THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409230227
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 29 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
AL WALKE is an imposing figure.
Huge hands lurch out in greeting, stemming from pythonlike arms set in broad shoulders and a back as wide as the football fields he once played on as a teen.
But ``Big'' Al Walke is from ``gentle giant'' stock - evidence given from a smile that could melt granite and a personality that would make a beggar hand over his last dime.
Walke is in the self-improvement business, working day and night helping folks help themselves.
He trains, coaches and cheers on the efforts of people looking to make their bodies more healthy looking and feeling. His work can be seen in all walks of life - from housewives to bodybuilders, from adult softball players to high school athletes.
For 11 years, his personality and ability drew people to Olympian Gym at the north end of Virginia Beach. Now, he is hoping the same will hold true at Flex Gym, a new workout facility on Bonney Road where Walke is partners with Garry Whitehurst and Bonnie Berg.
``(His personality) is basically the reason I'm in this, to tell you the truth,'' said Berg, who has been trained by Walke for several bodybuilding and power lifting contests. ``His biggest asset is his ability to work with anybody. It's one of his unique features that I think is going to make the place work.
``He can work with someone who has never seen a dumbbell before, who doesn't know anything about how the body works, and he can work with someone who has trained for years and really doesn't need much help.''
Whitehurst shares Berg's sentiments. He, too, has witnessed Walke's technique and charm, while training for bodybuilding contests.
So much so that he put aside 14 years in the auto sales industry to become Walke's co-worker around the weights.
``I also figured that if I was putting the kind of hours I was putting in at the car dealership, I might as well be doing it in something I like,'' the 33-year-old Bayside graduate said. ``I like to be around fitness, I like to talk fitness and this is the perfect setting.
``Al is the perfect partner.''
Another of Walke's personality traits that his partners and customers admire is his humility. He flat out refuses to take any credit for results witnessed in the mirror-lined facility.
``I'm not doing the lifting,'' he smiles.
Walke played football and baseball for the old Union Kempsville High in the 1960s and went onto a career in adult softball that earned him some pretty heavy reputations as a power hitter.
To this day, many of the area's best home run hitters come to Walke to get more out of their swings.
Greg Miller, one of the area's best long-ball hitters, has long credited Walke with his ability to crush a line drive 350 feet and farther.
Walke decided to end his softball playing days in 1990.
``Knees,'' he said. ``Playing weekend tournaments, they were all right. But Mondays. . . . Monday mornings were like something new. Mondays were horrible. So this is it, here. This is what I do now and it's plenty. I'm here for 17-hour days most of the time.''
During those long hours, Walke and Whitehurst - Berg works at another company during the day - work with all types. While the majority of their clients are extremely serious about their workouts, the two encourage anyone seeking to improve their looks to come in and pump up.
But the emphasis of the gym is heavy stuff - like five tons of free weights.
``There are a lot of mid-level gyms for the average person who just likes to work out a few times a week,'' Walke said. ``We built this place from the top down instead of the bottom up. We can handle the biggest, strongest NFL football player, but at the same time handle a housewife who just wants to drop 10 or 15 pounds and tone up.''
At the core of Flex Gym are ``Hammer Strength'' machines that use free weights for resistance. The machines were computer designed to make the body work properly during lifting. With their design, Walke says, you can't do the motions wrong.
``These are the machines that most NFL clubs are going to,'' he said. ``They mimic the body's natural movements. And when lifting is done properly, the body responds better.
``We have some other machines and I've probably worked on everything going in my 35 years of doing this, and I'm here to tell you these are the best things going.''
Walke loves to see new people come into a gym. He thrives on watching the excitement of those who begin to see results.
That's probably why he does what he does.
``A lot of people get older and they are worried about hurting themselves, but actually, people in their 40s and 50s are the ones who need it the most,'' Walke said.
``But actually, the body relishes physical stress and weightlifting is nothing more than periodic stress of the muscles. They recover through adaptation and growth and that's where you get stronger and healthier.
``It's good for you.''
Walke should know. He's been good to an awful lot of weight lifters who have been good to themselves.
After all, that's what he does best. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
Garry Whitehurst, left, Bonnie Berg and Al Walke are partners in
Flex Gym, a new workout facility on Bonney Road. At the core of Flex
Gym are ``Hammer Strength'' machines that use free weights for
resistance.
by CNB