A top fitness trainer who asks ‘jacked’ Americans what they do for their workouts has revealed their most common answers.
Mark Langowski, who posts on social media as bodybymark, is followed by more than 1.2million people online — including former professional wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
In the clips, Mr Langowski approaches in-shape individuals from all walks of life — from policemen, delivery drivers and EMS staff to finance workers and attorneys — and asks about the diet and exercise regime they follow to stay in such great shape.
He has carried out dozens of the interviews on the streets of New York City, Los Angeles and Miami, and has revealed some of the most interesting responses, including the ‘finance guy’ who eats nearly 300 grams of protein and a 68-year-old who does 50 push-ups every day.
Mr Langowski said he began making the videos because he was ‘genuinely interested in what normal everyday fit people are doing.’
And his content reveals a trend: consistency, little to no alcohol and a protein-rich diet.
When it came to working out, the majority also said they did a mixture of resistance training — lifting weights in the gym — and cardio exercises, such as running, swimming or cycling.
He told DailyMail.com: ‘Most people are doing three days of resistance training and the same with cardio, so three days as well.
‘But the most common theme among all of them is consistency; most of them have been doing it for five, 10, 15, 20 years.
‘A lot of people think this is something you can just do for a few months and see results, but consistency is key.’
For the most part, they were doing 45 to 60 minutes of exercise per day and splitting days between strength and cardio training.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays tended to be put toward weights, Mr Langowski found, while Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays tended to be about cardio — with Sunday as a rest day.
Surprisingly, some of the largest guys Mr Langowski has stopped weren’t lifting the heaviest weights, he found, saying there was a large number who would lift ‘moderate’ weights but with more repetitions.
One of his top clips, which has gained 500,000 likes and more than a million views, is with a UPS delivery driver in New York City.
The individual, who is ‘ripped,’ said he focuses on calisthenics prioritizing push-ups and pull-ups and walks 60 miles a day. He added that he doesn’t stop exercising until he feels pain.
Calisthenics involves using a person’s own body weight to build muscles via exercises like squats, push-ups and pull-ups – and it was a frequent favorite of many of Mr Langowski’s interviewees.
In another clip filmed in Miami, he talks to a 64-year-old muscular attorney who had a less-than-realistic routine of working out four hours a day, which includes lifting weights, riding a bike and playing tennis.
‘It’s nothing magic, it’s just time and effort,’ the individual said, revealing he had been doing this for 15 years.
In another clip from New York City, Mr Langowski spoke to a 23-year-old ‘finance guy’ who said he eats 280 grams of protein per day.
This was the equivalent of four-and-a-half large steaks per day, or four times the recommended daily allowance for an adult male, according to Harvard University.
Harvard says a man needs about 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight, which means that — with the average American man weighing 197lbs — men should consume about 71grams of protein per day overall.
He also said he works out five times per week, and that the heaviest weight he lifts is 275lbs on the bench press.
Other featured athletes included a man who said he does 500 push-ups a day and a toned mother-of-three who relies on calisthenics to stay in shape.
On diet, Mr Langowski said most of the people he speaks to are eating in a healthy and balanced way while consuming less sugar and alcohol.
‘There are some people who I have interviewed who had a bad diet,’ he said, ‘and they seem to exercise their way around it’.
‘It is not many who say, “I eat horribly, but I exercise,” but I have heard it a couple of times. What they probably mean is that they cheat a bit more than the average person.’
Another trend that has appeared in Mr Langowski’s videos is the use of supplements.
Creatine was the most popular supplement by far, with a few also mentioning they take testosterone, multivitamins and fish oil.
Creatine is a natural supplement often used to improve athletic performance, by boosting muscle mass, strength and exercise efficiency.
The Cleveland Clinic said studies have shown regularly taking creatine while weightlifting can help increase muscle growth in 18- to 30-year-olds.
However, there were plenty of gym-goers who said they did not take any supplements.
One of his most surprising interviews was with Latino singer J Balvin, who has won 11 Billboard music awards and six Latin Grammys.
Mr Langowski said he spotted an individual who looked familiar on the side of the street in Soho, and approached him for an interview because of his athletic appearance.
It was only a few minutes into his interview that he realized who it was.
‘He was very pleasant, very nice,’ the entrepreneur said, ‘and he gave such a nice response’.
For workouts, he said he gets up early every day and does cardio and weight-lifting. He also has a ‘good diet’, he said, consuming a lot of protein and not many carbs.
Mr Langowski, who also runs corporate gyms in office buildings and a training program to help people keep fit, described himself as an introvert — who doesn’t tend to strike up conversations with people in the street.
But after spending years wondering what in-shape individuals’ diet and exercise routines were like, he decided to start approaching some.
He began filming the reactions on camera, finding that it ‘validated’ his questions and meant that he could share their tips with others.
Ninety-eight percent of those who he approaches are happy to talk, he says, with some now even commenting saying, ‘I’ve been waiting for you Mark!’
He told DailyMail.com: ‘I’m an introvert and it was very uncomfortable, it is still a little uncomfortable to do.
‘I am not planning these, I am just walking up to someone with a camera in their face.
‘The videos get a great reaction and a great following, but the real reason I am doing this is that I am genuinely interested in what normal everyday fit people are doing.’
Clients he has had include top billionaires in New York City.
On the channel, Mr Langowski said he is trying to build an image of what people from all walks of life do to stay in shape.
‘I try not to just go up to personal trainers and fitness models,’ he said, ‘that is not relatable for most people’.
‘The nice thing about my videos is that I try to find people from all different walks of life.’
He also urged people to think twice before leaving any ‘judgmental’ comments on his videos.
He said: ‘These videos are not intended as a “who is the fittest person in America or the fittest people in the world video,” the idea is to shed light on what everyday people are doing in their workouts.
‘Imagine if your wife, or brother, or daughter was in these videos, and then you saw people commenting negatively.
‘I am trying to make these videos a positive thing on social media and not a toxic environment where people feel free to pass judgment.’
