those appointments helped me develop excellent long-term habits.

Facts: My trainer helped me sort through all the conflicting information about weight loss, fitness, and nutrition. He tailored a safe, reasonable training routine based on my schedule and things I like to do.
Motivation: We all need to hear that we're doing a good job, especially when we're pushing ourselves. My trainer celebrated my successes and counseled me through my setbacks, helping me figure out where I went off track and how to get back on.
Results: I've lost 115 pounds and dropped from a size 24-26 to a size 10. That's a 3X to an M. And in June I ran the 20K Dam to Dam race. The most important result is harder to quantify, and that's how much better I feel, both physically and emotionally. The time, the money, and the effort I've spent getting into shape have all been worth it.

 

 

 

Sportscaster

Damon Mehrl - Dowling Catholic High School

In 6 weeks, Damon improved his 40-yard sprint time by .4 seconds, vertical jump by 1.5 inches, and agility T-test by 1 second.

 

UPDATE: Damon is currently a starter for the freshmen "A" team. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the support of Head Coach Matt Thompson, the girls volleyball team of Grandview Park Baptist High School participated in a team-wide strength & conditioning program during the 2009 season. Tim Ives designed a program to prepare the girls for the rigors of a demanding volleyball season, including exercises to improve vertical jump, strength, quickness, and to reduce the risk of injury. Of the girls that participated, over 85% improved their vertical jump in the first six weeks!

 

UPDATE: For the second consecutive season the Grandview Park Baptist volleyball team qualified for the State Volleyball Tournament. Congratulations coaches and athletes!

I began working out with Tim Ives of The Body Project in July of 2007.  At the time I had gained a considerable amount of weight which not only slowed me down significantly while running, but also made me quite uncomfortable.  My knees and hips ached after I completed my runs and I developed some foot problems.  I knew it was time for me to do something else, as I didn't seem to have the willpower to lose weight on my own.  Tim gave me the accountability I needed so badly.  I had to step on that scale in front of him every week and if I had eaten too many calories it was painfully obvious to both of us that I wasn't following my healthy eating plan.

 

With Tim's help I adopted a much healthier lifestyle and lost 30 pounds over the course of 9-10 months.  I've also been able to maintain my weight exactly where I want it to be.  Another unexpected benefit related to healthy eating was that I lowered my total cholesterol 40 points in just one year.  In May 2008, I ran a PR at the Dam to Dam 20K and finished 6th in my age group.  I decreased my marathon time by 14:40 this past October in Chicago and qualified for Boston.  I'm already training hard and will run the Boston Marathon on April 20, 2009.  Even though I'm 44 years old now I continue to make gains with Tim's support and expertise.  He designs workout plans for me that include a variety of different speed workouts and long runs combined with weightlifting specific to distance running that have allowed me not only to reach my personal goals, but actually do some things I didn't even believe I was capable of.

 

Thanks to The Body Project I'm enjoying the best running years of my life.  I feel great and my self-confidence has soared!  I'm certain I couldn't have done it without the help of a qualified and very professional personal trainer.     

When I started working with The Body Project 10 months ago, my primary goal was to lower my marathon time to what I ran 15 years ago.  I didn't know if this was possible but I wanted to give it a shot.  Well, 10 months later, not only did I achieve that goal, I surpassed it by running an 8-minute PR (3:06) in the Des Moines Marathon, at the age of 41.  In addition, while training for the marathon I also set a PR in the 10K by running 38:30.  This was my first time to break 40 minutes.

My coach, Tim Ives, provides me with challenging workouts and encouragement to help me believe I have yet to reach my potential.  Thanks to him and The Body Project, I truly believe my best running days and times are ahead of me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ellen with her husband Jamie (Iowa State University Athletic Director)

and their four children. 

After a failed attempt at training for a marathon in the fall of 2008, I knew I needed help to reach my goal and the trainers at The Body Project could provide it. During our first meeting my trainer asked me about my goals. At the time, some of my goals didn't really seem realistic to me. Not only did I have pounds to shed, but saying out loud to a fit person that I wanted to be a runner and train for a marathon was rather intimidating and seemed improbable if not impossible.  After a year of working out with the trainers of The Body Project though, I'm slowly but surely checking each of those goals from my list. Being accountable to my trainer has kept me motivated and I've lost 30 pounds and have made what I feel is a complete lifestyle change to one of healthful eating and regular exercise. In 2009 I completed Dam to Dam, the Quad Cities half-marathon, and the Des Moines half-marathon. And though my goal was only to start and finish these races, with the specific endurance muscle/weight training and custom running plans my trainer at The Body Project put together for me, I have improved my times in each of the races. I still have more weight to lose, but I'm currently beginning my training for a full-length marathon. I have no doubt that with the expertise and assistance of the trainers at The Body Project I'll make it not only to the start line but also the finish line because today, I can confidently say, "I am a runner."

Andrew Barrett - Des Moines Roosevelt High School

Andrew recently finished 3rd at the state cross country meet with a time of 15:57 after being picked to finish 6th in Class 4A. This is Andrew's highest state meet finish in his high school career. Andrew's personal best time is 15:55 for 5k. Andrew also had an outstanding track season in which he qualified for the state meet in the 1600m run. He won his age division this summer at Central Iowa's premier road race, Dam to Dam. He also won his debut marathon, Marathon to Marathon, in 2:50.

 

Chris Brady - West Des Moines Valley High School

Chris finished 53rd at the state meet in Ft. Dodge on October 31st. His time of 17:03 placed him among the top half of all runners in the state cross country meet. Chris was the no. 3 runner on his team that finished 13th.  

 

Ryan has been ranked as high as no. 23 among class 4A cross country runners in the State of Iowa this season. At state, Ryan finished 32nd overall with a time of 16:41. This is Ryan's highest finish at the state meet in his high school career. He was the no. 2 runner on his team, which finished 11th at the state cross country meet. Ryan's personal best times include 16:28 for 5k, 4:36 for 1600m, and 10:20 for 3200m. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

West Des Moines Dowling Catholic High School

Tim Ives has served as a consulting coach for Fr. Jim Kirby and the Dowling Catholic Girls Cross Country team since 2006. During this time the girls have one runner-up state meet finish and three consecutive state team championships. Since 2006, the individual state champion has also come from Dowling Catholic (Katie Flood - 2006, 2007, 2009; Ashlie Decker - 2008).

 

Dowling Catholic Boys Cross Country

Tim Ives is in his third season as the boys cross country coach at Dowling Catholic. His team recently finished 12th at the state cross country meet on October 31st. The team was led by All-State Sophomore Cole Decker who finished 9th at the state meet in Ft. Dodge.

I started working with Tim in April of 2009.  I have lost 30 pounds, 7 inches in my measurements, and my cardiovascular fitness has improved from the 30th percentile of women my age to the 70th percentile. When I first met with Tim we sat down and discussed my fitness goals.  Tim provided me with a workout plan that is tailored to fit my goals and provides accountability for both workouts and food tracking.  One of my goals is to run a half marathon.  Tim's original plan for me was to run 3 minutes without stopping.  He gradually increased my running time and now I can run for 60 minutes!  Tim is always flexible and is a pleasure to work with.