Alright SHJ Army, get pumped up.
We have a new SHJ Success Story, and it’s going to be damn hard to top!
Marcus lost over 60 pounds to become SHREDDED and unleash his inner superhero.
He’s a motivation to me, and hopefully soon to be for you as well.
I’d like to say congratulations Marcus on achieving your goals and going above and beyond with this transformation. I’d normally say “keep up the good work” or something to that effect, but I know damn well you will.
Now let’s jump into the article and Marcus’ Q&A!
Marcus’ Stats:
Height: 5’10
Weight: 152 lbs
Age: 24 years old
1. Who are you? (If you’d like, tell us about you. Age, Work, Etc.)
I’m 24 years old. I’m a mathematics graduate from Marshall University in Huntington, WV. My current passion is audio engineering so I try to stay busy with that as a side hobby/very part time job. (Check out www.marcusstonestudios.com !)
I was always fairly active when I was younger. I played sports, did marching band in high school, and played bass in a local death metal band to keep me in shape.
2. Tell us about your transformation (weight loss, goals, etc)
Unfortunately things started to go downhill after my father passed away from stomach cancer. I was depressed and used food (mainly McDonald’s 3+ times a week) as comfort. Bad thing after bad thing kept happening in 2017 to a point where I was totally disgusted with how I was carrying myself. I didn’t smoke, drink, or do drugs so I told myself “you have the discipline to lose weight, do it.” So I did. At the start I was hovering around 215 lbs and literally told myself “the next time you’re allowed to eat McDonald’s is when you’re 180 lbs.” To this day I still haven’t had McDonald’s and I’m at 152 lbs.
3. How did you find SHJ?
I found SHJ shortly after I started watching Daredevil season 1 on Netflix. I was watching it thinking “man this guy is in great shape. I wonder what his diet and workout routine was like.” Of course after a quick google search I found the Charlie Cox article going over his diet and a workout based off his physique. That’s when I really started to incorporate intermittent fasting, counting calories, and IIFYM into my life (usually fasting for 18-20 hours every day). I’ve also had a sweet potato protein shake 3 days a week for as long as I can remember.
4. What program did you start with?
I started with the Beginner SHIELD gym workout for a couple weeks to help ease my way into weight lifting. Then once I felt comfortable with that I moved onto the Charlie Cox routine for quite a few months and scaled any of the more difficult movements as much as possible. Out of all the routines I’ve tried it’s still one of my favorites. Whenever I start to bulk I’m definitely going to try it out again.
5. What is your favorite superhero?
There’s too many superheros out there to pick a favorite, but one that resonates with me on a silly and emotional level is definitely Star-Lord. At one point in time, my dad left a list of songs for my mom to purchase from “I-tunes” so now I’ve got my own personal Awesome Mix of songs from the 70’s and 80’s to jam out to.
6. Favorite Superhero or Nerd Show/Movie (Can give top 3 of each)
I’m a big fan of all the Marvel Defenders on Netflix, particularly Daredevil and Jessica Jones.
I don’t care what any of the old school fans say, I love the new Star Wars movies. Kylo Ren is awesome.
I literally cried when Spider-Man vanished in Infinity War, I’m hoping Marvel doesn’t reboot this version. Tom Holland is my favorite Spidey so far.
7. Whatever else you’d like to add (Maybe some of your own tips for the SHJ Army)
My tip for the SHJ Army is to find out what works best for your needs and stick to it.
I’m a technical “numbers” guy so I don’t mind counting my calories and aiming for my macro needs.
I very recently started hardcore tracking my workouts. I’ve tried different apps and good ole paper/pen, but Google Sheets works best for me. I have a spreadsheet of every workout I do that I can edit in real time and easily reference.
With intermittent fasting I still eat nutritious and healthy foods as often as possible (generally 5-6 days per week), but this method allows me to have “cheat” days where I can eat 2,000 calories worth of Chick-Fil-A (my favorite food ever) in one sitting and not gain any weight!
Focusing on the scale is okay if you’ve got a lot of extra belly fat to lose, but once you get to a point where you yourself are comfortable with how you look, stop worrying about the scale and start worrying about your goals (i.e. trying to add weight/reps). You always want to be progressing a little bit more each time you try something.
There’s a million different ways to reach your goals, and finding the most sustainable one is the REAL key to success.
That’s what we strive to allow people to do inside The Academy and at Superhero Jacked.
Feel free to congratulate Marcus on having the most awesome transformation since freakin’ Chris Pratt in GOTG [in the comments below].
I hope you’re all pumped up and motivated after this one, because I know I am.
Thanks again, Marcus.
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Mike
SHJ’s Nick Fury
