How and when did you start training?

At the age of 16, I badly hurt my meniscus during gymnastics. My physician predicted that I may never properly bend my knee or put weight on it again. At that point I was really devastated and I couldn’t train for almost a year. Despite all warnings, I didn’t give up and got myself a physical therapist that started me on free weights training. My knee improved and my overall body responded so well that very soon I had superior physique in terms of muscular development in comparison to same-aged guys. After that and for the following 11 years up to this very moment working out in the gym became my passion and I try to be a role model inspiring others to become fit as well.

 

What mistakes did you make as a newbie?

In my first training years I was very lucky to get mentored by experienced competitive bodybuilders, so the mistakes that I did were probably not that many. Now that I’m a licensed personal trainer, nutritionist and Charles Poliquin certified strength coach having my own personal training company FitLifeStyle (fitlifestyle.ch) with my business partner Michael Bachmann I can see things more clearly. I’ve to admit that I was tempted by the ongoing belief that the only real was to build up a physique was by training heavy. Therefore I was primarily focusing on the weight that I was lifting neglecting a proper form sometimes. Nowadays I train completely different. First of all I keep lifting the weight that allows me to perform every exercise with a perfect form trying to stay constantly under tension throughout the whole range of motion and really squeeze those muscles.

 

We know consistency is key, what tips would you give to anyone struggling to stay consistent?

Consistency hardly correlates on how motivated people are. In order to stay motivated and consistent it’s important to have progress all year round. This could be progress in terms of lowering percentual body fat, gaining mass, improving strength or weak body parts – depending on the individual goal. It’s crucial to avoid running into a plateau. I’d suggest to variate exercises so that the training routine doesn’t get boring and to implement weekly cycles (micro cycles) where you work on strength development followed by a hypertrophy and strength endurance phase.

This would be a typical example: 

Week	Rep Scheme	Sets	Target
1	1-4	4	Maximum Strength
2	6-8	3	Functional Hypertrophy
3	8-12	3	Hypertrophy
4	12-15	3	Strength Endurance
5	1-4	5	Maximum Strength
6	6-8	4	Functional Hypertrophy
7	8-12	4	Hypertrophy
8	12-15	4	Strength Endurance

 

• Monday HIIT cardio session as mentioned 
• Tuesday Chest/Back 
• Wednesday Shoulders/Abs 
• Thursday HIIT cardio session as mentioned 
• Friday Biceps/Triceps 
• Saturday Legs  

I use to cycle my rep scheme monthly. I normally start with maximum strength doing reps anywhere between 1-4 reps, following month functional hypertrophy hitting the 6-8 rep range, then regular hypertrophy phase 8-12 reps and lastly strength endurance 12-15 reps.  

Depending on my shape I do lower or cycle my carbohydrate intake with medium or low carb days. My protein intake is year round between 2.5 to 3 grams per kilogram of body weight. Fat intake varies from 0.6 to 1 gram per kilogram of body weight. 

 

Do you listen to music whilst training?

Of course :) Music literally boosts my workouts. On my strength days where I lift heavy I like listening to hard rock and heavy metal such as Linkin Park, Adema, Limp Bizkit, AC DC, Metallica, Paramore. On my hypertrophy days on the other hand my favourite choice is Hip Hop such as Lil Wayne, Dj Khaled, T.I., DMX, Jay Z, Eminem. Here is my top 10: 

• Limp Bizkit – My way 
• Linkin Park – Papercut 
• Metallica – Enter Sandman 
• Adema – Planets 
• AC DC – Thunderstruck 
• Jay Z – Tom Ford 
• Dj Khaled – All I do is win 
• Eminem – Not afraid 
• T.I. – Go get it 
• DMX – Where the hood at 

 

What do you think about when you have to dig deep
and push out that last rep?

Since I’m an international fitness model and the competition in this area is tough I need to go the extra mile in order to stay on a top level and get more magazine covers. That’s what keeps me going beyond my limit and really bang out that last rep. 

 

How far ahead do you plan and prepare ahead your
nutrition and training if at all?

I usually cook for 3 days and vacumize my food for days 2 and 3 in order to keep it fresh. In terms of training I do a year planning (macro cycle) where I set my goals on a monthly basis. Depending on the monthly goal I design 3-4 week training programmes and apply changes if I see that I’m not on track.

 

What are you most proud of?

One of my big goals in fitness since I started at the age of 18 was to become a fitness cover model. With all my dedication, determination and hard work I achieved this goal and made my dream come true. In June 2014 I landed a cover in the spanish version of the famous Muscle & Fitness magazine. The Spanish version of Muscle & Fitness is available in Spain and whole Latin America. “MUSCLE & FITNESS” is very well known in the fitness industry. The front page of the U.S. edition regularly features famous, healthy and fit Hollywood stars. In just about three months time after my first international fitness magazine cover I landed another one with the Italian issue of the top fitness magazine Olympian’s News. Sure, landing the covers made me very happy. The fact that I could inspire many other people especially the young generation for fitness with my covers and to be sort of l like an ambassador for fitness, this is what really makes me proud and honors me. I love all my fans :) 

 

Do you bulk and cut or stay lean year round?

I used to bulk in the past but now that I’m a professional international fitness model I can’t have a real off season I stay lean year round. I always have to stay close to my top shape to be ready when I get contacted for a magazine cover shoot.

 

What types of cardio do you do?

Usually 4-6 weeks before an event like a shooting or contest, I prefer doing high intensity interval training. This is my routine: 

• 10 Min. easy warm up 
• 1-2 easy sprints 50-100m  
• 5-10 sprints @ max. speed  

Between sprints I walk back to start and if I still have enough energy (mostly the case:) ) I perform as many basketball jumps in 5 minutes as I can.

 

Who are your favourite athletes, bodybuilders or fitness models?

Kevin Levrone, Greg Plitt, Jamie Eason, Michelle Lewin.

What supplements do you use if any?

Whey protein isolate, Egg  Protein, Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA), Glutamine, Creatine, Zinc and Multivitamin.

 

What top 3 tips would you give to anyone wanting to get CutAndJacked?

1. Follow a clean and healthy diet.
2. Train with perfect form and vary your training program frequently. 
3. Recovery – Try to sleep at least 8 hours every night in order to keep your cortisol (stress hormones) as low as possible in order to build up lean muscle mass.

 

• Facebook Athlete Fanpage: www.facebook.com/MarcoLaterzaProFitnessModel 
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• Website: www.fitlifestyle.ch/en