Marcel Thom, owner and trainer for ThomFitness Strength and Conditioning and competitive bodybuilder, aims to change lives everyday through fitness and nutrition.
Since graduating from high school in 1992, Thom has been into fitness. He played football and ran for the track team, and then joined the Air Force, where he had to be serious about exercising, he said. Along the way, he also got involved in competitive bodybuilding.
Thom started his fitness program in 2011, and focuses on resistance training and nutrition coaching. He doesn't consider himself a personal trainer; rather, a fitness trainer, since he's training people to achieve and maintain their bodies for life.
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Marcel Thom
Fitness is a passion of his, Thom said, and passion comes from the heart. He started his fitness program to help people achieve their goals. He doesn't judge anyone, he said, but his clients have to be honest with him if they want to see the best results.
Thom provides anaerobic and aerobic training, as well as nutritional coaching and consultation. One doesn't come without the other, though. With all of his clients, he also uses the "Full Spectrum Cycle" concept that's needed to achieve and maintain a healthy and physically fit body for life. The Full Spectrum Cycle consists of three components - adequate rest, proper nutrition, and proper form when exercising - and all three are needed to get that healthy and physically fit body for life, Thom said.
"If you don't use all three, you can't get that body for life. It's a balancing act," he said.
With the nutritional coaching, Thom said he teaches his clients to have some fats, carbohydrates, and proteins in their diets because the body needs some of each. He also teaches the "80/20 Principle," which means that 80 percent of the fitness work is seen outside of the gym and 20 percent is achieved in the gym.
"That's why I say abs are not made in the gym, they're made in the kitchen," Thom said, since what a person eats contributes to how he or she looks.
Thom said the clients in his fitness and nutrition program range in age from 15 to 45 years old, both men and women. He gets the word out about his program through the Internet, his website at (www.thomfitness.com), Facebook and Anytime Fitness. People can sign up for his program by calling Anytime Fitness or through his website.
The main goal Thom said he has for his clients in his program is to help them achieve their goals, watch their transformations and change their lifestyles. He also has them notice the brand on the weight machines while training at Anytime Fitness. The brand is "Life Fitness," and that's what fitness should be.
Achieving and maintaining a healthy and physically fit body isn't just for a wedding or for the summer, Thom noted.
"Fitness is a way of life," he said.
Thom offers his classes on weekday evenings, with classes at 7 and 9 p.m., and clients pay for a specific amount of sessions. He said he comes to the gym after working at the Minot Air Force Base, tells his clients what they're going to do, and then they do the workout. Thom noted that doesn't tell them what they're going to do ahead of time.
Thom also has his own workout regimen that he does to stay in condition for bodybuilding competitions. He said there are 24 hours in a day and he spends one of those hours in the gym, with his workout days being on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. He can spend more time on his own workouts on the weekends, he added. Thom said he hits one body part at each of his workout sessions, and does cardio activities every time.
"Whatever I do, that's what I have my clients do," he said.
Nothing is difficult about being a fitness trainer, Thom said. He said the main thing is that he has to be prepared to answer his clients' questions and know how to answer them, so he has to keep up with his education. He likes being a fitness trainer, he said, so it's not hard. He also gives credit to his wife, he added, because she's his motivation.
Thom said the most rewarding parts of his job are seeing results, and watching his clients change and their bodies being transformed.
Fitness is not a moment but a lifestyle, Thom said, giving a piece of advice for people wanting to live a healthy lifestyle. He said you can take one hour in a day and do some form of physical activity everyday.
"It's important to be active and eat nutritiously," Thom said.