Tues Tip. Rocco style.

by

To know Rocco is …. to know Rocco.

Whether you love his style or hate it (he has been described as the illegitimate lovechild of Richard Simmons, Anthony Robbins & Tony Soprano)—-there is no denying he is a character.

One need merely take a pass through his blog to see clear evidence of that.

Havent heard of the personal trainer who is Rocco Castellano? You’d be in the minority.

These names ring a bell? Bonnie Raitt? JFK Jr.? Spike Lee? The fantastic artist William Wegman?

They’re all people whom Rocco, with his inimitable *way* over the top is this guy for real style, has trained.

Recently, Rocco won a daytime Emmy for his appearance in the MTV television show MADE (MizFit note: I love MADE. I am 12.) and I was fortunate enough to chase him down on the streets of Brooklyn & beg him to answer a few questions.

 

 

Im all about having my fifteen minutes on the same channel which once featured Martha Quinn (anyone?) How did MTV find you?

I’m actually pretty well known in the Midwest and one of my old clients was contacted by MTV and she told them that there was no one else in the world that could take large amounts of weight off like I could. So the producer called me and I set up an appointment to meet the whole crew the next week while I was on a business trip to NYC.

 

What was it like being a made coach/trainer?

It may sound kind of like a smart ass but…it was nothing different than I usually do…except there where two camera people recording me.

The most important thing I do all day is kick people’s ass… and this was no exception. I even think I made it worse on her because the cameras were rolling. One thing you don’t realize is that these TV shows take so much footage. They shot more than 30 hours of me kicking Kristine’s ass just to show 15 minutes on an hour long show.

 

Um, could you define ‘ass kicking’ for the MizFits? (or, to hearken back to my counselor-speak, I know what ass kicking means to me, Rocco, what does it mean to you?)

The most important thing I do all day is train people in way’s they never thought they could handle… and this was no exception. I bring my clients right to the edge of physical exhaustion and then ask them to give me more.

What’s the biggest key to your Made client’s success?

Keeping MTV out of it.

For the first 3 weeks I couldn’t train her. I met with her once and then barely saw her again. I bitched and complained to MTV producers that there was no way that she would be able to lose the weight we intended if I couldn’t get my hands on her. They relented and shot everything they needed and then re-scheduled the Torrid model search until three weeks later.

The camera people went home and I had the next three weeks to take the rest of the weight off of her…no easy task. I trained her 3 times a day on Monday-Wednesday-Friday and 2 times on Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. She did the work and came through with flying colors. I think for almost everyone just getting the work done…frequency and intensity will always get you to your goal. It definitely worked for her.

She went from 219 pounds down to 188 pounds AND her confidence went through the roof!

 

Any workout/training tips for the masses?

The most important thing that I can stress is make sure you work on your body’s symmetry (balance) first. The better balance, the more muscle you have and the more fat you will burn. If you have larger thighs and hips look to increase your upper body balance before you try to eliminate fat from your lower body.

Consistency is next. If you don’t subscribe to doing something that is resistance based and interval in your training program at least three times a week than you are waisting your time…so stay fat and… Happy Heart Attack! (MizFit note: I warned you he’s a character!)

Congrats on the emmy! Will you get to go to the ceremony?

I was already there. It was June 13th at Lincoln Center in NYC.

Intrigued by the no nonsense approach which won Rocco an emmy? You can watch the episode at Rocco’s blog . Click on the “Check out ROCCO on MTV MADE” banner to view.

Thanks, Rocco. Id say Im too intimidated to pronounce you an official member of the Bumbling Band—–but Im not.

Welcome.

 

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Comments

  1. Cool!

    “I bring my clients right to the edge of physical exhaustion and then ask them to give me more.”
    I love this approach. I try to do this when I workout by myself, but usually I stop WAY before that edge of physical exhaustion.

  2. Oh my goodness, I just copied and pasted that exact same “edge of exhaustion and then more” quote, but for entirely different reasons:

    Aaaccckkk!!!

    I am so NOT a hardcore fitness person.

    Rocco sounds like a total character and I admire his energy and anyone who can keep up with him…. but I’d last about thirty seconds before I’d probably kick him in the shins and run away.

    Great interview!

  3. I <3 the MTV too, I can’t get enough…Isn’t it funny how many of the VJs are showing up in odd places today (hosting movie marathons on B or C rated cable channels or attempting to be serious and delivering the news?). I think my love of MTV has remained due to the variety of shows they roll through. I remember watching the Grind (why was it exciting to watch people dance for a half hour?), Daria, Singled out (oh my gosh I use to love this show), and can proudly say I have watched pretty much every episode of the real world. I’m a nerd I know…

    PS great interview 😉

  5. This is my first exposure to Rocco, believe it or not! I love his approach–seems very common sense-oriented. You work hard, you get results. You sit on your bum all day, you don’t. Makes sense to me!

