Principal Mark Longe named 'Most Improved' in valleywide health and fitness challenge

Courtesy photo/Mark Longe

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Mark Longe wins $1,000 for Saint Vincent de Paul School in the Intermountain Health Care ?My Heart Challenge.? 

SALT LAKE CITY — After 14 weeks of exercising and healthy eating, Saint Vincent de Paul Principal Mark Longe, and two other principals in the Salt Lake Valley, earned $1,000 for their respective schools in Intermountain Healthcare’s "My Heart Challenge."

Longe was recognized as the "Most Improved" participant.

Longe was grateful to improve his health, especially since he noticed he had developed some unhealthy habits between the ages of 40 and 50, he said. "It wasn’t easy. It was a lot of work. I hope to maintain it."

Tommy Hackenbruck, Longe’s trainer from Ute Crossfit in Sugarhouse, said, "Mark is a genuinely nice guy, hard worker, always brings a positive attitude, and all the kids and staff at St. Vincent School are lucky to have him as their principal. He wanted to improve his fitness and lose some extra weight and improve his health in general. He was up against about 15 other administrators in the Salt Lake Valley, and the challenge was based on who could improve his or her health and fitness the most."

In February, Longe’s baselines were established and he began attending a weekly nutrition class at IHC Hospital. He kept exercise and diet logs, which were turned in each week with his current weight, he said.

"Toward the end of the challenge we got to retest Mark’s initial numbers," said Hackenbruck. "On the original interval workout, his rowing improved from 440 meters to 520 meters per 2-minute intervals. His Airdyne improved from 29 to 39 calorie average in 2:00. His all out 500 meter row dropped from over 2:00 to 1:42, and we knew that Mark was going to crush the challenge."

Longe’s weight dropped from 215 pounds to 185 pounds, which was his goal. His body fat dropped from 26 percent to 22 percent. He lost seven inches in his waist circumference taking it from 41.5 to 34.5, and his cholesterol dropped from 201 to 172. His stress test improved by three minutes, which put him in the 80th percentile for his age group.

His blood pressure improved so dramatically that "they asked me what medication I was taking," said Longe. "I’m not taking any medication for my blood pressure. We also didn’t do any crash dieting. I like fruits and vegetables, so I ate more of them and ate protein and cut way back on the carbs."

Among the factors the judges considered for the contest were improvements in health markers such as cholesterol, blood pressure and body fat percentage as well as following nutrition guidelines, the number of exercise sessions per week and the cardio stress test results.

"I didn’t really know what Crossfit was until I went there, but it was pretty incredible and pretty extreme; they work you pretty hard," said Longe. "I was swinging weights, doing Olympic lifting, and would pick up something heavy and run around the block. It’s intense for a short period of time but it builds your fitness level."

"Mark was an inspiration to his entire school and provided his students with a first-hand example that proper diet and exercise can achieve amazing results and greatly improve one’s health," Hackenbruck said.