The latest greatest fad

Alright, upon talking with colleagues and friends, I'm going to do this.

I'm starting a new fad. THE new fad.

this is going to be better than P90X

better than the bosu, stability balls.

Better than TRX.
they
Better than the ab circle, shake weight, and stand-on-it-and-it-shakes-you thingy.

so what is this fad you say?

drummmmmmMMM rolllllll....

the fad is:

NO FAD.

thats right. there is NO FAD that works. that is why they called it a fad. they potentially work in the beginning.

they might even make you in much better shape than the gym has ever gotten you into. but lets ask ourselves the following questions:

1) did you change your eating habits?
2) How is/was your stress level?
3) what do you attribute to your success? the workout/fad solely?
4) how "on track" were you?

that is just a couple questions to ask yourself.

where am i going with this?

I'm going to provide a series of "helpful articles" or ways to keep yourslef going. what the answers are. I've provided most of them in here, but i can see them being confusing so i'm going to do something i haven't done, and "lay it out" what you should be doing, and what i do with most Mega Marty Nutrition & Fitness clients.

I've contemplated doing this and not doing this, but I've decided to give away the Mega Marty Method fad: there is no fad.

I'm going to lay out what I would have YOU or anyone else doing.

questions are MORE than welcomed, thats what I pride myself on is being able to answer any questions you can.

So prepare for the new fad: NO FAD!!!

season of lies and excuses

So, A couple people asked me to do this, so here it is.

the holidays. christmas new years and any other ridiculous excuse you may conjure up to overeat and blame the gain on is here!

i hope you can see already where i am going with this.

let me ask you this.

what is on december 28th?

nothing.

exactly.

so, therefore, why are you/people still making excuses about their nutrition then?

in all honesty, i really don't believe in any day being a free for all. even Christmas day itself. people do have different "holiday meals" in terms of some have it for breakfast, some have turkey lunch, some have turkey supper. I haven't met someone who does all 3.

where am i going with this?

if you know that you're going to "indulge", have some "non-approved" items, do NOT let yourself be convinced that it is "okay" to do it THE WHOLE TIME aka December 1st - Jan. 2nd ish.

that is just flat out awful, and you know it. we love excuses. I heard numerous people at the gym about 2 ish weeks ago saying
"yeah, its already started with the christmas cookies, christmas parties, " etc etc etc.

give me a break.

if you actually want fitness, and its a goal (not below on the list of get super fat over the holidays) of yours, remember that.

yes, be social. yes have some egg nog. don't drink the whole carton of egg nog while eating every last shortbread/stuffing/peanut butter balls you can. that is not "enjoying the holidays" that is "self sabbotage" that will only lead you to a crappy start to your new year, and a lowered self esteem.

want to know what my plans are? tonight (christmas eve) I will be going to my girlfriends house for a family get together. i might have one or 2 snacks if it tickles me the right way.

tomorrow? the big day? I'm having turkey supper. guess waht I'm having the rest of the day? my regular prescribed meals.

....


there is the extent of my christmas indulging. I didn't plan on this being a "how to survive the holidays" guide, because in my opinion, its trash and if you want one, go pick up any fitness magazine.

suck it up, stop lying to yourself making excuses. even if you are away from home, you can still bring protein powder and lots of other snacks to get you by. not fly off the rails so hard you can't see them when you come to.

What do you expect?

Sometimes i get asked

"that's it?"

"where is the variety?"

"I'm very unimpressed with this."

"i thought there would be more to it."

and to this, i smile and ask..

"what do you expect?"

note that the comments i get that look like those above are ALWAYS before a nutritional program has been attempted AT ALL.

before changes have been implemented. before anything has even been given a chance.

it used to make me angry. very angry. but then i came to terms with it.

most people, ESPECIALLY new people to a nutritional coaching service, need to be brought into this whole new world most of us are already used to VERY lightly.

not overload them with information. if they want information, GREAT! but bare in mind they cant handle it at that amount at that time.

but did you really think there is something magic? an all grapefruit diet? lets only eat chicken on days 1-5 then over indulge on even more grapefruit?

methodical process. there is nothing that works better than being consistent. nothing.

Staying on track/motivation

I get asked a lot how I do it myself.

what keeps you on track? how do you stay motivated?

now, i find it much easier. why?
1)if im not motivated, how the heck am i going to motivate my clients?
2) I have hired a nutritionist and trainer myself. distance, mind you, I haven't found anyone locally i would even consider hiring.
anyone who wants to hack me or make fun of me for hiring someone isn't really looking at the "why"
i not only get to learn from this person, but now i can focus on my clients and them only.
plus, its a business write-off!

not only that, but i do the following still:

social circle.

this I am finding out more and more as i progress myself and watch my clients grow, its the most important factor.
When i was scratching my head wondering why this client is failing, and lots of my reasonings had drifted, it was this.

you need to have people around you who are at the very LEAST supportive, and at the best, involved/have the same goals as you.

this really is becoming more and more imperative. I've seen people with the greatest ambition in the world , so it seems, fail horribly due to this.

worse, i have trained wives/husbands/friends whom which get RIDICULED for their attempt at better their health, performance, and body composition.

yes, we really are THAT negative and jealous of each other, that if someone has a goal, we blatantly hack them down. this DISGUSTS me, but here we are.

suggestions? get a buddy. post on kijiji. ask a friend to start up with you. hire a personal trainer nutritionist (BIG PLUG). find out when the recreational sports teams are playing/what/where and join a team. CHANGE your social circle if yours isn't what you want it to be. I'm very lucky to have my best friend be an aspiring bodybuilder and already successful business man (which is what I'm aiming for) so we do very well together.

Training Partners work for a bit at least, and will definitely help keep you going.

Motivational articles / videos.

this is what I have found to use a lot more lately. there are some fantastic youtube videos and articles. they really are not hard to find, just do a general/basic search and they'll be there.

a lot of my personal training clients end up going on their own. I sound like a used car salesman talking to them, but i really try to get them to keep coming in weekly for an assessment, which includes us having a 15 minute chat and checking their nutrition. this creates MUCH better adherence and accountablilty.

journal

not only a food journal, but a training journal. these help out a crazy amount. now you're accountable for yourself. look up what those 2 pizza pieces have for calories. it'll blow you away, and motivate you.

motivational photos

this has 2 meanings. sure, get a photo of an athlete or someone whom you'd like to look like. but don't get it in your head you'll look JUST like them. better more, get a photo of you at your WORST. and keep it close (computer, wallet, desk) and know you're NOT going back there. ever.

a good eye:

if you're not going to get a nutritionist, have someone with agood eye let you know how to progress is going. scales will end up lying, so you need someone that can say "okay, you do look better" or "no, you look awful" when everyone else is saying you look fantastic.


what i have found to do especially, is "pick the motivation"
when someone says " i don't know why you're in here marty, you've been doing this for years and are still small" i LOVE THAT. i BATHE in that. that is so motivating to me. why? because i KNOW what i look like when im off. when im slacking. they think this is small/fat? you don't want to KNOW.

or when i wanted to get 5 reps, and i got 3. that doesn't discourage me. that INFURIATES me. i walk away, enraged, and underline it in my log book. that damn next time i will BLOW by 5 reps. smash it into smithereens.

there are a LOT of people that will pick being defeated. pick the motivational. don't you dare let someone or a log book or even YOU tell yourself you can't. up that. you can do this.

machine gun supplement reviews

So, here it is. This will ne quick, but its my detailed or as not detailed opinion as I see fit of todays current supplements.

1) gaspari's size on

I've always enjoyed Gaspari for the most part, and sixeon is their flagship product in my opinion. They now have 2 the offseason and pre contest. Both have great merit depending on your current nutritional needs. While I still prefer to create my own version of sizeon now, this would be my pick for the post/intra workout sipllemeneyd currently out there.

2) allmax's razor 8 pre workout.

Well, we are now in the realm of ultra super concentrated pre workouts. This is great and awful. This is brand new, and I've tried it only twice but seemed to enjoy it. It gave me great energy and focus. something i look for in a pre workout. i used 2 scoops.

Now, my beef with these super ultra concentrated supplements is that they're charging us the same if not more for less than half he gun. Yes, I know there is month filler/sugar, but still these should be cheaper.
Also, on top of that they're not containing creatine and if they are it is in no significant amount at all.

