Rice earns title of national body transformation champ

By Jim Stewart

It's a dream come true for Schomberg's James Rice.
A baseball lifer, Rice has been promoted to “Manager for a Day” by the Minnesota Twins for his ongoing work with the Little League Disaster Relief Fund Charity. The US-based organization rebuilds ball diamonds that have been destroyed by natural or human disasters.
In our discussion in sunny Lions Park on Main Street, Rice outlined his duties for the Twins during their May 2 tilt with the Blue Jays: “It's surreal. I'll be doing pre-game media duties with Twins Manager Derek Shelton, participating in batting practice, and presenting the official lineup card to the Umpires. I hope we win. I don't want to go 0-1 and be the only winless manager in MLB history.”
Rice described this ceremonial coaching opportunity as “a full-circle moment – from a small-town kid in Schomberg playing baseball locally to stepping onto an MLB field against my hometown team.”
In addition to this dream gig in Minneapolis on Saturday, Rice is preparing to release his third book in July entitled I Hate Running: How I Learned to Love the 5K. The quirky and ironic title sprung from a conversation he had with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Rice became a founding member of the renowned bodybuilder's Pump Club app and they have become associates over the last seven years.
When Rice sought Schwarzenegger's counsel during a lull in his life after sculpting his body and becoming Canada's National Body Transformation Champion, he confessed to the former Governor of California that “I don't know what to do next.”
Schwarzenegger responded matter-of-factly: “Do what you hate. What do you hate the most about fitness training?”
Rice's truncated reply: “Running.”
Spurred by Schwarzenegger's encouragement, running became Rice's next love and he noted “I ran my first race in Columbus, Ohio at Arnold's 5K Pump and Run and Arnold's 5K Walk and Run – both are annual marquee events and part of the Arnold Sports Festival. I want to run a sub-40 minute 5K and beat the younger racers.”
The influence of Schwarzenegger on Rice has been profound and helped inspire the Schomberg resident's prior two books about transformation and mind set. Rice added that “I rebuilt my life through discipline, health, and goal-setting. Arnold talked to me about the 10% difference in athletes who don't succeed and those that make it to the elite ranks. It's all about the mind set of those athletes.”
Rice applied that winning mind set out by Schwarzenegger in his personal metamorphosis: “A few years ago, I weighed over 300 pounds and was completely out of the game – physically and mentally. Through consistent daily effort and a new mind set, I lost over 100 pounds and ultimately became Canada's National Body Transformation Champion.”
Rice will be thinking of his former self when he delivers a lineup card to an MLB umpire on Saturday and demonstrates his own physical transformation decked out neatly in a Minnesota Twins uniform: “At home plate at Target Field, I'll be looking back at a 300-pound guy on the couch eating a gallon of ice cream and watching Netflix. I'll be thinking about how I had accepted the massive heart attack that was coming for me at 48. Now, at 55, I feel fantastic after seven years of hard work – putting in my daily reps. That's the mind set that I want to share. I've got more to do and I want to help others to get on to more healthy lives. Good things happen when you give back to the community.”