  6. My fave MTV show is Rob & Big. There. I admitted it.

    I stumbled across Rocco’s blog before, and enjoyed it. I appreciate bluntness, as long as it doesn’t cross over to mean-spiritedness.

    I love that on the bottom of his blog theres a look-up bar for dictionary.com, with the phrase, “In case you need to look up a word you don’t understand”. I realize with his personality there’s a chance that this could be to tease his readers, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

  7. And I dont think that would be wrong, Mercedes. I really really like Rocco and admire his style.
    It is thoroughly thought out and a ‘plan of attack’/personal brand & not merely a “eh, Im gonna push and criticize people and see how this works!”

    yes, this is reinforced by his client list but beyond that my interaction with him was nothing if not PERSONALLY motivating and impressive.

    I know Im going off on a rant here (old school Dennis Miller anyone?) but love him or dislike his methods he’s an amazing guy.

    M.

  8. I love MADE – is he the regular trainer or did he just do the one award-winning show? I’d never heard of him before but I’m liking his approach – dude, don’t dress it up, just lay the smack down! I am adding his blog to my list – woo! Cheers MizFit :0)

    TA x

  9. Oh, dear, the Bag Lady is so NOT an MTV watcher. (she isn’t sure she even has that channel – it’s on TV, right?)

    Rocco sounds too hardcore for the Bag Lady. She’s such a freakin’ marshmallow, he’d probably make her cry.

  10. Never heard of Rocco as I don’t watch Made. I will check him out.

    As long as we’re making MTV confessions. I watched the entire first season of Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. I was all excited every Wed. afternoon to watch it while the kids were napping. I was so embarrased that I watched it that I never told my husband. 🙂 It was like a train wreck, but I couldn’t stop!

  11. BL? (and lemmie give a DizClaimer in that I hath no relation to aforementioned Rocco and gain nothing by touting him :)) check out the video on his site.

    there’d be no crying—–dont you sell my Bag Lady short!

    M.

  13. I love Martha Quinn. 🙂 I now have to listen to her on Sirius, since MTV no longer actually shows videos. Hmph. Yes, I’m old.

    I’ve heard of Rocco but don’t know a lot about him. His philosophy sounds a lot like Jillian’s though and you know how much I <3 the Jillian. 🙂 I love the “no excuses, no shortcuts, just shut up and do the work” approach. I tend to have sort of an impatient take-no-prisoners mentality myself about things, so it fits beautifully!

    V.

  14. Oh yeah…and I love his tip about working on balance FIRST. Beautiful! And I haven’t heard many trainers say that, but in my experience it is so important. Losing a lot of weight really throws your center of gravity off and changes the whole way you move, and it’s super easy to get hurt exercising when that happens. I was even clumsier than usual after losing my first 30 pounds, because a lot of it came from my lower body and it really threw me off.

    Wonderful tip!

    V.

  15. Ah man, I’ve never heard of this guy OR that show. Or anything apparently. “Brooklyn” – I recognize that name! He sounds like my kind of guy. I’m going to go check out his site now. Thanks for the tip, Miz!

  16. I’m not that familiar with Rocco, but if it doesn’t kill you I guess it makes you stronger 🙂

  17. uh oh Charlotte.
    All signs indicate that (waitforit) YOU HAVE A LIFE!

    😉

    M.

  18. I still watch Real World, but that show is the opposite of Rocco…I am very impressed that he got MTV to do what he wanted.

  19. Ahhhh, the old school daze of martha quinn, downtown juli brown, kennedy, adam curry, pauly shore and fab 5 freddy…*sigh*

    Uh, is rocco single? (sorry honey) me likes his style…

    So, what were you doing on the streets of brooklyn MF?

  21. Holy cow – Rocco sounds EXACTLY like the personal trainers we have at the Boot Camp I am in. They totally work you to the point of exhaustion, then ask for more. And sometimes I want to say, “uh, no thanks…” or “I don’t see you doing it” but I hold back. 🙂 But in the end (no pun intended) getting my booty kicked time and again is just what I need to push myself in my workouts – otherwise I’d go too easy on myself.