So, I would pick the cheapest and the one you "feel" he most and stick with it

3) true protein's geranimo

This is my pick for pre workout. Very no frills, has all the goodies in termsnod wake ups and mood enhancers. I just add extra creatine andnim done. Love it. However, it tastes awful especially the lime. Grape and fruit punch is okay.

4) vitargo

Vitargo is supposed to be a superior form of waxy maize. I'm going to say 2 things only on this.
1) its insanely overpriced
2) if there is a benefit compared to regular waxy maize, it isn't going to be THAT significant for anyone.

Where were you?

I expect a lot from my clients. one of my downfalls as a trainer/nutritionist is that i expect too much and I know this.

why do i expect so much?

because these people are capable, and i know what they can do. even though they can't see it, i definitely can. I'm talking about first time gym goers learning how to breathe properly all the way down to one of my bodybuilders getting that last rep with their limb trembling from the rep that took them 10 seconds to complete right before it.

Where was I tonight? Saturday, November 20th at 7pm?

at the gym.

how come? kids, I want it that bad. I want to compete in bodybuilding so bad that this is where I was. I waited till the nighttime so that i could have more food in me to push. well, to be more correct to pull.
Tonight was some deadlifts. there was about, oh, 7 other guys maybe in the gym with me. I loaded up the bar with 1 plate, warmed up. smiling.

smiling?

yep.

i CANNOT STAND dealifts. if i had to pick a lift i HATE the most, the deadlift would be it. why? i have very, very long legs. disproportionate legs. so much that it hinders a lot of things (squats, deadlifts, etc) in all the wrong ways. it puts a lot of torque on my low back, demanding a LOT from my abdomen and my low back.

so, smiling? yes. becuase i know that this is what I need. not that I am by any stretch big, but my upper back (rhomboids in particular) need legg work than my para spinals and my traps, and lower lats. the cure? deadlifts.

so this is why i smile. in the face of something i hate, it in turn makes me insurmounatably happy. also why am i smiling? becuase last week i got my reps. just, just, just barely. by the skin of my abs holding my spine in place i got my reps.

so, where am i going with this once again?

i had to load up the bar with more frigging weight.

personal best at my bodyweight was/is my goal every single time i step into that area. just outside the altar (thats what i call the squat rack. ala Tom Platz... think of it as some kind of sacrificial altar. thats what I do)

so if you ever are waining. your goals are depressing you. all those cliche sayings are very true.

when the tough gets going, the going gets tough.
the early bird catches the worm
winners never quit.

yadda yadda yaddda.

yes. yes and more yes.

I really do understand when things are getting hard.

I've been fat.
I've been skinny.
I've dieted very hard doing an hour and 40 minutes of cardio every day for a long time.
I've eaten so much food that even looking at rice makes me think the worst thoughts in the world.

I'm not saying you have to do what i do. at all. I'm saying that I actually do understand what/why/how the whole shabang.

if you want a push

you want to hear more about my stories.

ask.6 l

PS. I put an extra 5 lbs on my deadlift bar, and got an extra rep (6 last week, 7 this week)

"who is that skinny guy training those big guys?"

I hear this all the time.
Overheard, of people asking my clients
"why are you training with him?"

This post was sparked by a conversation I had with a new client of mine that we had just finished an assessment about 2 weeks ago. This new client is already more muscular and more shapely than myself, but here he was in front of me, after seeing my work around the gym for the past 2.5 years, he finally is coming to alter himself.
and he's coming to me.

I have trained some very large bodybuilders.

If you read my bio, in another post on here, you'll see more of my story.

I am currently 6'1" with no abs at 183 lbs.

huh?

exactly. so, why do they come to me? whats up top.

I have taken people with weak areas (upper chest, lagging legs etc) and showed them based upon what I have learned, what they should do for THEIR scenario. even today doing my workout, I was getting some very interesting looks regarding what I was doing. I hope nobody tries to do exactly what I was doing, because I was doing more "experimenting" to fix my horrendously underdeveloped chest.

There is something to this. I now look at people differently. know how people look at girls to see how hot they are etc? I look at them and pick them apart in my head. what they're lacking, whats good, what I could do to help their physique. Girls and guys alike. its a curse, but it aids me in my quest to take people exactly where they want to go.

Am I out of shape? I don't believe so. so, its not as if these people are listening to a fat nutritionist or anything, but they are listening to a small bodybuilder/someone who is bodybuilding.

One of my mentors told me a very important piece of information, when I was asking him what books/information he's read that I could benefit further from. he told me that I have the current info, to now hone my craft. do what I want. make these bodybuilders bigger and better.
He told me I am nothing without
1) a great track record of results
2) trust

And i sat back and thought about it. and yes, all of my clients trust me 100%. not just that I won't hurt them, but that I know what I am doing, and that everything i do is in their best interest.

so where am I going with this?

huh?

why are they listening to me? whats up top.

What I have inside this insanely blonde head of mine.

the conversation with the client consisted of me explaining what I thought we should do nutritionally and training wise to get this already in shape bodybuilder to the next level.

This particular client was training 6+ times per week, with cardio, with a moderate to pretty decent nutrition program.

I told him we'll be training 3 X per week, for roughly an hour, and that's it.
I told him the nutritional ideas i was thinking of. as most of you know, they're nothing fancy (other than some few tips and tricks i have learned) but they seem to work.

and guess what?

he bought it.
he was leaning forward most of the conversation, and sat back at the end and said that if it wasn't me, he'd laugh and walk out.

The client called me the bodybuilding equivalent of a golf caddy.
I'm loosely quoting him here, but it was something along the lines of:

"Every pro golfer could beat the piss out of their caddy on the golf course, but they always listen to them to make them the pro golfer that they are. so you are kind of like the golf caddy for bodybuilders"

and that really made sense and hit home. I love it! I think it would be AWESOME to known as the golf caddy for bodybuilding. I want to take guys from where they are to anywhere/everywhere physically possible for them.

so, This is not me bitching. this is me basking in the humility of which i have received.

one of more other clients said that I have a reputation of being a "hard ass" on my clients. I laughed it off, and told some of my other clients that. to my surprise, they all kind of agreed. they assured me its in the best way possible, but also what they're saying is that there is an intimidation factor to training with Mega Marty. That was very eyebrow raising, but I suppose if you were watching me with my clients from the treadmill, It would look like I am beating the tar out of my clients (especially my women) by the pace we train and by the looks on their faces during and after the workouts.

very interesting indeed.

How to long to have a Personal Trainer

This post is simply my opinion. there may be some arguments here, but hey guess what? its my blog not yours! haha!

So, I get asked this quite a bit, and I usually always breath in big, breath out big, and say with a smile "It depends"

on what?

1) level the client is at
2) skill level of the client
3) motivation of the client
4) financial situation of the client
5) schedule of the client
6) goals of the client

There are probably more I'm leaving out, but lets go with that.

So, level?
as in, are they BRAND new in the gym, or is this a bodybuilder looking for a bit of optimization?

obviously the first needs much more "personal training"
I do not offer "introductory 3 sessions" anymore. i have found that the success/come back to the gym on their own rate is very poor. I have looked every way I can to make sure its not me not being able to teach the exercise correct. However, I am looking into other mediums such as a video series and a book, so stay tuned.

Because, if you are a decent trainer at ALL, you are attempting to train the client to be able to train themselves. so, in essence you are training them to be a trainer.

did i learn everything i know in 3 hours? haha! some may think so, but no, no it wasn't 3 hours.

2) skill level. how good are they grasping concepts? breathing? posture? remembering what a "bench press" is? do they need repeated instruction every time? these are all massive factors. I ask myself "would I feel comfortable letting this person go off on their own?"

3) Is this person looking for the magic bullet? or can i convince them that yes, it does boil down to lots I have talked about in this blog, such as genetics, effort, meal planning, direction, commitment, scheduling, everything.

4) I'm just going to be someone who says it. personal training is a luxury service. not everyone can afford it. I know of some people that pay in excess of 1000$ per person (for JUST TRAINING) a month, whom i wouldn't pay that specific trainer more than 50$/month. This is the part that sucks. If anyone has met me, they hopefully know that its not about the money for me. at all. yes, it pays the bills, but I LOVE what I do. this goes back to the how to pick a trainer article that Lyle McDonald went over in one of my earlier posts.

5) this is where we run into fun. what do most people do? work. so, obviously when is popular? 5:30 am - 8:00am ish... then 4:30 pm - on. so, once that is filled, and you have someone that wants a slot for full time training... you have to kind of scratch your head and try to make it work. this is sometimes very hard to get done. the more steady you can have someones fitness schedule, the better. this gets them into a "workout time" per say and makes things much easier, instead of calls saying "when were we working out again?" or things along those lines. especially for people that want to put guarantees onto their services, are you talking pure training? training and nutrition? supplements? cardio? yep...

