Interview With Freaky Ripped Fitness Trainer And Model Micah LaCerte

What is your athletic background, how did you get involved with fitness and modeling, and what do you love most and least about it?

I grew up a shinny kid, ectomorph the the fullest but was always very into sports. I played, soccer, basketball, baseball, track, tennis and golf growing up. When I turned 18 I started lifting weights and decided that I wanted to get in the best shape my body could be in. Now I was no longer competing against anyone else, it was only me against me. I love the dedication that is involved, obtaining the body I have as given me such huge opportunities and now fitness and changing others is my full time job. I really do not have a least favorite part of it, the dieting can be tough because my energy levels go down but I also know it’s only temporary!

I have competed at pro level with the WBFF (www.wbffshows.com) for 2 years now in the Fitness Model category, 2 years ago finishing 8th and last year finishing 5th. I have been featured in over 60 national fitness magazine features, 7 of them being covers, since I started fitness modeling in 2003! I am a writer for Status Fitness Magazine (www.statusfitnessmagazine.com) and Hitch Fit. Our company just sponsored our first athlete, Jenna Webb, WBFF diva bikini athlete. I love the fitness industry and the people who are within the industry. Some of my best friends are the guys I step on stage with! I also met my beautiful soon to be wife Diana Chaloux (WBFF pro fitness model) through the fitness industry.

What do you love most about competition?

I love so much about the sport. The athletes are all amazing, the lifestyle is so strict but we have such huge respect for one another. We know first hand how hard you must train, how strict your diet must be and how mentally strong you must be. There is no better feeling then stepping on stage and feeling that adrenaline pump through your veins or seeing your first magazine cover. My success inspires other to follow their dreams and be the best they can be. That is what I love best

What were the major milestones that gave you that "extra" boost?

At age 18 I opened my first fitness magazine, it happened to be Muscle and Fitness. I wanted to be a fitness model in that magazine one day. Standing there that day at 6’00”, 150lbs, I knew I had a ton of work in front but was not going to let anything hold me back. I remember caring it around with me everywhere I went, studying more of what was in the magazines then I was in class.

Needless to say I graduated with a bachelors in marketing and decided to go into the fitness field. That marketing background thought me a ton about how to get myself out there and seen and a huge reason I have been able to be so successful. Since 2009 I have been featured in that magazine 4 times in the United States and one time in Europe. Was a major accomplishment for me. I live and have lived in Kansas City my whole life, there is no sort of fitness modeling in this area which made it 10x as hard.

What keeps you motivated?

When I was younger it was looking good in the mirror, being noticed, like any 21 year old guy. Now my whole flow has changed, helping others achieving their transformations is what keeps me motivated. There is no better feeling then seeing someone else happy through lifestyle changes, nutrition and fitness. Diana Chaloux ( my fiancé) and I work so hard to continuously keep educating as many people as possible in hopes to change lives and save lives. We built Hitch Fit (www.hitchfit.com) to be able to work with people all over the world.

Who were your heroes growing up and how did they help inspire you to get involved with fitness?

The only real hero or person I looked up to was Jean Claude Van Damme. I remember my mother taking me to see the movie Kickboxer. I was just 10-11 years old but I so badly wanted to one day have his body and be as cool as he seemed! When I was 18 people used to say I looked like him so I started hitting the weights up and wanted to surpass him, I still cannot do the splits or do a roundhouse kick like him.

What are your future goals, dreams and plans?

Our goals are to continue to grow our business both with our online personal training and one on one personal training. We plan on going global in mid to late 2011 and have many other major opportunities ahead of us. To help as many people as we can till the day we die, it is important that you pay it forward in your life. I feel God has given me such great opportunities and I will not waste that, not even one day of my life.

On the competition side of things I plan on competing in the 2011 WBFF world’s show in August 2011. We are hosting a WBFF show in May of this year in Kansas City: the US Central Championships. We hope to down the road have our own TV show or some sort of platform to communicate with people on an even bigger level.

What does your current training and split look like, and what do you like most about it?

