BY NINJA MASTER, MARK FISHER
I could tell he wasn’t buying it.
The new Ninja in front of me was listening to my words. He understood what I was saying. But in the back of his eyes, I could see he was skeptical.
“Honestly, there’s nothing really special about the classes,” I said. “The most important thing is to eat right for your goals and train hard. It’s not like there’s some special methodology or secret fat loss training techniques.”
A small, polite nod. The nod that says, it’s not worth engaging, but I know you’re holding out on me.
“Seriously.” I smiled.
The Ninja smiled back. “Well, I’ll see you on Monday to get started. Can’t wait to get Snatched!”
We said a warm goodbye. And I knew there was a chance that MFF was once again going to fall prey to its own success and an industry that benefits from making health and hotness confusing.
The TRUTH
Want the secret? The secret is… there’s no fucking secret.
There is no special Mark Fisher Fitness Method (trademark copyright all rights reserved).
Yes, the classes in the Ninja Clubhouse reflect a progressive understanding of what style of training leads to the best fat loss results. Additionally, we’re sticklers for technique, as we pride ourselves on keeping Ninjas injury-free. And we are obsessive about continuing education because we’re always looking to improve what we’re doing.
But the folks who get great results succeed because they commit to our program. And for some people, getting them to commit requires earning their trust.
This trust is understandably hard to earn, as a lot of the folks who come to MFF have been burnt. They’ve been burnt by businesses in general, they’ve been burnt by the fitness industry specifically, and frankly they often feel they’ve been burnt by their very own stubborn body.
So it makes perfect sense they’re afraid. And skeptical. And if it’s NOT too good to be true, then it must be because there’s some special secret.
“Surely with the results people get at MFF, they have some super secret training method! After all, I saw (FILL IN THE BLANK FITNESS GURU) talking about their proprietary training system. If I just show up to the Snatched classes, this time will be different. This time I will finally get that dream body, just three classes a week!”
More TRUTH
Everything works. If you go from eating poorly to eating sensibly, you’ll look better even without working out. And if you add in ANY training, it will only speed up your gains. Because any training style works in the beginning. Particularly if your previous activity consisted of getting up and off the couch for another snack while you watched TV.
That’s why when folks don’t dig MFF, they really should go train somewhere else. And I’m not just talking about the fact that we curse a lot and have random dance parties for no reason. Some folks just don’t enjoy training MFF-style.
We pride ourselves on prioritizing technique, and consequently, we hue towards more conservative training and take pride in not killing people. Frankly, not only do I think completely kicking people’s asses is unnecessary, I think it’s counterproductive. Not only could it lead to injury, but it’s often an ineffective attempt to out-train your subpar diet.
But some folks are addicted to the exertion of going wild. Not everyone is interested in this attention to technical detail.
You get to do whatever you want with your body. I think doing technique-intensive barbell lifts to failure is a poor choice unless your goal is seeing how fatigued you can get. But I will submit, if you eat appropriately and stay injury free (BIG IF)… it will work!
And the fact of the matter is some people’s bodies somehow seem to handle the abuse. As a fitness professional, I ethically can’t create programs that I think are gonna injure a significant percentage of our Ninjas. But it would be disingenuous to say it won’t work if the diet is on point.
On the flip side, most super high rep, low weight workouts (barre classes, Tracy Anderson, etc.) are also an incredibly ineffective way to lose fat. There are definitely better choices available if you want to get toned and sculpted in the most time efficient way.
This is not a matter of opinion. This is basic human physiology and it’s not really disputed by anyone with an understanding of the actual science of fat loss. Using heavier weights and training the heart with “intervals” of higher and lower effort has specific effects on the body that lead to superior fat loss. This is a rare moment where there’s consensus between our understanding of how the body uses energy, what we’ve seen in the research, and what real world practitioners have seen in our gyms/ Ninja Clubhouses.
But again, if you’re eating right, and you fucking LOVE barre classes and you go consistently, you will see results! And if this is the case… you should do barre classes!! Far better to do that than drag yourself to some fitness activity you hate and will eventually stop.
Anyone who says they have a secret methodology is trying to sell you something. (TWEET THAT SHIT)
Some styles of training are more effective, some are less effective. Some styles of training have more injury potential, some have less (and to be clear, ALL training styles have some risk potential, no matter how well managed). But if you’re eating on point and training hard and consistently, you’ll see results.
There is no secret.
Actually… now that I think about it, that’s not true.
I Guess There Is A Secret
There is one thing that all successful dramatic health and hotness makeovers have in common.
Bone crushing work. Disgusting, sickening, CONSISTENT work ethic.
To state the obvious, I think MFF’s training and nutrition approaches are the safest and fastest route for most people to achieve their health and hotness goals. But if someone is inconsistent with his or her training and diet, we’re still not going to get very far.
Over the past five years, we’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most successful people in the Broadway community. Chances are, you’ve seen them talking about us in the press lately. Jerry Mitchell, Patina Miller, Billy Porter, Chris Sieber, Katie Finneran, Josh Young… I could go on and on.
You know what these high achievers have in common? They COMMIT. And they work their asses off.
The entertainment industry seems almost glamorous from the outside, so I’m not sure it’s always obvious how hard these people work. To be totally frank, MFF can’t take much credit for fitness success stories like these. These people are not at the top of their field because they’re lucky. And frankly, I don’t even think they were born with some special talent that’s so drastically different than other people who don’t reach their rarefied air.
They have the humility to ask for help and look for the tools they need to achieve their goals. And then you get the fuck out of their way because they are off like a rocket.
And perhaps the trickiest negotiation: they are not reckless in their pursuits. They don’t fetishize effort for its own sake. They have the discipline to do the right things and the RIGHT AMOUNT. No more, no less.
THAT is the secret.
Now You Know
Achieving optimal levels of health and hotness isn’t about a “super special fat incinerating workout.” It’s not about consistently eating a super food, and it’s not about avoiding one food item. There’s no “One Weird Trick To Lose Stomach Fat.”
Everything works.
And the real secret is working your fucking ass off at the basics.
What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Drop a comment and let me know!
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