6) are they coming in for something to do? or does this person want to run a marathon? massively different goals. and this goes back to skill and level of client. an obese client with a goal of a marathon will need much more personal training than the fit, previously marathoned seasoned client.

SO WHATS THE ANSWER MARTY????

I told you already. It depends.

I now do not train clients for anything less than a month. at this moment in time, I feel anything less is going to fail the client, and therefore I am failing. This is assuming they are a first time client, fresh in the gym.

every other type of client, it depends. it really does. maybe ask your trainer some of these questions? how long do i NEED to be with you? or maybe you just flat out want to be with them, which is more than fine.
I have clients that could definitely do it on their own, but they remain with me for the motivation and wanting everything perfect and laid out for them.

Cardio & the Suicide Girls

Yes, this needs to be said YET AGAIN.

I have had many clients ask "why aren't I doing that much cardio?"
or
"why am I walking?"

here is the big secret.

Cardio doesn't mean cardio!

huh?

To me and my clients, they eventually find out there are 2 types of cardio.

1)cardio preformed for fat loss
2) cardio preformed to aid/improve a sport

Most of my clients fall in category 1.

so, what burns FAT? walking. slow walking. body fat can do it, its very easy to do this.

running, however, when the goal is fat loss, CAN be counterintuitive. basically, it can backfire and do one or a combo of the following:
1) make the metabolism shift downward (shutting it off)
2) make the body scared thinking its running away from something (I usually use a dinosaur)
3)tell the body its going to have to do this a lot (running), so it ditches muscle instead of fat
4) make the body dependent on the cardio to keep the heart rate up.

do any of those seem plausible to you? didn't think so.

so as mentioned in one of my previous posts, yes it is better to do cardio FOR FAT LOSS in the morning or after workouts. we're trying to ditch fat.

for other means? sports? thats a good question. depends on the sport, how badly the goal is wanted to be achieved, and how fat the person is along with that sport.

Also, having no calories while doing cardio FOR SPORT would seem silly. how is your body going to push further and get better without a fuel supply? exactly.

so, the suicide girls are the ones doing insane amounts of cardio, weights, EVERYTHING and not seeing any results.

look around your gym, they're everywhere.

Supplements

The original Intent of this blog was for me to review supplements. As you can plainly see that didn't happen. why?
1) there are a ton out there
2) i had a lot of great response following my initial informative posts.

so...

here we are!

so, what when how why supplements???

I'm not a big fan of supplements. working in the industry for a long time, taking quite a few myself, going to university for chemistry for 3 years, reading various reviews/references/studies have all brought me to the following conclusions:

1) Most are horribly overpriced
2) Most are horribly underdosed with the main/proper/effective ingredients
3) Most are overdosed with crap ingredients
4) Most have zero backing of science/studies THAT RELATE TO HUMANS

This is what makes me angry. seriously, what works is usually banned within a bit due to a few people getting way to out of hand.

people say "well, if fat burner X did this, if i take 234289923 X the does, i'll get THAT much more results!"
and now we have a heart attack, or something similar, along with them consuming who knows what else (narcotics, other prescriptions, a horrendous diet, etc)
and BOOM. supplement is illegal/banned.

so, what works Mega Marty?
arg, FINE I'll start doing what I was going to do all along. lets start with a

MULTIVITAMIN!

So yes, a multivitamin. why? think of it as nutritional insurance. to make sure that you have everything JUST IN CASE something could be low. almost like a force field for your immune system too. nothing sucks worse than when you are trying to lose/gain weight if you get sick and the exact opposite happens.
so, as with everything, where is the science? the backing up?
That is NOT what this blog is for. if you would like references and all that fun stuff that no one here really wants anyways, search for it. That's all i have to say on that.

What have i found that works? I really like the following

1) Garden of life Multis. (all of their products period are fantastic)
2) Universal Nutrition's Animal Pak
3) Controlled Lab's Orange Triad
4) True Protein's 3-A-Day.

these ones should do the trick. are there other good ones? sure. but these ones hands down I've seen the research and real world evidence that I personally need to be able to put my stamp of approval on.

Suggested dosing:

1 "serving" in the morning with breakfast, water/salt/electolytes with it.
If/When dieting hard, I'd have another "dose" at last meal of day too.

More quick myths!!!

1) Squats are bad for your knees

NO. IMPROPER squats potentially yes.

2) Ab exercises will get rid of my belly/love handles

NO. Ab exercises should be emplored when the abs and lower back are impeding the effectiveness of other exercises aka squat and deadlift, or if visible definition or growth is desired.

3) Machines vs. Free weight?

Both. I believe in an "ideal" system. In other words, do what is safe, effective and comfortable. Once you have achieved this, then attempt more intricate exercises/machines properly.

4) You need to workout all the time

NO. Most of my clients train with weights for a minimum of 1.5 hours/week, up to a max of 4 hours/week. I feel any more time spent is catabolic and wasting your time/overtraining.

5) Direct rotator work/ shoulder warm ups?

You'll see a lot of people doing interestingly abnormal exercises with plates, dumbells, cables and the like. Most saying its "warming up their shoulders" or "working their rotators" most of these are being done at wrong weights, tempo, technique, or worse, all. There are a couple great things to do for shoulder stretches/warm ups.
If something looks flat out strange, DO NOT ATTEMPT IT. Post it here, and ill tell you what's going on.

6) High reps for cutting up

NO. What built the muscle? Strength training. Do you want to ditch that muscle? Then don't change your workout. Change your NUTRITION. This is especially true for women. You WANT the muscle. Keep stimulating it attempting to force it to hang around and ditch the fat. Providing less stress at the supposed benefit of "sweating more" or "getting more cardio in" is silly. Do the treadmill/stepper for cardio. Keep doing weights for weights.

7) The eliptical is safer on the knees

NO. Almost exactly the opposite. Its puytting you out of your natural stride. Treadmill will always win.

8) Incline burns more calories.

YES. ONLY IF YOU DO NOT HANG ON. I have no idea how many people I see doing this a day. Jacking up the incline on the treadmill to 15 only to see them hanging on, completely negating the incline. Hilarious.

9) Anything more than an hour of cardio at a time is not good.

Yes and no.

For fat loss/ altering physique, yes. Anything more will really start to dip into muscle storage

For athletes/marathoners and the like, no. Keeping their VO2 up and being able to withstand more volumes is their goal. This seguays into...

10) Carbs around cardio?

Yes and no.

Once again, for fat loss, proposterous. Would you eat a big mac on the tread mill?? Then why the heck are you consuming something before/during? Maybe if you...

Athlete/marathoner. Then yes, provide yourself nutrients to preform better. Lyle mcdonald has a fantastic book on this, check it out more if you are interested



Here is a side note, and I can't believe I haven't said this yet in my blog. When a client asks me what they should bring/wear to workout, I ususally say "clothes that aren't too baggy or too tight, water bottle, and flat shoes". "Why flat shoes?" "I'll explain later"

Ask yourself right now, what do I wear to the gym when doing weights?

If you said runners, cross trainers or anything to that variety, I ask you this.

Are you running?

Nope.

So why the HECK are you wearing runners?

95% or more wear them. When do I care about this/when is it an issue? Leg training. YOU ARE NOT MEANT TO BE ON YOUR TOES CONSTANTLY.
Flat feet/flat shoes. Vibram five fingers are EXCELLENT. Pumas make a great one. So do otomix. Or simply slip into your socks when squatting/leg pressing.
That is another place where squats/leg presses ruin your knees came from. Would you apply pressure/attempt to move something with just your fingertips? Nope. So why try to do it with your toes???

Fat Burners

So, where do I start without getting into trouble on this one?
lets start here.

Before I even look into looking into fat burners (yes, that was read correctly)
the following must be in check
1. nutrition. if you jump on a fat burner without being nutritionally sound, you're not only stupid, but wasting your money and potentially heading down a very serious risky path for health.
2. training. what are you doing in the gym? cardio? weights? none? both? how?
3. previous experience. coffee drinker? red bull drinker? not?
4. sleep/adrenal support. have you been drinking stimulants at MASSIVE excess? is it keeping you up?

SO thats All I can think of for now, but I might add to that.

