Max Citrin

Hometown:

• Tampa (actually I grew up in Wesley Chapel. It’s just north of Tampa.)

Education:

• BS cum laude Biology (Davidson College)
• 11/2 years medical school (University of Florida College of Medicine)

Training Certifications:

• NSCA-CPT*D
• CSCS*D

Bodybuilding Titles:

• Mr. Gainesville 2006 – 1st place Middleweight and Overall (the first competition I ever entered)

Experience:

• Ten years “in the trenches” experience
• Trained Division I Sports Teams (Women’s Tennis, Women’s Soccer) Davidson College
• Trained everyone from triathletes with knee problems to painters with shoulder problems

Evolution

The first goal I set for myself fitness-wise was to develop Abs. I saw them on TV when I was 12 and I was thought, “I want those.” I was very determined to learn and do whatever it took to achieve them. Within six months I had a nice set. I learned all the ab exercises, and I learned about diet. My ab workouts in the mornings and evenings became very rewarding, not only because I saw results: they were time to myself to focus on breathing and contracting the muscles. The public often wonders “are bodybuilders obsessed?” Do they suffer from low self-esteem?” There are other reasons to want to workout. From a very young age I found meditation in my workouts as well as satisfaction from applying myself to a task with discipline and reaping the rewards. It is fun to improve and it is fun to give your all.

I played competitive soccer as a child. When I went to high school I played soccer and ran track. I was captain of my high school soccer and track teams. When I was 16 I sustained a sports hernia, which drove me to educate myself on fitness, nutrition, and bodybuilding. I was already pretty conscientious about nutrition because I had developed an interest when I was 12 and my family had always eaten fairly healthy anyway (both my parents were physicians, and not the doughnut eating, smoking kind). The hernia was misdiagnosed as a recurrent groin strain. When I got it I had to stop doing abs every morning because situps can tug on the lower abdominal wall. This was upsetting, my morning and evening ab workouts were my meditation, and soccer and track were my hobbies. I wanted to become a professional soccer player. In whatever I did I wanted to reach the top-level. I was very frustrated but I learned to funnel my efforts into something productive.

I had been taught how to lift weights by my high-school track coach when I was 15.  Being unable to play, I started to read about how to best workout the body, and workout around the injuries. Honestly, I think I liked weightlifting better than soccer from the start. I liked the feel of the burn in the muscles. I liked the feeling of hard work. I liked the feeling of making myself improve. I think the only reason I did not decide to delve futher into it at a competitive level earlier was that I had the misconception that bodybuilding was nothing but the vain pursuit of a bunch of greased up narcissists. I learned that sometimes it is, but most bodybuilders are people who want to improve the body in the most effective way possible, and bring the mind and body into harmony.

When I went to college I began teaching others about lifting weights because people in my college dorm noticed that I had muscles and wanted to learn from me. Soon after, I became certified as a personal trainer. I did not want to be teaching others unless I felt solidly knowledgeable and credible. I saw it as a great opportunity to learn the scientific principles behind training. Soon after, I began training my professors. I also began training people my dad worked with when I was home on Winter and summer vacations. As a Junior in College I interned under the strength coach at Wake Forest University. As an intern, I helped train the football team. I learned about the explosive lifts, like the ones they do in the Olympics, and I learned how to train athletes for sports. Until that time I had just learned how to train people for health and fitness. I took this knowledge with me back to Davidson College, and I assumed responsibility for the training of the Women’s tennis team, and then the women’s soccer team. I learned a lot in the two years I trained these athletes because they posed a lot of questions requiring me to consult my reference texts many times. I wanted to know everything there was to know about fitness. I had, and still have a real passion and curiosity for it, and I think this is something that sets me apart as a trainer.

While in my second year of medical school I competed in my first bodybuilding competition, the Mr. Gainesville contest, and won, despite being a smaller competitor who does not use anabolics.

I always needed to understand why something worked and why it didn’t. Throughout my study of Biology and Chemistry, from High School to Medical School I continually tried to apply the principles of human physiology from the classroom to real life. This gives me great expertise in thinking through problems in a person’s training because I have been doing it so long. I like to think of the great bodybuilder, Frank Zane, when I think of adjusting training to suit needs. Zane was nicknamed “the chemist” because he kept such systematic and detailed records of his training, had a chemistry degree, and was a deep thinker. I like to think that Zane came to exemplify the archetype of a perfectly symmetrical and balanced physique precisely because he was such a deep thinker. He always chose the right angles and exercises and sets and reps to hit a muscle and always developed it in perfect proportion and shape to all the rest. It was his mind that was the main tool. His physique was a manifestation of his thoughts.  I like to think of myself as being similar to Zane in that I always strive to use the mind. I am well versed in just about every training method imaginable, and know when to apply them because I have done it myself. I believe this gives me greater ability to solve the problems of others, since I have thought through my own in a scientific yet creative manner for many years, and not arrived at where I am without thorough consideration. For two years I did not receive a “normal” gift for my birthday or for the holidays. I got only books and tapes on training and exercise physiology. I am not talking about muscle magazines. I am curious as I said before, I wanted to know what top lifting coaches did,in the trenches, like Louie Simmons. I also wanted to tangle with the intellectual rigor of the most reknowned PhD exercise physiologist, Dr. Mel Siff. There was not an exercise physiology major at my school but I think this was lucky because true expertise can only be gained through passion and curiosity, and sometimes a set curriculum has a way of sapping one’s passion for a topic. I applied all these theories to training myself and my clients and sports teams, and this repeated thinking over things. I am not your typical meathead bodybuilder. I always want to know why. I like to think, and this is something that makes me good at solving problems for other people.

I am not your typical anti-intellectual bodybuilder, nor your typical pencil-neck trainer. I practice what I preach, and I think about it.

My knowledge of the human physiology and anatomy (something that I was exposed to from an early age due to the fact my parents were both Medical Doctors), combined with the fact that I attended Medical school and hold a Biology degree, posses strong analytical skills, and most importantly my passion for learning all there is to know about achieving one’s physical potential enable me to produce extremely efficient programs that anyone can fit in their schedule.  I practice what I preach and can relate equally well to the person wanting to lose a few pounds as well as to the competitive athlete. As I said before, everyone is a bodybuilder, we just have different goals for what we want to build.The fact that for a year I trained as a bodybuilder while attending medical school enables me to offer practical advice that all people who live a hectic lifestyle can follow.

- Max Citrin