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.