So, lets say you have been following a sound nutrition program for 3ish or more months, been training/preforming cardio for 3ish or more months, sleeping good, and don't smother yourself with red bull.

do I enjoy fat burners?

I sure do.

I WOULD ONLY LOOK INTO FAT BURNERS IF PROGRESS HAS HALTED.
Cardio, once everything has been put to the test, should be set to destroy.

turn up the heat, if you will.

this is when to take fat burners. before cardio, to make the cardio more effective without having to preform insane amounts.

do NOT lose your mind over ephedrine. if you are, I'm not going to say anything, I'll let my idols do the talking. read this post, paying particular attention to Chris Aceto and Lyle McDonald:

http://www.trackyourdiet.com/articles/EPHEDRA-FREE-FAT-BURNERS---EXPERTS-ROUNDTABLE-16.aspx

Okay, are you back? good!

so, are there good fat burners out there other than EC?

kinda. some WILL help, but don't expect a massive boost.

I really enjoy True Protein's BURN fat burner.

I customize fat burning supplements to the client, based upon what I have seen as their tolorance, and if they even need them.

BUT there seems to be 2 competing schools of thought.

1) FAT BURNERS WILL KILL YOU! DO NOT TAKE THEM! HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE! HEART ATTACK! HEALTH RISK!
and
2) I took one fat burner and didn't feel anything, so lets take 2342387342X the dose, and I'll lose FAT 2342387342X quicker, right?

errrrr.

the answer, as always, lies in between. want some guidlines?

-Start out very slow. underneath the recommended dose. lets say half.
-does the fat burner have a good track record? do many people use it and have success? anyone you personally know?
-get the opinion of someone you respect (preferably a very handsome Blonde Personal Trainer/Nutritionist who's name rhymes with Party)
-make sure hydration is in check (electrolytes versus water consumption)

most of the over the counter fat burners are crap. just crap. overpriced green tea that give you a "feel"

here are ones I have find to be decent:

Ripped Freak
EC stack
Burn

that's it. that sucks, doesn't it?

I hope this helped, and people don't come back saying "Mega Marty is ALLllLLLL about the fat burners"

no. I'm not.
properly used, the EC stack DESTROYS fat

Individualization Part 1: Training

So, everyone is looking for the custom program, the right program,
actually, lets call it the "perfect program" (PP) for them.

who wouldn't want the PP just for them, the one that's going to take them to the level that they want to be at?
the one that is going to get them there the quickest?
On top of this, however, is a whole other issue which people seem to always blindly forget, which is safety. I'll write about that at another time.

So, how do you know what the PP is? how do you obtain it? will a trainer tell you it? Will the latest issue of womans/mens health tell you?

Maybe. Possibly. Yes, this is my answer to a LOT of questions, but here is my lengthy response.

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN FINDING YOUR PP (wow that just sounds wrong and hilarious)

1) joint/tendon issues/injuries

This is very, VERY important. If you've ever been told or know that you have tight rotators, but believe the behind the neck press is beneficial, weigh out the pros and cons. this is MURDER on someone with bad rotators and terrible form. figure out what you have injured, and REALLY give it an unbiased opinion. saying "its fine" won't cut it. people have amazing compensation powers. this is why people squat with bad form, and don't feel it in their knees until years later. exact same with car crashes. years later, pain. make sure you don't put the cart before the horse. get it figured out, and fixed. if it can be just strengthened, fantastic. if it needs work, then go to a competent massage therapist. I have found through my studies that someone doing Trigger Point Therapy is the answer for almost all of non-tear pains. If you live in Red Deer, Alberta, come see me and I'll tell you whom to go see for this.

2) What sports you played in your life

Yes, this is anecdotal, but it has panned out in every case I've found. If you played volleyball, all that jumping is likely to have done a number on your legs somewhere. If you played baseball, your rotators are probably tight, or are imbalanced, or both.
take a look at this knowledge, and try to remember what muscles either hurt, or felt "the burn" in more, or felt as if they did "all the work" this WILL help.

3) what have you done in the past that you didn't feel (in the specific muscle group you're intending to work) or felt in another muscle group.

This will say a lot as well, some people (like myself) have MANY structural problems, posture wise, minute muscle group wise, that impedes us from reaching to what others comes naturally. This is awful, because you can look over at the guy/girl doing curls, and their bicep is working perfectly without much thought, but when you preform them, you feel it in your shoulders, or worse (like me) your tricep. what the...? exactly.

4) Bone structure/limb length.

Yes, I believe in squats like crazy. they're my number one. I'm probably the last person that should be doing them due to my silly leg to torso length (my legs are much, MUCH longer than my torso). so, this causes a lot of torque on my lower back from me having to stick my butt out much further than someone with shorter legs, and cause excessive roundind of my lower back, and forward bending. take this into consideration, where some exercises/machines just flat out won't work for you.

5)how long have you been training? are you lifting or training?

exactly. some people are on cruise control. they're in there, lifting, no real goal, just happy to be there. that is MORE THAN FINE! but don't expect results passed where you've gotten. if something isn't working, don't keep it (mind you if it doesn't work, think about technique, and how long you've been doing it before completely writing it off). train smarter, not harder. if your arms aren't growing, don't do more. we've been over that. its overtraining.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. so how do you determine all of these things ?

Hire someone competent (MEGA MARTY! SHAMELESS, SHAMELESS PLUG!) to assess you. I do a lot of exercises with my clients that are the same. why? because I know what is the most beneficial to the client. I have put them on my "ideal" machines/exercises and seen if they're ready for them, based upon those guidelines I've just mentioned. many, many people are flat out too weak to squat even themselves. many, many people can't even hold the 5 lb dumbbells due to their stabilization muscles aren't developed AT ALL!
Hopefully you can find someone to help you out with this.

Remember, question everything, but do not overthink it into oblivion either. there is a fine, fine line.

Also, some of the routines in Oxygen, Mens/womens health, or any other magazine might not be all that bad. but if you're preforming them incorrectly, then yes, the could be awful.

Anecdotal Evidence

So yes, We must rely on science in this industry as much as we can. But, from the people I have learned from, whether its fitness professionals, or my very own clients, there are many things that flat out make me raise an eyebrow if not two at the same time.

You know what I'm talking about. these things that just have no flat out explaination, but yet seem to occur all the time... with a LOT of people, enough that I/you can't pawn it off saying "oh, thats just a rare occurrence"

I'm going to share today my own ramblings, things that I feel no one really discusses, and that there is no "science" to back up, but maybe I'm crazy enough to be onto something...

1) Men over thirty hit the wall.

I have had I do not KNOW how many men that I train/have trained that come into my office during their interview, and state something along the following lines.
"I looked great/had muscle/didn't have to worry about my weight until I got to 35"
Like clockwork. the man who coasted through on genetics, drinking, eating, doing whatever he wanted without any/very little effort nutritionally/physically has hit the wall at 35. yes, some people hit it before that, but I've seen too many clients 35, 38, 42 or whatever age, to have it be ignored.

what i think: it might have to do with the dip in testosterone, or a mid life crisis, or a combination. stress can get to a guy, and finally cause his body to physically rebel.

2) Women hit the wall as early as 19.

Yes, its dramatically different for most women. I have trained women from all over in terms of age, and everytime its around 19-22ish where it "all went downhill". they looked good/great in highschool, and now its gone. that early.

what i think: this one is coupled with the next one

3) stress, any amount, KILLS a woman's weight loss/physical goals.

Yep, everytime where I've scratched my head, and said to myself "wow this one i don't quite get" and their adherence is bang on, haven't missed a weight session, a meal, a cardio session, sleep is awesome...I've asked "are you stressed? at all?"
and sure enough, "well...kinda" usually comes out. this one to me is very "witch doctorish" in terms of the profound effect. I have had ladies go on vacation, eat like TRASH (that were NOT overtrained) and come back LOSING weight. no, they didn't under ear or drink so much booze it flushed them, but they were RELAXED. and then, as soon as they jump RIGHT back into their program... the FAT (not weight) falls off... it really is mind blowing...

4) weight/fat loss is not linear.

This one is pretty strange too. I personally have held a weight for 2-3 weeks straight... then, without changing a thing, boom. 1-2 lbs a week (up if gaining, down if losing). same thing for women. I believe we must have some kind of threshold, something along the lines of a dam. the more things that build up on the dam, the more pressure, then WHAM the dam breaks and the weight loss/gain flies down/up.

5)Genetics are paramount.

This is very self explanatory, but you cannot look like person x, and they cannot look like you. make YOURSELF bigger/stronger/faster/fitter/BETTER.

