Welcome local CrossFitter, rugby player, trainer, student, athlete, and phys ed teacher to be!
Mike Bunce is a great role model for prioritizing fitness and managing time effectively, read how he does it all!
1. How did ‘life as you know it’ come to be? How did you get into fitness? How did you get into Cross Fit? Personal Training?
CrossFit for me was a very natural progression. I played rugby in Europe, Iowa, and Boston and then I came home and started a degree in exercise physiology. I was playing for the Montauk Sharks when I got a concussion and had to hang up the boots. I was working as a personal trainer and started building a nice clientele at the gym. When CrossFit Hamptons opened, my fiancé, Emily, knew I would love it. I started working out there and after a month, they asked me to come on as a trainer so that I didn’t have to buy a membership. I couldn’t have been happier. CrossFit gave me with the feeling of competition that had been missing from my life. To me, CrossFit provides a positive atmosphere that allows me to grow as an athlete.
2. Why is CrossFit your favorite workout?
CrossFit allows me to push the envelope. It forces me to use proper form and technique. Before CrossFit, I was not squatting or dead-lifting heavy, and I was not doing any Olympic lifting. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, challenging me physically and mentally. CrossFit is very effective because it is a very challenging hour, both physically and mentally.
3. What’s another active activity you enjoy?
I got a standup paddle board for my birthday this summer. My fiancé and I take them to Shinnecock inlet and surf the sandbars.
4. As a trainer, CrossFitter, fitness professional, and young man, how do you maintain balance in your life? Can you give us your top health tips?
Time is very valuable and being able to prioritize your time is my best advice. I am currently studying to become a physical education teacher, which means I spend 12 hours in my car going to and from class four days a week. This has taught me to value my time more than ever. Since I don’t have a lot of free time, I have to manage the time I do have in order to get everything done. For me, that means scheduling in activities that I enjoy, training clients, school, and even simple things like sleep.
If you decide to make fitness a priority, that’s when you will start to see results. You need to find the time and block it off the way you would block off a meeting or trip to the doctors office, it’s non-negotiable.
5. What food items do you always keep in the house or eat everyday?
I just started the Zone Diet, which lets me eat what I want as long as it is in a 40:30:30 ratio of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. I always have coconut oil in the house for cooking, and I just discovered a coconut and peanut butter spread that is rich in monounsaturated fats and taste great.
6. What is your favorite indulgence?
Gummy worms or Swedish fish! I eat very clean for the most part, but if I’m going to cheat, I go right for the gummy candy.
7. How do you make health a priority without going overboard?
Making health a priority has become second nature for me. I try to live my life the way that I feel the most comfortable and that includes making healthy decisions. Clearly, I am surrounded by health and fitness, between my career, school, and my personal passions, so it has become my way of life.
8. What is your FAVORITE thing about living in the Hamptons?
I like that there is a busy season and a slow season. I love the pace of the summer. I love the hustle and the busy schedule and hard work pays off. When fall and winter comes, I love that I can slow down and take it easy while still being surrounded by everything there is to love about the Hamptons. I like the change of pace.
One Healthy Breakdown: Mike, thanks for reminding us that there is no end point in the fitness world. Even after conquering personal fitness, Mike has made his career about doing the same for others.
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