Mark’s muscle blog is a big hit

Mark McManus (33) is a former pupil of St Michael’s who channelled his energies into honing the perfect physique and is making a living from sharing his secrets with people across the globe.

He told the ‘MAIL’: “In my mid-twenties I started to take training seriously and set some goals for myself that were really going to stretch me. The problem was, however, that every site, every trainer, every ‘guru’ had a different answer, and they often-times contradicted each other.

“I remember thinking this can’t be the case. Human physiology is universal so we all build muscle and lose fat through the same mechanisms. Surely then there has to be one best way to produce this result for everyone right across the board. Basically, what I was searching for was an actual science.

“To do this effectively I had to bypass the ‘broscience’ and salesmanship and get to the truth, which saw me get qualified as a trainer and and begin years of independent research.”

Mark started a blog at MuscleHack.com, writing articles on his experiences of what worked and what didn’t and sharing his latest findings.

He said: “After just a few months of blogging it started to take off around the world. I wrote and researched more and created workouts for free, eventually turning it into a business a few years ago.

“Nowadays, the site has been viewed over 12 million times and my YouTube videos have received around 1.3 million views so far. I have over 60,000 regular subscribers to my blog and mailing list.

“Doing this has provided some great opportunities. I’ve written for Iron Man magazine in the US, and Perfect Body magazine in Poland. My work has been cited and referenced by some of the world’s biggest fitness authorities like Lance Armtrtong’s livestrong.com, bodybuilding,com, lifehacker.com and more.

“But the thing I am most happy about is the amount of people that have benefited from my work. I’ve seen some really astounding transformations from people of all ages, both men and women. Of course this not only improves their bodies, but impacts their confidence and well-being as well. I have women in their forties getting ripped six-packs, it’s incredible to see. I feel very grateful to be a part of it.

“I should state that I have absolutely no interest in aerobics or faddish fitness trends and classes. They come and go; there’ll be a new craze soon I’m sure. I’m only interested in the rock-solid science of sculpting muscle and torching body fat.

“In short, the single best way to achieve these goals is a combination of intense weight training and proper nutrition.

“Nothing else is required.”