6)The more muscular you are naturally, the more injury prone you are.

this one also strange. most mesomorphs (the kids who don't work hard to have a lot of muscle/little fat) hurt themselves more. little tweaks here and there. maybe someone can help me out on this one... just I've seen it too much to have it be ignored.

7) Birth control's effects on weight loss/physical goals are insane.

yes, I've had people with a genuine LOVE of food...hate food. I've had people lose weight during their menstrual only to gain it back when its done. I've had vice versa. I've had moods altered, dispositions changed, goals changed, all revolving around/the cause of being a switch in Birth control. we need to study these medications MUCH more...

That's it for now, I'll think of more and come back to share more. definitely some "but i've tried it all, what do i do?" things to think about.

Stronger Vs Sloppier Vs Fatter

This one pertains mostly to men, so hopefully I get my male readers to take a hard look at themselves.
So yes. you've been working out for any amount of time, and hopefully you've been listening to what I've been talking about, technique and progressive resistance.
Things are going good.
your squat weight has doubled.
your inches on your biceps have gone up.
shirts are tighter.

but...

how is that waistline?
how is that neckline?
are you getting stronger, or just getting fatter?

this is a HUGE problem. especially with hilarious terms like
"bulking" or, even worse, "dirty bulking" which I believe refers to eating nothing but crap in attempts to gain weight. (remember my weight post ?)

I remember being 255 lbs. my deadlift was awesome. now currently being 180ish, my deadlift is down. why? LEVERAGE. I'm not a 255 lb strong FAT monster. fat definitely being the keyword.

I got caught up. I admit it. I was getting "stronger"

but...

I looked awful. triple neck/chin, love handles/belly was huge. 36-38 waist pants (yes kids, if you're a male and above 38, you need to have a chat with me)
My hips/waist I currently wear a 28-32 depending on the company, and need a belt. so yes, that was FAT for me. not muscle.

So, on top of that, what do I mean by sloppier? I mean how is the technique?
are you REALLY curling the 63's? or are you SWINGING those bad boys up?
are you going 1/16th of the way down on the leg press?
are you going 1/8th of the way down when squatting?
are you swinging the living heck out of the lat pulldown machine?
dropping the weight on the negative only to rebound on the positive?
using a spotter for 5 reps, saying you got 7 reps?

LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY LIFTING/SWINGING.

Are you getting stronger or sloppier with the technique? ESPECIALLY back and legs.

believe me, been there, done that. if its working now, it'll top out. seriously. I don't care how genetically gifted you are, it'll top out.

sit down with you're log book (if you even have one) and say to yourself "did i REALLY get 7? or was that 6 with one spotted?"

Personal Trainers Suck

I just posted a Kijiji ad, (here: http://reddeer.kijiji.ca/c-services-fitness-personal-trainer-Personal-Trainers-STINK-W0QQAdIdZ230920095)

and sparked this post. its way past my bedtime, but i had to get this off me.

Personal Training, and one of the reasons I am in this industry, has fallen from grace.
There should be a certain esteem to saying "yeah, I am a Personal Trainer"
BUT
There are tons, and I mean TONS of flat out crappy Personal Trainers out there.

I know for a fact that at expertrating.com there is a 70$ personal training certification. and it is EASSSSSY.

Boom, now you're a certified personal trainer. so please, explain the biomechanics behind the squat?
Errrrr...
What?
Exactly

Its ruining my passion. thats why I am here. to sift through all the crap and give you the truth. call me out on the "Mega Marty Method" all you like. I will not waiver what I believe in. when I post something on here, its not JUST anecdotal, its (for the most part) scientific, and based upon results, health and safety.

This is where the business gets lost. They're fresh off the boat with their certification, and now they're applying for jobs/training.

I honestly could care LESS how much formal education you have.
CPT, CSCS, Kinesiology degree, blah blah blah.

what do you KNOW?

can you take what you have read and use it in the real world? can you make someone safe? can you diet someone without putting them into the hospital?

They don't teach the most important part: how to deal with clients, how to implement the proper changes, how to treat PEOPLE.

Am I angry? sure. a bit. BUT
I know that I am making a difference. eventually, people will see what I'm doing and say "hey, that guy with the wild blonde hair isn't as crazy as he looks"

Nutrition?
HAHAHAHAHHAA
don't get me STARTED on what most Personal Trainers recommend for nutrition. the coverage in most certifications is trash to say the best. they promote pretty much the Canada's food guide.
Right.

I have not lost hope, nor am I saddened by the current state of affairs. its motivates me to bring you guys what the truth is. you'll have to sift through my reckless writing style to get to it however.

I felt this was needed to be said. most trainers really have no idea about program design, monitoring, what to do if you have an injury, how often you should be training, what type/amount of cardio you should be doing, when to adjust your workout/nutrition program, anything and everything.

Yes, trainers either google or look into the latest magazine or TV show for what to do. they know just slightly more than the client. and its embarrassing to see.

You have NO IDEA how many of my clients/potential clients tell me what I'm telling them is unlike everything they've ever heard, from either trainers, books, magazines, TV shows. the most important clients are the ones that come to me from other trainers. to see their progress, or lack there of, and then have their eyes be blown wide open with the "Mega Marty Method"

I know this was long, and if you have a Personal Trainer, CONSTANTLY ASK THEM WHY.
If they don't know, I'd fire them on the spot (unless the question is ludicrous and out of the scope of the trainer).

Weight Vs Weight

ahhh yes the old adage.

"I want to lose weight"
"lose weight today"
"take this and lose weight"

What do all these companies mean by "weight"?
exactly as it states.
glycogen, water, salt, muscle, fat.

so, which one of those words should everyone, from bodybuilder to general population be focusing on?

Fat.

It should be called "fat watchers"

so all these companies, Jenny Craig, Weight watchers, U-weight loss, Herbal Magic etc are focusing on losing WEIGHT. yes, you'll lose WEIGHT.

will that make you happy? maybe. most people, women especially, are slaves to the scale. flat out slaves, making them very, very susceptible to compromising not on results, but health too.

Plus, most "lose 7 lbs in 7 days" is dropping water.
Stop eating carbs RIGHT NOW. see what happens on the scale. probably something. carbs hold onto water and glycogen. so, if you take them out, you'll lose water. this is not fat, and don't be deceived by this VERY common marketing trick. you'll say "wow i did lose that weight!" (when you should have said fat) and then you'll spend WAY too much on the company that prescribed the "super diet" to you.

so yes, how do we lose fat, say you?

STOP FOCUSING SO MUCH ON THE SCALE.

unless everything else is completely in check, the scale is awful for a measurement, especially in the beginning, and as a sole measurement.
when coupled with the other modalities of measurement, the scale can help with the story.

what do i use?
bodyfat calipers, measurements, photos, scale, clothes/mirror, and most importantly, STRENGTH.

strength is my #1 when it comes to progress. if your strength is still going up, men or women, providing technique/safety is there, then progress is happening.
how the heck can you stay the same weight, and have ZERO change be happening if your squat weight is going up?
exactly.
its not.
this means something is happening. I have NUMEROUS clients stay almost boarderline the EXACT SAME WEIGHT in their first month. of course, i can see the "defeated look" on their faces. then we look at their log book, and see their weight on the squat has tripled. women don't care (after numerous talks with me, They begin to understand that this is what they should be caring about) about the book, the scale the scale the scale the ajkdbfhadsnf.
you get my point.
SO... we do body fat calipers.
...."I lost 2% bodyfat?"
THATS INCREDIBLE RESULTS! 1 month of 2% loss???? thats 24% a year!!!! LIGHTENING RESULTS!!!
then I ask my famous question... "how are your clothes fitting?"
and every time... "better" or "my pants are looser" or "my shirts are too big"
and i just grin.
Tada. weight is not weight.

Yes, muscle has a greater mass than fat. Its around 2.2 lbs for every 1 lb of fat.
so, lets say you went down in clothing sizes, strength went up, and you're the same weight.
what happened?
you've done the impossible. gained muscle and lost fat. OH MY GOSH BUT MARTY THAT CAN'T HAPPEN ITS BEEN SHOWN IN STUDIES THATS JKASBDJASBHDA.
okay... then you explain to me what happened.
exactly, it did happen. you've lost X amount of fat, and gained X amount of muscle. turnover. this is really living the dream. I sure as heck know that I would LOVE to gain muscle/strength and lose fat at the same time.

so in closing, ladies especially, don't lose your mind over the scale. stop weighing yourself daily. in fact, stop weighing yourself hourly (I've seen this happen!!)

because a lb is not a lb.

