This week I got the chance to interview a personal trainer, Nick Marasco. He was able to provide amazing insight into the fitness world.
I first got into fitness my sophomore year of high school when one of my lacrosse coaches introduced CrossFit workouts to the team. It was after that day that I started going on the YouTube and watching some of the athletes compete and do extraordinary things and they were same size as me but so much stronger, so it opened up a mindset of how our bodies potential is so much more than what our brain tells us. Afterwards it was that ideology and that mindset that motivated me to do more research about our bodies and not only physically what they’re capable, of but the mental aspect of that and how it all ties in.
What is your typical morning routine?
My morning routines varies with the season so I’ll just give the most strenuous one I do. I’ll wake up, get a good stretch before actually leaving bed, and then with a cold glass of water to get the metabolism going for the day, I take a multivitamin, vitamin B for digestion, and if I wake up really hungry than I’ll sneak in an apple before I do caloric deficit cardio, it’s only 4-8 minutes of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and then from there wait about 10 mins and then go for about a 3 mile bike ride. I’m not a big fan of running because of the effect on your knees and how it can compact the joints. Plus with the bike, I’m able to change speeds and position my feet differently to change my ride from being focused on cardio or muscle or working different parts of the leg. After that I’ll have three eggs with a can of bumblebee tuna mixed right into pan with it. I like tuna because it’s one of the leanest meats, you can get up to 20g of protein before getting 1g of fat and this just helps me not consume any simple carbs before noon.
What is a fitness trend you wish would go away?
I think people should really stray away rom all the supplements if your not going to be putting in that much work as well. You can take the fat burners, and the hormones, and wear the ab bands, and those gut slimming shirts, but your body doesn’t benefit even 20% of the result you’d get if you put as much effort into being active as you did consuming those supplements. It really is as simple as we say it is, just control what you are eating and get up once a day or every two days even, if you can be a disciplined eater.
What are some tips you have on people just starting their fitness journey?
I think people should really stray away rom all the supplements if your not going to be putting in that much work as well. You can take the fat burners, and the hormones, and wear the ab bands, and those gut slimming shirts, but your body doesn’t benefit even 20% of the result you’d get if you put as much effort into being active as you did consuming those supplements. It really is as simple as we say it is, just control what you are eating and get up once a day or every two days even, if you can be a disciplined eater.
What are some tips you have on people just starting their fitness journey?
Be fundamental, be very fundamental. Over exaggerate form with light weight. Get the positioning down right away and be repetitive with it. You’ll feel better you’ll maintain flexibility and you’ll reduce your chances of being injured. It’s really important early on, especially if you’re going into power lifts and Olympic lifts, that your form is as close to perfect as it can be so that your developing sense muscle that’s lean and you’re able to stay flexible and overall it really is investment in your body to workout and you don’t want to make a bad investment. So when you’re a beginner and just starting I really emphasize focusing on form and positioning and also just doing a little research yourself. Establishing a goal and visualizing it and then lay out the steps to achieve where you want to see yourself and how you want your body to be. Cause I think why that does is when you do that and when you have a goal and a vision it provides a mental finish line for yourself and I feel it’s a lot easier to stay motivated when you give yourself that because the finish line is always in sight you’re consistently getting a step closer to where you want to be, and it really does strike a passion, a self confidence in yourself that you’ve set it all up and now you’re chasing it which is the fun part.
What does a typical workout look like for you?
For a typical workout I guess I’ll give just a fill body workout that i would do as something to just kick start a time where I know I wanna get in shape fast and that would be a 10-1 rep bench press pull up where you’re doing 10 reps of bench at 70% body weight than 10 pull ups, then 9 of each then 8 etc. cause your muscles respond differently when you variate from a pushing movement and a pulling movement, it’s a better pump and a better overall stretch you get. Than for core I like anything that’s gonna be focus of the muscles negative movements (ie. the coming down part of a crunch or bicep curl) cause I find that those work best with muscles that are tedious like your abs and obliques so I would start worth some v ups which is where you’ll have your body laying flat and then from there it’s like meeting your toes and hands at the top do your sitting up to form a v and high reps are good with that anywhere from 15-20+ and then immediately after hit a 30 sec to a full minute of a plank to focus on the underlying muscles in your core that you don’t see, these are the ones that run perpendicular to your abdominals behind that wall and even though you don’t see them they’re responsible for keeping your gut sucked in which everyone wants because a thin waist is always aesthetically pleasing. And then some medicinal ball twists while your in a sit up position to hit the outer obliques and help allow your abs to pop even more. And for the lower body squatting and lunging all the way. And then finish off with wall sits and a speed walk or light jog for maybe a mile or just half this way your drain the lactic acid out of your joints and you don’t wake up tomorrow afraid of the stairs
What inspires you?
I think what inspires me is just life itself and how we understand so little about really, and the people around me and who I surround myself with and that everyone has their own personal hardships that are faced month at a time even day by day and I do this for myself mentally to say there’s really almost nothing that can stop the determination of a person. I mean we look around and if you don’t see it then change your perspective cause we are surrounded and approached by opportunities to better ourselves and that mentality that energy of positivity is contagious. A smile travels a lot farther if it’s more than one person doing it and I think that’s what keeps me and people like me inspired. That the sky is not the limit and that there’s always a choice and one day I made a choice to be better than my self the day before on all spectrums and not just physically and with fitness.
Thank you so much to Nick for allowing me to interview him. This is a great read for anyone just getting into fitness, or for people who need a little extra motivation.
Until next time,
Andrea
What does a typical workout look like for you?
For a typical workout I guess I’ll give just a fill body workout that i would do as something to just kick start a time where I know I wanna get in shape fast and that would be a 10-1 rep bench press pull up where you’re doing 10 reps of bench at 70% body weight than 10 pull ups, then 9 of each then 8 etc. cause your muscles respond differently when you variate from a pushing movement and a pulling movement, it’s a better pump and a better overall stretch you get. Than for core I like anything that’s gonna be focus of the muscles negative movements (ie. the coming down part of a crunch or bicep curl) cause I find that those work best with muscles that are tedious like your abs and obliques so I would start worth some v ups which is where you’ll have your body laying flat and then from there it’s like meeting your toes and hands at the top do your sitting up to form a v and high reps are good with that anywhere from 15-20+ and then immediately after hit a 30 sec to a full minute of a plank to focus on the underlying muscles in your core that you don’t see, these are the ones that run perpendicular to your abdominals behind that wall and even though you don’t see them they’re responsible for keeping your gut sucked in which everyone wants because a thin waist is always aesthetically pleasing. And then some medicinal ball twists while your in a sit up position to hit the outer obliques and help allow your abs to pop even more. And for the lower body squatting and lunging all the way. And then finish off with wall sits and a speed walk or light jog for maybe a mile or just half this way your drain the lactic acid out of your joints and you don’t wake up tomorrow afraid of the stairs
What inspires you?
I think what inspires me is just life itself and how we understand so little about really, and the people around me and who I surround myself with and that everyone has their own personal hardships that are faced month at a time even day by day and I do this for myself mentally to say there’s really almost nothing that can stop the determination of a person. I mean we look around and if you don’t see it then change your perspective cause we are surrounded and approached by opportunities to better ourselves and that mentality that energy of positivity is contagious. A smile travels a lot farther if it’s more than one person doing it and I think that’s what keeps me and people like me inspired. That the sky is not the limit and that there’s always a choice and one day I made a choice to be better than my self the day before on all spectrums and not just physically and with fitness.
Thank you so much to Nick for allowing me to interview him. This is a great read for anyone just getting into fitness, or for people who need a little extra motivation.
Until next time,
Andrea
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