A Sit Down with Big Mike Castle

So here is the second part, as promised, to my collaboration with my trainer Mike Castle. I sat down with Mike after one of our workout sessions and asked him a few questions that I thought might be interesting to all of you. I thought that his answers were interesting and I hope you do as well.

How did you become a personal trainer?

This is the short version: I never wanted to become a personal trainer. I always wanted to be a police officer.  I almost didn't have a choice in becoming a personal trainer.  When I was a kid I weighed 315 lbs.  I thought that I could get into some sort of shape by joining a kung fu school, but they told me no, they told me to try the boxing school up the block.

In about 6 months I lost over 100 lbs and dropped down to 198 lbs.  All of my friends saw the dramatic change and started to bombard me with questions like “What did you do and how?” and “Can you show me?”

And I did.  And I learned how to make a little money, enough to go to the movies and buy some video games and things of that nature.

Years later I became a cop, and I hated it.  I was depressed and ended up getting into some trouble that forced me out of the Police Department.

In transition from police officer to personal trainer I promised myself that I was going to do something that I loved and enjoyed.

How long have you been working at Gotham Gym?

Ive been working at Gotham Gym for over 5 years.

How do you formulate a workout?

I figure that muscles can do three things. Muscles can contract in a concentric manner (get short), an eccentric manner (get long), and contract isometrically (hold). I like to plan a work out with a basic warmup, nothing too crazy, just something to get the muscles moving and break the body into a light sweat.

Then I like to have an upper body push part, followed by an upper body pull, and I’ll follow that with an upper body hold. Then I’ll do the same with the lower body.  Lower body push, followed by a lower body pull, followed by a hold. 

I’ll throw in some cardio in between and I’ll repeat that 3 or 4 times. I’ll finish the workout with some core work and a stretch.  It’s not as scary as people think it is.

What's one popular workout myth that you want to debunk?

The one myth that grinds my gears is the one that weights make women bigger.  I hate that one.  It’s not true.  Weights don't make you bigger, donuts do!  The actual truth is that working out with weights actually make you leaner and more fit.  Working out with weights promotes healthy bone mass and and muscle retention and more muscles mean the burning of more calories and more fat.

Whats one move that you swear by?

The one move I love and swear by are the weighted walking lunge with a curl and press.  I feel that with that exercise you get the most bang for your buck. You are working your lower body "push and pull", upper body "push and pull" while working all of your core and stabilizing muscles.

Mike is someone who has shown me that he knows what he is talking about. While working with him I have seen him go through school to learn more about the human body, build his family, and be available 24/7 for any of his clients. I really enjoyed this time getting to know him better and learn how he got into this business.