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.