by Ken Taylor & LaMont Wheat
BBINT Magazine was thrilled
to sit down with Marc Montemerlo, aka COACH MARC, to find out more about him
and his highly successful career in fitness training. Not only is Coach Marc physically fit and
hot, but he’s also a Lifestyle and Fitness coach/mentor in Los Angeles.
Coach Marc founded West Hollywood’s M-FITT Fitness Academy, an academy
of fitness focusing on both physical fitness AND mental fitness.
Recently, Coach Marc joined
Dr. Drew’s daytime TV show “Lifechangers.”
But before that, he was already a “coach to the stars” for such Hollywood notables as Marcia Cross, Reese Witherspoon and
Chris O’Donnell. His approach is much,
much more than fitness training. Sure,
he helped them improve their bodies and their physical health. But Coach Marc goes far beyond the well-known
fitness techniques we all practice at our local gym.
Coach Marc’s clients focus
equally on exercising their minds. To
quote Coach Marc, “If you want to achieve real, long-lasting results, you need
to tackle mental weakness as well.”
Before we got into Coach
Marc’s secrets for success, we wanted to find out a bit more about his
background.
BBINT: Tell us about yourself. How did you get into the business of fitness
training?
COACH MARC: I am a native of South Africa, and I’ve been in the
fitness industry for 17 years. In South Africa,
young men are required to give 2 years of military service. During that time, I really enjoyed the
emphasis on physical fitness. Others I met
there inspired me, and I excelled.
Eventually, I became a training officer, and part of my responsibilities
was to help prepare and train new recruits for battle.
The military allowed me to
develop in many ways. It was there that
I acquired my discipline, my drive and self-empowerment. I also had an aggressive nature, and
developed my motivational skills. These
became the foundation for my life.
After the two years in the
military, I joined Reebok South Africa, and as such was required to travel extensively
in Europe and America. I returned to South Africa as a sort of “link”
between my homeland and the rest of the world.
BBINT: With the travel you’ve done, what differences
did you notice between the various countries/places that you worked in as it
relates to fitness?
COACH MARC: I’ve travelled extensively in North America,
South America, Europe, Africa and Asia, and
there are general differences in the approach people take to fitness and
well-being.
In America, people are much more
“connected” to their cars. And there are
millions of gym-goers who visit a gym for 1 ½ hours per day, 6 or 7 days a
week.
In Europe,
fitness is a more seasonal activity. In
Summer, most everyone is on holiday, at the beach or traveling somewhere. However, in winter people are more into going
to the gym regularly. Perhaps it’s the
weather that keeps them inside, but it’s definitely the time when fitness
booms!
In Asia,
the industry is still catching up with the rest of the world. For the last 5 years or so, they’ve been
changing their attitudes, building new gyms, and creating more health
environments. Before then, it was not
part of their culture. But slowly,
Western ideas are getting there and they’re generally headed to a
“studio-based” health environment.
In South
America, fitness is definitely “movement-based.” There is a whole lot more dancing
involved. For example, Brazil has a fitness culture of
very strong males, and Zumbas (a Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that
blends red-hot international music). All
over South America, in big cities,
fitness is HUGE industry, and they’re still building large fitness facilities
and dance studios.
In North
America, we have the best of everything. Here, fitness is a life style that almost
always includes daily routines of Pilates, dancing, swimming, yoga, etc. Industry leaders are always creating &
evolving new ideas in fitness. I have a
strong desire to be a part of that evolution, and it’s why I moved here.
BBINT: Tell us more about the “bridge” you mentioned
between physical fitness and thought or attitude.
Today, when I go to the gym,
it’s not just to work out and get a bigger chest or arms or legs. It IS that, but now it’s a much more
inclusive process that I call a holistic
approach. The approach is
thought-oriented. I coach my clients to
ask themselves, “What is my goal?” and “How will I achieve my goal?” In other words, it’s a time to connect to
their real complete selves, and not just the image they see in a mirror.
I ask my clients, “You have a
beautiful fit body, but are you happy?”
In other words, are they miserable because they’re starving themselves
to get a beautiful body? I encourage
them to seek a balance between body and mind.
They need to let go of the things in life that tend to distract them. A good example is a cell phone. Using a cell phone makes you look down too
much. I advise them to look UP, so that
they can interact with me (and others) with their face, their mind, AND their
bodies.
In summary, there are 2
things to do: 1) disconnect from the things that distract you,
and 2) follow a plan with the help of a
coach/mentor.
Here are 10 very practical
ideas that Coach Marc lists to help his clients “become among the fitness
faithful.”
1. Do a variety of activities you enjoy. Consider
joining a running group, group fitness studio or investing in a personal
trainer. Remember, there’s no rule that says you need to buy equipment or an
expensive gym membership. Try changing your perception of fitness from out of
the gym into functional fitness—fitness that will enhance your life.
Having a variety of activities like weightlifting,
walking, boot camp classes, running, spinning, tennis, hiking and aerobics
classes will ensure that you can succeed in your goal regardless of the weather
or time of day.
2. Commit to another person and/or group fitness
class. The social aspect of exercise is important for success, because you
almost become responsible for your actions if you don’t pitch up. If you have
agreed to go for a run with a friend after dinner, you won’t let them down.
If you have a boyfriend or partner, encourage them to
keep you on track. Let them become involved with your fitness and goals. Make
it a team effort.
3. Make exercise a priority. If you make it
non-negotiable, you will succeed.
4. Exercise first thing in the morning. If you plan
your workout early in the morning, nothing during the day can sabotage your
workout. Too often, clients tell me they had planned a spin class at 6:30 p.m.,
but then got called into a meeting and had to miss the class. Also, trying to
generate motivation at 9 p.m. for a workout is bound to lead to failure. For
those who believe they are not morning people, think again. Change your
thoughts to succeed!
5. Or exercise immediately after work. If you
absolutely cannot do morning workouts, do your workouts before going home. If
you go home, you will likely get occupied by other things—or worse, you’re
likely to relax, and that’s an exercise killer!
6. If you are tired, use it as motivation for
exercising. Make that feeling a notification to yourself that you need to get
moving. The amazing thing is, you will actually feel re-energized after
exercising.
7. Keep a fitness journal. Write down your workouts, how
you felt before the workout and after. Chart your nutrition. Track your heart
rate zones while doing cardio. The more you make yourself aware of what you are
doing, the closer you will get to achieving the goal.
8. Buy a motivation outfit. Let that bikini swimsuit
or favorite pair of jeans be your measure of how you are succeeding. Of course,
there are other progress indicators—such as improved sleep, clearer thoughts,
increased energy and greater flexibility—but compliments from friends is one of
the best indicators, and who doesn’t love being able to show their results off?
9. Keep moving. When you slow down, things slow down
in your life. Keep the momentum in your eating plan, train harder, ride your
bike further, climb a higher mountain. Keep achieving and pushing your
limits. Keep reassessing your goals.
Once you have achieved your initial goal, look for another one. Keep moving,
remain inspired and live your best life today.
10. Congratulate yourself and your accomplishments.
Life is about the journey and not about the destination. If you experience some
setbacks in your fitness, try not to become despondent. Allow the setbacks to
make you aware of where you need to make changes in your life and then go for
it!
You can find out more about
Coach Marc’s Fitness Academy here:
Coach Marc also has a blog
at:
Listen to the full interview here: AUDIO
