End of the Year Interview with fit2fat2fit’s Drew Manning

By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com

2013 has been an incredible year for Drew Manning.

The fit2fat2fit creator continued to inspire people around the world to lose weight with innovative fitness campaigns: Fit2MASS and the DietBet. He also appeared earlier this year on Extreme Weight Loss, where he helped fellow personal trainer Chris Powell with Alyssa’s weight loss transformation.

Drew took time out of his busy schedule to talk about his fitness campaigns, his favorite workouts and what is next with fit2fat2fit!

Jacob Elyachar: The last time we talked you started Fit2MASS. Now that it is over, what were some of the most challenging aspects of that project?

Drew Manning: Honestly, the most challenging part of Fit2MASS was the amount of food I had to eat to put on the lean muscle. I put on seven pounds of lean muscle in 12 weeks and my wife, Lynn, put on five pounds in 12 weeks…. which was really impressive.  But for me, the amount of food I had to eat was a challenge for me.  It was not just quantity of calories; I could not just eat pizza or burgers to load up on calorie… I had to consume clean food. I had to eat a lot more protein, fruits and vegetables. Eating that much food and being disciplined was very challenging.

 

JE: At the end of Fit2MASS, you led a team through a Spartan Race. Could you please describe the race to my readers?

DM: Hell is the first word that comes to mind. (Laughs) Honestly, the race was very difficult. It was a 13-mile race and it was in 100-degrees weather in Utah! It was very hot and very miserable towards the end of the race, but as a team we did great. We stuck together for most of the race and we really bonded. I even had a follower from Canada fly all the way out here to do this race with me because he lost 100 lbs. from doing my program.  He got to meet me, ran the race with me and became very good friends and that was one of the coolest highlights of the Spartan Race.

JE: This summer, you appeared on “Extreme Weight Loss” and helped Chris Powell when he trained Alyssa. How did that experience help you grow as a trainer?

DM: Chris Powell instantly became a mentor of mine as I met him and spent the day with him. That experience opened up my eyes to see just how much he cares about his clients on the show and how he really treats them as family.  It really opened up my eyes and changed how I view my clients. In the past, sometimes I viewed my clients as just my clients.  Now, I definitely look at how powerful it is to have more of an emotional attachment with my clients and to see him treat them like family where they could contact him or his wife, Heidi, anytime of the day. It really showed me how to care more for my clients versus the typical relationship where you only see them for the hour, and then they are gone.  I gave all my clients my cell phone number, e-mail them once a week and bond with them on a more emotional level versus before I did my fit2fat2fit journey.  The lessons that I learned from Chris helped me become a better personal trainer.

JE: Speaking of fit2fat2fit, a lot of your social media followers noticed that you started a fit2fat2fit DietBet.  Could you please tell me about the DietBet platform?

DM: DietBet is a company that approached me with a platform that will let any group of people place a bet on themselves. They have four weeks to lose four-percent of their body weight and if they do so, they would split the pot evenly amongst the other winners…it is not a winner-take-all contest that you see in a lot of weight loss competitions.  The fit2fat2fit DietBet is great motivator because people are five times more likely to succeed when there is money involved.

JE: Did you see any surprising results?

DM: Yes, I got to see how many people won their bets. 70-percent of the people that entered ended up winning and I did not know a majority of the people exactly but we had a cool chatroom where participants could chat with each other and post status updates. It was great seeing the community come together by giving support and helping each other out.

JE: What are your favorite workouts? How do they stand out to you?

DM: My favorite workouts involve high intensity interval training. Whether I am doing cardio or lifting weights, the interval training always make the workout interesting, never boring and efficient.  When I plan my workouts I focus on efficiency and to workout smarter, not longer.  It is not necessary for people to do four sets of cardio and spend an hour doing weights! No one working full-time or has a family can workout for two whole hours in this day of age.  I am all about quick and efficient workouts that end up burning more calories and fat plus increase lean muscle tone.  That is why I love CrossFit style workouts because it is almost exactly what I described but, in a different atmosphere of course.

JE: 2014 will mark Fit2fat2fit’s three-year anniversary. What is the next evolution of fit2fat2fit?

DM: (Laughs) That’s a great question. I cannot give out too many details but there is something big that will be coming next year! It will be another journey…but not exactly the same as fit2fat2fit but something more powerful and meaningful. I hope that people will see it as an inspiration to change for the better. I wish I could give you the details of it, but I am still working on it as we speak. My hope is that it will have a big, if not bigger impact, than fit2fat2fit.

JE: What are your hopes for 2014?

DM: Honestly, I am looking for some more opportunities to work with fit2fat2fit. I still think fit2fat2fit is powerful especially to people who have not heard about it. Even though, I have been on nationally based television shows, I am still looking forward to more speaking engagements at corporations, schools and children’s organizations. I want to try to get into as many schools as I can to teach kids about fit2fat2fit and the lessons I learned while doing fit2fat2fit, so they can grow up with healthier habits.   I also want to work with children’s charities to tackle childhood obesity.  I have been in talks with some charities to see what role…if any…that fit2fat2fit can play with their organizations.

To learn more about Drew and fit2fat2fit, visit his website: http://www.fit2fat2fit.com/

If you want to participate with the fit2fat2fit DietBet, click here: http://www.dietbetter.com/games/4709

You can also connect with Drew through his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.