Over the next three months, JOE’s new strength and conditioning specialist Bogdan Merkes will contribute a special series of articles focusing on all aspects of fitness training.
Hello, JOE readers. My name is Bogdan Merkes, a strength and conditioning specialist from Dublin.
My name might not suggest that I’m Irish. My father is Romanian and my mother is from Hungary, but I grew up in Cabinteely so while I’m proud of my roots, I definitely think of myself as Irish now.
I was interested in health and fitness long before I became a certified strength and conditioning specialist.
But it wasn’t always the case. When I was 13 or 14, I used to go home from school, play the PlayStation, eat a lot of crap food. So I ended up putting on a lot of weight. My mother told me that I was getting stretch marks like pregnant women! My dad had been into bodybuilding a bit when he was younger, and my mother had done a lot of gymnastics as well. So my family was like this – and here was this fatso!
I copped myself on, so I started to think a lot about training. I got up and ran around first thing in the morning before my neighbours got up. Then I went home and drank raw eggs. Sure isn’t that what Rocky did? I didn’t really know what I was doing.
I got more and more interested in it, and eventually did my first course at the National Training Centre: I achieved the National Qualification in Exercise, Health Studies and Personal Training after completing a syllabus that included anatomy and physiology, exercise to music, resistance training, diet and sports nutrition, first aid and injury prevention.
Even then, though, I wasn’t really thinking about being a fitness coach. I went to college to do a business course but I found that I didn’t care about the business end of it, and was just interested in doing my own work. So I started specialising in strength and conditioning. I really enjoy it now. It’s a passion, and I’m very lucky to be doing something I enjoy.
I have my certification as a strength and conditioning specialist from the National Strength and Conditioning Association in America. It’s a certification that a lot of the top personal trainers in the US have, people who might be working with top celebrities. To keep the certification active, you have to do refresher courses and earn a certain number of points every year, so it’s something that people can really trust.
At the moment, I work out of Club Vitae in the Maldron Hotel at Grand Canal Dock, and I also founded Ultimate Fit Crew, a personal training service which also runs group training bootcamp-style classes every week.
I started running the bootcamp classes after travelling to Canada to become the first Agatsu certified kettlebell coach in Ireland. Since I have always looked at ways to up skill, I now not only incorporate kettlebells but also TRX suspension trainers, sandbags, weighed vests and much more so be sure there is always something new in my tool box to bring your workouts to the next level without reaching a plateau or boredom.
My week is very busy. At the weekend, I try to limit the amount of work I do – usually only for an hour or so on Saturday, and just my own de-stressing session on Sundays – but Monday to Friday is flat out. I’m up at 5am every morning, and the day ends at 10pm every night.
A lot of my clients are professionals, working in offices, and the only time they have to work out is either in the mornings, lunchtimes or evenings. I usually have two clients in the morning before 9 o’clock. I have more clients at lunch, review those in the afternoon, then some more clients in the evening.
I think I have a reputation as a tough trainer, but I’m not unfair. I’m just trying to get the best out of you. Over the next three months I want to give you the toolbox to make your body into the most efficient machine it can be.
Most people who come to me are what you might call the “Everyday Joe”. They don’t want to be better than anyone else, just the best they can be. Most of them are interested in sports, so they’ll want to do stuff specific to their sport: rugby, GAA, athletics. There have been times when something hasn’t worked right from the start, but that’s where the challenge is. You learn all the time what works and what doesn’t for certain people, and then you alter their programme accordingly.
Being a personal trainer is a personal thing. I need to get to know the person, what you like to do, and what you don’t like to do. It’s better to do something you enjoy when you’re training, because that way there’s more chance you’ll put the work in and go through with it.
My first step when a new client comes in is to find out whether they have any injuries or illnesses which may have risks or implications. Secondly, once you have the all clear from that, I take a look at their own health and fitness history: if they’ve been involved in clubs, whether they play any sports, if they’ve had any other personal trainers.
Thirdly, I need to find out your goals, so that I can devise a programme. I give an assessment of their fitness – again, starting with the core. To assess the core it’s a series of simple drills, such as the plank. If the core is weak you will start to collapse. Even with basic sit-ups, if there’s a strain on the neck or lower back, then you will see the core weakness quite quickly too.
We’ll do some cardiovascular conditioning to check what level you’re at. Some circuits, some cardio drills. When that’s complete I can start the programme, put the person on track to reach those goals – and also work towards keeping you motivated.
I think I have a reputation as a tough trainer, but I’m not unfair. I’m just trying to get the best out of you. Over the next three months I want to give you the toolbox to make your body into the most efficient machine it can be. We will talk about everything from nutrition to supplementation. We will talk about the lifestyle choices you make.
There aren’t many people out there who abstain completely from drinking alcohol, but even with that, you can decide when to do it and when not to do it. You can optimise your hormonal balance, so that as you age you might not have the same wear and tear as the next person.
It’s a big picture, but I’ll be trying to piece it all together over the next three months, and I’ll also be giving you advice on various exercises, work-outs and routines during that time.
I hope you can join me.
Bogdan Merkes is writing a column every Wednesday until the end of September. If you want to learn more about his services check out ultimatefitcrew.com or like his page on Facebook. Check out more articles from Bogdan on his blog at bogdanmerkes.com, and you can also follow him on Twitter. All comments/questions/suggestions gratefully accepted.
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