Marcus Filly

💪 Fitness Coach | Founder, @functional.bodybuilding
Get Built Not Burnt - Featured in Men’s Health
👇PERSIST (free trial)

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

When dumbbells get too heavy on a raise your shoulders stop doing the work. Momentum takes over. You get less out of more weight. Slow down and feel the difference.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Two tablespoons of coffee creamer instead of one twice a day is 600-800 extra calories a week. That's not a metabolism problem. That's a data problem.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Most programs train muscle groups. We train movement patterns. There's a big difference in how you feel when you leave the gym - and how you feel 10 years from now.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Underrated skill: being patient with yourself knowing you're doing everything that you can control.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

One of our clients is in his 60s down 35 pounds and stronger than ever. He's hiking and skiing like he's 30 again. The formula: 3 strength sessions 60 minutes of cardio 10k steps and enough protein.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Unilateral training - single leg single arm - isn't just for rehab. It's how your body actually works in sport and in life. Bilateral strength is the foundation. Unilateral work is what makes it carry over.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

7 hours of sleep. 10000 steps. Hitting his calories. Still gained weight for six months straight. Sometimes the variable isn't effort. Sometimes it's what your nervous system is dealing with.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

For a rec athlete most coaches would just build a general strength program. But athleticism isn't a bonus - it's a worthy goal for everyone.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

If your schedule is truly irregular - shift work travel young kids - you may need two rhythm templates. One for the standard week one for the chaos. Both are better than none.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

He eats clean doesn't snack rarely eats out meal preps every week. And he still doesn't know if he's eating the right amount. Clean is not a number. You need actual data.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Feelings of restriction from food tracking come from the rules you make up around it - not the tracking itself. You can eat cereal and candy and still lose fat. The numbers just have to work.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Hitting 3 days consistently > meaning to do 5 and missing.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

There's coaching that only sees numbers - weight calories output. And there's coaching that sees the whole person. The first kind works great when life is calm. The second kind is what people actually need most of the time.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

In a healthy rhythm cortisol gets you moving in the morning and winds down at night. Chronic stress flips that pattern. You end up tired all day and wired when it's time to sleep. These are classic signs you need a better daily flow.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

My client wasn't looking for the perfect program. She was looking for someone to tell her she wasn't crazy for taking her fitness more seriously than everyone around her.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Strong enough to shove a bag in the overhead bin. Strong enough to climb without pain. Strong enough to throw without hurting your shoulder. That's the standard I'm training people toward.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Hours of cardio and 5 gym days a week sounds like more. But more isn't better if it means you're burnt out in 3 weeks and back to nothing.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

The best training split is the one you don't keep rearranging or skipping. Frequency matters a lot less than consistency.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Hinging shows up when you pick something up safely control your butt going down on a chair or stabilize your spine under load. It's one of the most important patterns to train - and one of the most skipped.

[Marcus Filly @fillymarcus]

Cortisol doesn't just respond to stress - it anticipates it. When your days are chaotic your body stays on high alert. It has no other choice.