I train very different from week to week. I love mixing it up and a huge believer in muscle confusion. I train with weights max 5 days per week, and split my body parts up. When I am bulking I do very little cardio. Being a born ectomorph it's much easier for me to stay lean then it is with gaining size, so I'm having to eat 4500-6000 calories a day.

When I diet I stick with about 3000-3500 and add sprint intervals and stadium stairs 3-5 days per week for 30 minutes a time. I want to be an athlete not just look like one. So I work on speed, agility, jumping and play sports when I have the time. I have a 38-40 inch vertical and run around a 4.5 – 40 meter dash on a good day.

• Monday - Chest
• Tuesday - Legs
• Wednesday - Back
• Thursday - Shoulders and Triceps
• Friday – Calves and Biceps

What advanced training techniques work well for you?

I'm a huge fan of drop sets and add sets, but by far my favorite style of training when I'm really trying to get in great condition and shape is tabata interval training. I use it for my cardio and weights, it's very intense. I remember leaving the gym thinking I got ran over by a truck and that’s a good thing. Tabata is set up like this. Choose a exercise, you do 8 sets of as many reps as you can 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest throughout the whole set. Choose your weight wisely; you may use a weight 40-50% of what you would regularly use!

What are your thoughts of niche diet approaches like the Paleo diet, Adkins diet, keto runs, the Warrior Diet, intermittent fasting, etc.?

I am not a huge fan of any of the niche diet fads out there. Food is fuel and you use it for purposes of looking a certain way, feeling a certain way and for overall health. I eat very balanced throughout the year and when I get closer to a show or a competition I will start a very small carb cycle to eliminate that last little bit of fat. Carbs, fats and protein all have huge purpose in building, leaning down and recovering and I think if you use them correctly you never have to eliminate any of them. It's balanced eating and hard work.

What does your current supplementation plan look like?

I try to get most of my nutrients from my foods.

• Protein - Magnum Quattro whey isolate, Optimum Nutrition Casein
• L-arginine
• BCAAs
• L-glutamine
• A multivitamin
• Creatine

How important is nutrient timing for performance and/or building muscle?

Nutrition is so crucial. My body didn’t really start changing and growing until I learned how to eat right. It’s important to know your body, how much food to consume, when to consume it and why you are eating what you’re eating. When you get your mind geared into the fact that food is fuel, you will succeed.

Workout music – don’t care, or need an MP3 player?

I love having music going when I train. Depending on what style of training I do, I mix it up from hip hop to trance. If I need higher beats per minute and a higher paced music then I would go with techno or trance, when I hit the weights I stick with mainstream and hip hop.

What are some of your favorite motivational quotes?

One I always say is... “The minute you start taking control of your choices you will find success.”

If you could be one athlete or person for a day, who would it be and why?

This is an easy one, Michael Jordan in his prime. He was every kid’s hero; you wanted to be like Mike. He did so much in changing how the sport was played and how athletes were looked at. Those million dollar sponsorships are because of him!

If someone wants to connect with you, where can you be found?

• Websites - www.hitchfit.com, www.hitchfitgym.com
• Facebook - www.facebook.com/hitchfit
• Twitter - www.twitter.com/hitchfit
• Youtube - www.youtube.com/mmlacerte
• Email - micah@hitchfit.com

What's the funniest thing you’re seen at the gym recently?

I was working out one day a while back and this young tough stuff kid in his early 20’s comes in and hops on the bench. I knew from the looks of him he thought he was going to toss some weight around. I continued my reps and sets but watched him out of the corner of my eye thinking I may have to help this kid.

He did his first set with nothing but the bar then jumped up to 95lbs for about 6 reps but struggled. He seemed to have something to prove that day because he didn’t ask anyone around him to help. He then goes and throws a 45 on each side, I'm thinking this is going to be disaster. He didn’t use collars either which makes this story even funnier.

He lifts it off and does one rep - please buddy do not go for that 2nd rep - he went for it and it gets stuck. I get up to go help the kid but in the process a 45 starts falling off one side and slips off the other side comes crashing down, it was so loud I think the whole gym stopped to look. I still laugh to this day thinking about that night!