Don't lose weight. Lose fat.

Water

So, everyone is told "drink lots of water"
so you do.

Maybe that will work for you, your headaches will disappear, and you'll feel great.

Awesome! I'm happy for you.

but if you're like me, and get headaches at weird times (getting up too fast, lifting heavy, after drinking too much water) then this post is for you.

Electrolytes.

what are they?

well, wikipedia.org has them defined as
"In chemistry, an electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive."

Riiiight.

well, after searching, and figuring out what they are, you basically have something MUCH more important than "drink your water"

BALANCE YOUR WATER

what i mean is that if you don't have a balance of electrolytes, you're more apt to be like me, and have headaches due to turnover of these things called electrolytes.

more commonly, they are:
sodium(Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), chloride (Cl−), hydrogen phosphate (HPO42−), and hydrogen carbonate (HCO3−).

Yes, im saying make SURE you have salt in your hydration plan.

some people, i have prescribed them to takes calcium, mag, and potassium. this is why.

your body regulates fluids through the kidneys. salt pulls the fluid in. so basically, you need to get enough of each of the electrolytes to make sure your kidneys are doing one of their jobs.

so, salting your food with sea salt is a GOOD idea. especially if you're working out, it supplies your body with "grease" for working out. no more cramps, no more weird clicking joints.

Give it a try, it helped myself and a LOT of my clients out. we need salt/electrolytes.

Muscle Soreness

So, everyone has heard the person that just went to the gym, whether they're just starting or not, saying
"WOW! I'm SOOoooOOOO Sore from the gym! my workout was AWESOME! I can't go upstairs, downstairs, sidestairs....etc"
now, why do we all see this as "the way it needs to be"?
In short, its not.
at all.
lets see why.

When you FIRST start lifting, YES! you're going to be SOMEWHAT sore! if anyone has ever snowboarded, or any sport for that matter, and then took the season off to come back that following season to say "WOW IM SOooOooO SORE" etc, ever wonder why?
its because YOUR MUSCLES AREN'T USED TO THAT ACTIVITY!
does it clear up? sure does! its due to not only the media, but the whole "no pain, no gain" and everything else out there that has lead us to believe that its the only way to get in shape. be perpetually sore and that'll yield results.
no.

what is responsible for this is skeletal muscle, and orientation of the bones. such as, if you do an exercise, and get proficient at this exercise, and don't over do the SNOT out of it, you'll not only get better, but you'll be less sore. the body has AMAZING compensation powers. but, when you change the angle of the skeleton, even slightly, BOOM soreness all over again.

an example would be a snowboarder. they're great at snowboarding and the like, and don't feel sore after. then BOOM we have them play football. SORE all over again. but.. I'm "in shape" why am i sore? different actions. same muscles, different orientation, therefore new stress, new soreness.

there is a lot of "muscle confusion" programs out there right now, ala P90X and the like. "keep the muscle confused"
right.

so, football one day/month. then basketball one day/month. then soccer one day/month. then go back to football... what are you going to have retained/remembered about football? very little. will you be sore all over again? sure will. it is NOT proficient to do this. its going to not only confuse your body (like it said) but eventually, it will give up and become smarter than you, and keep in a spot of homeostasis.
ever lost weight to "hit a plateau"? thats your body saying "okay, you've gotten this far, you have to do something better and smarter for me to do anything more for you"
sometimes this can mean
1) be better with nutrition (most of the cases)
2) be smarter with program design (frequency, exercises, reps, resting time, etc)
3) technique (very very very important over the long run)

I have a LOT of people come to me about this, or ask after 2 months they're no longer sore "why?"
i in turn ask them "are you still seeing results?"
answer is, OF COURSE, yes!
so
OH
MY
GOSH! I'm getting more/better results and i don't feel run over by a mack truck everyday? exactly.

even use professions. you're in school. learning about becoming a carpenter. for a month.
next month, rocket science.
next month, cooking.
next month, personal training.
then you go back to carpenter. what the HECK are you going to remember after trying to learn 3 other professions? minimal to nothing. thats what your body is like

keep the program you're doing (beginners ESPECIALLY) for 3 months MINIMUM!!!!
get GOOD at it! build up your muscle! figure out what is working what isn't!

you should feel "tight" the next day, knowing that you worked that muscle group. if you're not, maybe you didn't use enough weight or do enough exercises.

one last analogy for you.

if you fall, and smack your knee, it will swell up. this is what you're doing with your muscle.
now, if you continuously smack it, will it become more inflamed and become more sore for longer? sure will. this is your muscle.
people don't get that when you're in the gym, you're RIPPING APART your muscle on purpose. why? so that it can rebuild stronger, bigger, tighter. this is a good thing when you DON'T OVERDO IT!
but, if you're constantly sore the next day, you must have really done WAY too much, or its a brand new exercise (usually not the case after beginners)
you're not going to recover, let alone get stronger/tighter for your next session!
heal outside of the gym!

a brief bio of myself

I am in my 3rd year of training clients/doing nutritional consulting as a professional in the field, and 1.5 years of that has been my full time job. I am very confident in my training practice and in my skills for adjusting nutritional programs/training programs/supplement programs and the like, but i want more. I am unbelievably passionate about this industry. and here is why:

I was a 155 lb 5'6'' 10 year old kid. I played basketball, football, soccer and volleyball. I was very fat for my age. I actually had to diet down in grade 8 to be able to make the weight limit for the football team (it was 155, and i was 165). Then, the summer going into grade 10, I shot up to almost 6'1'', all of it in my legs. I also had a belly of fat at this weight (I later found out its due to my insanely tiny hip structure, being roughly a 28 in most pants/jeans). To this day i am still very disproportionate in terms of leg length to torso length (roughly a 36 inseam). I then played only football (for 7 years), and then being still 155 at 6'1'', I realized that I was not as strong as the other kids, and was getting knocked around quite a bit because of my height and weight. I looked at weights the winter in grade 11. This made a massive change, i gained about 40ish lbs of fat, water and muscle by eating chicken burgers and KFC big crunches on the weekends. This made football much more easy, but still, i was 190lbs as an offensive center. I did not have a six pack nor was I aesthetically pleasing to look at. My strong bodyparts just grew bigger, in other words, my back thickness, triceps, and quadriceps grew. My chest, shoulders, butt, biceps, calves and hamstrings did not. So, university level football? I think not. i was told to either gain 60lbs or forget about playing football. I opted for the latter.
In university (chemistry major @ Mount Allison University) I looked more into weights. Read every magazine, mens health, muscle and fitness, flex, etc. what happened? When I bulked, i got fat. All the way up to 250lbs. When i tried to cut, i went to 180, with a gut (i got skinny). so then i started looking online. bodybuilding.com forums and the like. i tried things there. nothing happened. i went to animalpak.com and tried all their workouts there. i was so overtrained i could barely think and my marks were suffereing accordingly.
One day, one of my proffs at school told me formal education wasn’t for me. I needed to learn at my own pace, and being in chemistry wasn’t right for me. I thought he was full of it, and left the room very angry.
I was told I wouldn’t be able to have enough money to go back to school. Nova Scotia Student Loan, and Canada student loan wouldn’t give me anymore either. I proceeded to go to live on my own in Moncton, New Brunswick to get some money to go back to school. I ended up finding a great gym, and took it upon myself to continue my research into working out.
I finally after a while grabbed a hold of Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength. That book to this day altered my perception of working out. A lot of my training technique is based upon this book due to not only reading it, but using it on myself to results.
i finally gained some okay REAL muscle. nothing impressive however. I ended up moving to Alberta in search of something else to do with myself (I hadn’t had the ambition to go back to school) I started to look more into who's who in the fitness/weights business. I found names such as John McCullum, Stuart McRoberts, Dante Trudel, Westside method, Bill Star etc
All what these people had said were VASTLY different from what any other source of information I had read told me. So, Armed with this, I worked out again.... Only to ferociously stall/fail.
i knew something was missing. what was that? nutrition.

