Photo (c) Keith MunyanFirst of all the 30-year-old hunk is made for workout. Fitness enthusiasts know his amazing physique from many professional shots. Jeremy has worked with photographers like Keith Munyan and Louis LaSalle, and for big model agencies. He has appeared inside numerous fitness magazines, even twice on the cover of Men's Workout, as well as on several DVDs of Ron William's Vistavideo.com, which is well known for its popular fitness models.
Images (c) Men's WorkoutHis love for fitness and health began with soccer, martial arts, and football. Already during college, Jeremy shifted his focus to all natural bodybuilding. He competed, drug-free, in the all-natural bodybuilding contest The 2000 Illinois Open and placed first in the light heavyweight division, third overall.
Special training philosophy
Jeremy's time-crunched experience during grad school of building a fitness-model physique, while at the same time, keeping up with his studies, caused him to evolve and refine many of the principles espoused by bodybuilders and other elite athletes. Thus, he developed his own philosophy of training, nutrition, diet and a healthy lifestyle. Meanwhile he works as personal trainer and publishes his profound knowledge on his own website www.jeremymarkum.com. There he tries to stand out from the crowd of fitness sites: In each of his articles and products he has a special and very personal approach to the various subjects of fitness and health.
DVDs "Muscle Quest" and "Muscle Dreams" (c) www.vistavideo.comJeremy criticizes muscle magazines for publishing information which is profitable for the supplement companies advertising in the mags, but bad for the readers. He regards himself as the living proof that you can build an impressive physique without steroids, without spending your whole day in a gym, and still have a life.
The Tao of Functional Fitness is a big package of book, audio CDs and DVDs to get in good shape using training techniques that emphasize portability, like bodyweight exercise and elastic bands.
On his DVD Damn Good Exercises Jeremy shows how perfect form makes the difference in the gym, if someone strives for a body like his, such as his biceps with "18 inches on a good day“, he reveals on his DVD.
"Damn Good Exercises" (c) www.jeremymarkum.com
His diction is straight to the point: „Gain muscle to burn fat. The more muscle you have, the more calories that muscle will burn.“ His diction is humorous: „With more muscle you can sit on your duff watching Jerry Springer and burn calories.“ His diction is convincing: "Too much cardio burns muscle! So avoid it!" And finally, his diction is passionate: "My purpose in life is to live life to the fulliest, and help others do the same."Always new projects in the pipeline
In 2006 his life has changed. Jeremy married and moved to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. There he has transformed a 1500 square-foot facility into The Rustic Fitness & Performance Institute (www.rusticfitness.com), where he specializes in training athletes: "I'm hosting performance camps for wrestlers, football players, and other youth sport competitors, as well as more individualized, 1-on-1 coaching for those who want the ultimate edge."
Copyright not foundPretty versatile, this Mr. Markum: athlete, fitness model, personal trainer, author, self-made business man, philosopher. Is there a function which all these activities have in common, a kind of intersection? An answer may be found on his very early blog "Caffeine Induced Reality", six years ago. There he introduced himself by saying simply: "My name is Jeremy Markum. I'm a writer." Writer. Definitely one who has much to tell, and whose best chapters may yet come.
Quotations are taken from The Advanced Training and Nutrition Guide, available on www.jeremymarkum.com, and from various articles of this site.
Special thanks to Frank Celaya www.frankphotos.com, and to Ron Williams www.vistavideo.com for their great photos.
