Developer delivers deathblow

South Florida CEO, August, 2005 by Jaime Hernandez

Alan S. Macken's life changed the day he found his 43-year-old father suffering from a heart attack. His grandmother had died of cardiac arrest at age 53 so, although his dad survived the episode, Macken decided he would take drastic action to avoid a similar fate. He embarked on a strict regimen of weightlifting, running and dieting.

Macken was 13 then. Now 40 and a principal at Aventura-based Vercon Construction Inc., he has taken his health routine to a whole new level. He is still running and lifting weights, but cites kickboxing as the panacea that helped reduce his high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Despite his demanding work schedule--Macken also helps run his family's Aventura-based Macken Realty Inc.--he dedicates at least an hour a day to exercise. Macken says it does more than keep him physically healthy: the routine is crucial to running a successful business.

"As hard as we work today in the real estate and development business," he says, "if you don't set time aside for your physical conditioning as you get older, everything will be affected: your health and, obviously, your business."

Macken began kickboxing about two years ago, hiring Jarett Perelmutter, a fifth-degree black belt in martial arts and an International Kickboxing Federation amateur champion, to be his personal trainer. The two hook up three days a week at 7:45 a.m. or noon--depending on Macken's schedule--to work out.

The routine is intense. It starts with nine minutes of jumping rope, followed by 18 minutes on the punching and kicking bags. The next nine to 12 minutes are spent sparring (practice fighting) with Perelmutter, followed by another nine to 12 minutes practicing proper form and technique. Macken then shadowboxes with bricks in his hands for nine minutes (to increase his hand and arm strength). The sessions include only a few 30-second breaks.

Macken says that practicing forms--repetition of the same basic movement, such as a particular kick or punch--helps him relax after a busy day at work because of the concentration and breathing exercises involved. But he says his favorite exercise is punching mitts held up by Perelmutter. "When I hit those mitts, it sounds like an explosion," Macken says. "You're putting power and accuracy and breathing together."

Besides the aerobic benefits, says Macken, kickboxing has given him flexibility he never had before. For example, now he can kick his foot up over his head, "without four people pulling in opposite directions," he says. In part because of that flexibility, he has never suffered an injury while kickboxing, other than sore elbows, hips and knees--ailments he attributes to years of excessive weightlifting as a teenager and young adult.

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Macken says he was inspired to seriously take up kickboxing after watching 77-year-old former astronaut John Glenn fly aboard the space shuttle in 1998. He recalls Glenn saying that while he felt physically fit to make the trip, he was not quite as nimble as he once was.

Kickboxing is only part of Macken's fitness and health routine, albeit perhaps the most fun part. He typically starts his days at 5 a.m. with walks on the beach or three-mile runs around a golf course in his neighborhood. Three of the days he is not kickboxing, Macken lifts weights at Aventura's Olympia Gym with Danielle Hollen-shade, a model and national bodybuilding and fitness competitor.

Macken says he has always had a problem keeping his weight down, leading him to have a diet he calls "ridiculous." His meals on a given day can consist of a bowl of cereal, the whites of several organic hard-boiled eggs, two protein shakes at the gym, a skinless breast of chicken and baked tilapia with vegetables. Though his time-consuming work schedule lends itself to eating fast food, Macken says, "I won't touch it." Still, he makes it a point to have a drink with friends and associates once a week, along with indulging in a less-than-healthy meal.

Macken says he has resisted prodding by Perelmutter to kickbox competitively. "Even when I compete in business, I do it to see what I can attain and to meet the standards of the people I respect," he says. "You win if you push yourself." as hard as you want to push yourself." As for his trainer pushing him to compete, Macken says he feels comfortable just staying in shape. At 40 years old, he says, "I don't feel like I have anything to prove."