a little over 3 years ago I grabbed a copy of Power Eating by Susan Kleiner. this book set me on the path to correct/proper nutrition and just how important it really is (i still recommend this book to everyone who is looking to gain fundamental knowledge on nutrition. so from there, i have learned from the likes of: Lyle Mcdonald, Dave palumbo, Shelby Starnes, Justin Harris, Chris Aceto, John Berardi and more. This is what REALLY interested me, and FINALLY made things click. the nutritional aspect. and get this... it was so EASY in the beginning. so beginners nutrition to me is EASY.
Through a weird, interesting series of events, I ended working at a supplement store/tanning salon, due to my prowess in supplements (the 3 years of Chemistry really helps in this). Then I was offered a part-time job as a Trainer. I continued my job at the salon while slowly working up my clientele and experience.
My “Marty Method” was laughed at a LOT when I had my first clients. I had people squatting as quickly as they could, because I had come to believe so intricately in what I had read/seen. Then guess what it was that was failing my clients? Nutrition. Nobody wanted to eat well, nor was I telling them how in ANY way that they could understand!
So, Today, This is my pursuit. I am perpetually studying nutrition and exercise. Its a passion and an obsession. I am now Certified through Precision Nutrition, and have many, many solely nutritional clients where all I do is council them on nutrition. So, Nutrition + Weights + Cardio(when needed) IS THE ANSWER. So, here I am today, with my own nutrition & fitness company, sitting here to able to provide to you what I WANTED to know 7 years ago. 10 years ago even! I can only IMAGINE if i knew how to eat right when i was playing football. All the times falling asleep in English class due to too many processed carbs would be gone. Muscle mass would have been maximized/optimized, and I would be 10 years ahead in my goals. So , take it from me. Nutrition. Is. The. Answer.

Carbohydrate Timing

This is going to be brief, nothing too crazy, but I'm going to put most of the "technical" stuff I have read into something more easy, something you can apply to yourself and your own nutritional programming.

Now, there is lots of talk over which is the best. carbs? no carbs? fats? no fats? and the ever elusive "how much protein is correct?" question that seems to be popping up in every magazine/media outlet/EVERYTHING.

This is my attempt.

So the very simple answer to all the questions is:
it depends.

On what?
Goals, level of experience, need, progression in current nutrition/training program, tolerance, body type, blood type... LOTS

BUT, like I said, here is my attempt to get rid of a lot of the confusion.

Think of carbohydrates at nitrous. they are packed full of energy, and the body's preferred source of fuel. without "getting into it", what they do best is fuel some form of exercise/movement/voluntary process.
so, having that, when is the best timing? exercise in which you are looking to lay down muscle, not destroy muscle, or not lose strength, no lose weight, etc.

SO

IF you are trying to gain weight, or trying to set some form of timing (sprint, distance, etc) then carbohydrates are a great choice.

IF you are trying to lose weight/bodyfat, carbohydrates need to be looked at on a "when i need them" basis.

Also, while sifting through a lot of paperwork/textbooks, women tend to do better (composition wise) on lowER carbohydrates.

So if you are predispositioned to be fat, carbs timing will help you. I would keep them to morning and post workout
If you are more muscular, and are looking to gain weight, look more into packing yourself full of them around the workout, AND in the morning/daily process.

The more weight you can lift (bench press, squat, deadlift etc) then the more carbohydrates you can potentially use to fuel these processes (recovery, actually lifting the weight, energy levels)

ladies then, cannot lift as much as men, hence their need being lower. I like to use carbs in the first meals, and around workouts if their training has been going very well.

Carbs around cardio?

Unless you are trying to increase speed/timing, I would say no. If you have carbs before a cardio session for fat loss, you're essentially burning the carbs you just ate. afterwords your body could potentially use them to repair/rebuild muscle or another process (immune, injuries etc) and be more efficient at it due to your heart rate/metabolic rate being elevated.

Protein - goes up when carbs go down
fats - go up when carbs go down
carbs - go up when protein and fats go down.

I expect LOTS and LOTS of questions on this.

BUT HAVING SAID ALL OF THIS...

everything is individual. I do not want "But Marty, I'm a girl and eat TONS AND TONS and lose TONS of weight!" to come back at me, or any other case.
If you are not the genetically gifted like myself, you/we need to try harder than others to achieve our gym/physique/fitness goals.

so remember:
carbs fuel exercise
fats can fuel you the rest of the time
protein repairs and rebuilds muscle.

Quick answers to common questions

Hi everyone, sorry I have been busy writing my Precision Nutrition Certification (Nutritionist certification)! In case anyone is Interested, I received 97% on the exam, placing myself as the 1st person in Alberta to receive this Cert, and the 7th person in Canada. Not too bad!

Today's post is going to be quick answers to myths, without getting too in depth. hopefully this squashes even more misconceptions about the industry of which I am so passionate about.

1) crunches/leg raises/ ab exercises give me visible abs/reduce fat:
No. Nutrition will get rid of the fat. no amount of abdominal exercises will do this for you.
2) squats are bad for me knees:
IMPROPER squats are, most definitely. The methods of teaching the squat are horrendous to be nice. a proper squat is actually fanTASTIC for rehabilitation of the knee along with strengthening it.
3) cardio will make me thin:
see my post below on cardio and women training.
4) elliptical is knee/hip friendly:
almost exactly the opposite. most elliptical trainers are on a fixed track, which cause you to go out of your natural stride. the treadmill ( a good one with proper belt/stiffness beneath the feet) will be much more beneficial. if your knees hurt on the treadmill... there is a reason other than the treadmill. you could have tight muscles (aka you need to stretch) or weak muscles (aka get off the treadmill and lift some weights)
5)My Trainer says "insert comment x"
you are going to get a LOT of different trainers out there. who is right? the one who yields exactly what they say. When i say this i mean: are you going in your goal direction? do they answer EVERY question I ask? are they adjusting me properly? John Berardi has a GREAT 10 questions post that I will link all about Personal Trainers.
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/you-need-a-new-trainer

6) I need to feel run over for days after a workout to make it "work"
this one I might touch on in a later post. NO. If you are so sore you can't function properly, you definitely overreached that body part (you did too much)
with the EXCEPTION being your first time in the gym/trying an exercise. if you CONSTANTLY feel awful and have a great amount of muscle soreness, you're overdoing it. you could be undersleeping. you could be undereating/not eating properly. but NO the goal is NOT to feel like crap all the time.
7) Cardio before or after weights?:
after. especially when any kind of carbohydrates are in your nutrition program. In short (i might need to go over this in more depth) you use carbs/sugar to fuel anaerobic exercise (aka weights) so, if you do cardio first, you're trying to use fat for weights? you're going to have some serious compromise (seeing as you've learned by now reading these posts, progressive resistance is the answer) in muscular strength/power/recovery. ALSO on a side note, if you have a protein shake/carb drink, drink it AFTER the cardio. the 3 best times for cardio (for fat loss) are:
a) first thing in the morning on empty stomach
b)immediately after a weight session
c) 2-3 hours after a carbohydrate meal
d) (a very, very far away d) anytime of the day.
THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO RUNNERS/SOCCER/BOXERS ETC. THIS IS FOR MAXIMAL FAT LOSS!!!!!!

8)whats the ansnwer? low carb? low protein? low fat? high everything?
Here is the answer: INDIVIDUALIZATION. MAYBE. SOMETIMES.

confusing? maybe! ask questions! want elaboration? ask!

Nutrition & Training Myths Part 3

Hi Everyone !
Due to popular demand, I'm going to continue on writing up what I feel are the most unexplained aspects in the fitness industry today, as much as I can without seeing/talking to you in person.

Once again, this is unedited, and off the cuff. I just type and don't stop!

The "question/myth" is "don't I need to be in the gym forever/constantly to get the best results?"

Today is going to focus on over training/over reaching.
What are the 2 definitions? one of my idols, Lyle McDonald defines them as the following :
"Overtraining occurs when there is a long-term imbalance between the training load and recovery processes that, for a given athlete, leads to a decrement in performance that takes more than 2-3 weeks to return to normal."
and also this:
" if you recover within 2-3 weeks, you were only overreached. By definition, overtraining only occurs if it takes longer than that roughly 2-3 week period to get back to or past your previous performance level."

so, what does that all mean? and how does it apply realistically to current gym goers?
Well, I see a LOT of overreaching and some overtraining.
most don't even know they're doing it. most people have NO IDEA that the recovery process is VASTLY more importantly than the training process.
As some of you know, I'm a big fan of short, intense to the point workouts. I am not a fan of staying in the gym for hours on end. 5 hours a week (especially to start) is a MAXIMUM. most ladies I have start out as I have mentioned around 3 hours a week. why so little?
First off, if you were doing nothing but sitting, and now you're standing... that is a new stress. the body has to adapt.
so then we take you to standing for a while.
then you start walking. body sees a new stress again.
the body is okay with this, and can handle it. let me ask you this. if we take a typical inactive office worker, and ask him/her to jump up and sprint, what do you think the results will be? exactly. not very good. they wont last long. they'll tire out VERY quickly. andddd they'll be huffin and puffin like crazy. taking them a while to recover. if i ask a marathon runner or sprinter to do this same task (properly trained one of course) the outcome will be severely different.
that is why we don't go from sitting at an office to sprinting when we first get you in the gym. you must be built up to it.
so, back to overtraining?overreaching.
so, everyone has seen them. maybe you are "them" the guys/girls that are in the gym, everyday. every hour. for hours on end. spending 9 days a week in there, pumping weights. and then cardio. running. for an hour or more.
now, just because you don't see it, there is a GREAT chance this person is being compromised. the body is smarter than you, as i have said before. one, or multiple of the following factors are probably present:
a) poor mood outside/inside the gym
b) sleep is lacking, either in length, or disturbances
c) weights are down (how much they're lifting, and general stamina)
d) progression has ceased. in most cases, a long time ago.

these are just examples of the "side effects" of overtraining.
I personally lift weights AROUND 4 hours a week. I consider myself an intermediate to advanced lifter. and I do cardio yes, but it is LISS (low intensity steady state) for my current goals (aspiring eventual bodybuilder). I DO NOT sprint, and I'm also going pretty aggressive at the moment with my fat loss.
SO where am i going with this? would you like to feel like any of the factors I've mentioned? ARE you feeling any of the factors I've mentioned already?

If you are training with some serious weight (2 plate bench press, 3 plate squat, 4 plate deadlift) then around every 3 months.... beat it. get out of the gym completely. relax. eat. recover. the body CANNOT constantly handle that kind of beating.
but, if you are under these approximate weights, and you're training 3-4 days a week, proper nutrition and program, you're probably fine. but take a serious look at your body. mentally. how are you doing? how are you sleeping? am I progressing? is my mood off/am I snapping when i usually wouldn't be?
Its probably time to tone it down. are you coming in on your saturday just to do 4 sets of 5 exercises because you feel your arms need the extra work?
come on guys... thats not the way. recovery. I'd rather you miss a workout than miss a meal.

women over reach too. a lot. usually with the amount of cardio (as i discussed in my cardio myth) tone it down ladies. marathon runners and elite athletes STILL need to take a break too... but they are elite for a reason. genetics allow them to withstand that workout, and they are usually not beginners.
beginners usually can last around a year at least without overtraining. unless you are in the gym wayyyy too much. 5 days a week to me is too much. running 5 days a week is too much. a combination of running and training 5 days a week is way too much. especially for you "i want to be healthy and look good"people whom most of this is geared towards.

starting fitness?
no more than 4 days a week of weights.
no more than 3 days a week of cardio/walking. no running to begin.
this is MORE than enough stimulus for your body to adapt to.
once this stops working aka results are compromised.. THEN look into training SMARTER, not LONGER.
also... ask yourself these questions:
a) am i lifting more weight? or am I swinging more weight?
b) how is my nutrition? am I eating at least 80% which my nutritionist tells me to?
c) am i sleeping well? am i getting 7.5-8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?
d) am i exhausted during my day?

overtraining/overreaching might be there...

I expect questions on this one, fire away.

MythNutrition & Training Myths Part 2

Today's myth is going to be "Cardio is the answer to lose weight, get toned, lose inches, yadda yadda yadda"
so, as you have guessed by me writing this, this is a myth. Cardio is NOT the answer. Cardio is one piece to the puzzle, albeit minor.
So then, ladies and germs, what is the answer to "why won't cardio make me thin?" or "why isn't my cardio working? I'm running/walking/roller blading a lot"
Well, here it is.
Your body, as it is, has probably not seen any change in a long time. sure, you strap on your runners (probably dusty, old, or brand new) and head outside or to the fitness equipment piece of your choice. some things happen. you sweat. a lot. then you lose something around the lines of 2-10, maybe even 15 lbs. then.... nothing. so you do some more cardio... nothing. you do harder cardio (incline, running) and... nothing. why?
your body is much, much smarter than you. without cleaning up nutrition, and giving it some stimulus to hold muscle, its going to drop the muscle first, and save the fat.
your body has NO IDEA why you're running/walking/cardioing. it thinks its being chased. so, having the exact same nutrition program that you were on, your body adapts by ditching the muscle you have (little or great amounts depending on how much you have to start)
so then it has shed that bit of weight. now what? the body has lowered your resting heart rate and RMR (how many calories you burn doing nothing) to adjust for this extra activity. what happens when you cardio harder? it drops even more. OR... you're probably no longer burning enough calories to offset the amount you're putting in. ever know someone, or been someone who has gone to the gym only to reward yourself with food x aka. pizza, ice cream, cake, booze etc? how does that make ANY sense? want to know how much calories you're burning while cardioing? not much. 300, MAYBE 500 MAXIMUM? if you're going crazy intense and for a long period of time, maybe.
also, without getting too far into a boring textbook rant, the body will burn as i said muscle first. ever seen someone with an eating disorder? they have skin like a cat... very stretchy. why? thats fat/water. are they weak as kittens as well? sure are. because..... their body has ditched the muscle and kept the fat. the body doesn't need the muscle, so it gets rid of it. Plus, muscle has a greater mass than fat. double reasons to ditch it first.
so, how should it be done, says you?
1) Clean up the eating. "but i eat clean" you cry out to me with tears in your eyes... Banana sandwich you do. that apple you had in the afternoon ain't gonna cut it. Hire someone (myself! shameless plug :D) to clean it up for you, and to have you adhere to it.
2) do some weights in the gym too. you know, that whole other half of the gym? with the scary dumbells, barbells, smartbells... okay I made that one up. yes. get a sound weight training routine by a well seasoned trainer (myself! second shameless plug!)
it does NOT require that much time, but it will require effort. progressive resistance (moving up in weight or reps every time you're in the gym) will yield the best results
this shows the body it needs to KEEP the muscle, not ditch it. so then... it has to get rid of the fat instead. (you will still lose muscle, but at least the amount is minimized). ladies, fat doesn't tone. muscle does.
3) make sure you're getting enough sleep. I'll post about this later
4) how stressful is life/job/everything? I've seen this kill a lot of weightloss clients.

SO there it is kids! the way around!
once you have the nutrition in place (its NOT THAT HARD TO CLEAN IT ALL UP!) and you start a weight training routine. these 2 simple things will enhance the cardio massively. also, DON'T GO CRAZY WITH THE CARDIO!
in the beginning, 3-4 days of 30 minutes of walking is MORE than enough! do not make your body lose its mind right off the bat!

I should hope I get LOTS of questions from this! post or email martymacphee@gmail.com !

Nutrition & Training Myths Part 1

#1 Training With Heavy Weights Makes Women Big.

Well, If you have had the chance to train with me, you know first hand this is exactly not the case. I EMPLORE YOU! GO TRY TO GET BIG!
Muscular size (Hypertrophy) is just not possible to any great extent in women. the governing hormone for muscular size is testosterone. A man has on average 500 ng/dl of testosterone. The average woman has around 65 ng/dl. having said that, you can see where the lack comes from. now, I usually have a diagram I draw to accompany my lessons, but we'll have to go off this post for now.
when a woman trains, I am a firm believe that you MUST give the muscles the same stimulus a man receives. progressively heavier weights (or more reps up to a point)
I have found that the fluffy stuff after technique coaching and rehabilitation is complete, the weight MUST increase.
Can you get into shape lifting light weights for lots of reps? sure you can... BUT it is not the fastest most effective way by any stretch.
A lot of my ladies in their first month stay around the same weight. why? the muscular conversion is HUGE! their body can borderline simultaneously dropped anywhere from 5-20 lbs of fat, water, glycogen etc and GAINED 5-20 lbs of MUSCLE!
now, this muscle is not the "big, beef" look that you're probably thinking about. its that toned, shapely muscle you see on oxygen magazine. to generate that small, shapely toned muscle, you must give it STIMULUS. and lifting the 3 lb dumbells isn't going to cut it. Fat doesn't "tone". Muscle does. it will NOT grow big (potentially a TINY bit) it will harden, becoming firm.
One day i would REALLY like to see this myth smashed everywhere, and see all ladies out there doing heavy proper squats!
What A Dream that would be!