  22. Ugh.. YES I need Rocco in my life!!! hahahaaaa he is the trainer I aspire to be like.. THANKS MizFit.. woohooo

  23. I think I should try working out with a trainer. I see it at the gym, but I feel like I would get embarrassed if I couldn’t do something the right way, got sweaty, farted by accident…. I keep waiting to be in tip-top shape and it’s NOT happening. I also have no money but I digress…

    I, too, like the idea of balance for your body. I am going to use that mentality when working out top to bottom. I will also remember muscle pairings, as in, working out abs and back muscles…triceps and biceps….inside and outside thighs

  25. I love that you chased him down the street. That’s pretty gutsy. Is he as big in person as he looks on TV? Cause the dude looks massive on TV. And scary. But kind of in a good way. If that makes any sense.

  26. Loved his idea of balancing out the body strength (top, bottom, side to side). and balance.

    This year, since I’ve lost the weight, we are concentrating on balancing my strength. Mostly side to side.. you would shocked at how out of strength balance I am left- to -right. And we’re finding all the small supporting muscles systems that just need work.

    When I started working with my trainer, my actual balance was even worse than it is now. now it’s still not great shakes, but I work on it. (I’m blaming 9 sprained ankles for my poor stability. Can I?? Please?)

  27. I do wonder how I would do with this …while I do not need someone to get me to work and work hard — I could really use the help to get to the next level. Though I could really do without someone yelling at me.

  28. Wow, what a character! I’m most surprised by MTV setting their MADE kids up for failure. That’s really disappointing, but I’m glad one lucky girl had Rocco in her corner to get what she needed!

  31. Never heard of Rocco before today, but thats a great interview. I like his ass-kicking definition and I’d never really thought about the balance thing before- but thats such good advice!

  34. Wow, I never heard of him, but I will be visiting his site often! I was so happy when I read he likes to take his clients to the edge, and then more! That’s my philosophy (I guess from all those years of getting my butt handed to me by my trainers/coaches). I love it when I push my clients and then ask them afterwards, “Did you ever think you could do that?” When they say no, I say” Well, oyu just did.”

    Hmmm….wonderful moments. Thanks for this post!

  36. oh Cammy I laughed out LOUD at your old cave dwelling self.
    now, Rocco’s fab episode ASIDE, Im more a fan of the mind candy which is True Life (still MTV).

    Im just sayin’

    M.

  38. I feel like my ass-kicking quotient would automatically go up at least 50 points if my name were “Rocco.” A person name Rocco just has to be a force to be reckoned with.

  40. ok, I’m glad to know that others are willing to admit their love for Made and True Life. (despite the way too many commercials in both!)

    I’d love to have Rocco come my way and punish, I mean train me for awhile. That is precisely what I need.

  41. dude, i live for those high schoolish docu-drama shows. Its like a step above other makeover shows because they have some heart to them. but i am still a sucker for A&E’s intervention, i am just scarred one day i’ll be put in a room and they’ll say to me, “this is an intervention, you must stop this frozen yogurt addiction..”.

    I agree with most of you that a good old kick in butt is good sometimes. hey, if it gets the job done…

  43. i so wish i was a millionaire because i would spend all of the time i now spend working with a trainer who would kick my ass like that. and i would be super hot.

  44. Awesome interview. The best one is working your body symmetrically. I always see guys with big guns and huge chest but skinny ass legs and I just shake my head. Of course I wouldn’t dare laugh at them because they might kick my butt, even though I have a black belt…

    Great score on the interview!

  45. Laura? your comment got cut off but Im *confident* what it said was:

    and Id be even more hot than I am already.

    (*wink*)

    M.

  46. I am the oldest 26 year old on the planet- I have never even heard of him or Made and think I was in high school the last time I watched MTV. Damn.

    But the his style and approach sound right up my alley. No excuses. Just last week I was telling someone how I thought it would be so awesome to go through military boot camp without having to enlist. I just want my ass kicked into shape.

  47. first off, thanks for the comment! 🙂

    secondly, i’ll have to check out his site. i’ve seen “made” a few times, but it’s not my fave guilty pleasure on mtv (when i do watch it). that’s reserved for “my super sweet 16” (so bad, i know!) and, recently, “america’s best dance crew 2.” the latter is mostly because i’m insanely jealous of how those guys and girls move and i wish i could be them.

  48. I want to thank all of you for the very kind words. It’s funny to here others opinions of my take on life, liberty and the pursuit of fatness. Many of you have stated that you have never heard any fitness professional or expert speak of symmetry, balance or the how it impacts the way one loses fat. I too have never heard it but I have experienced and do the research that i wish more so-called fitness experts would do.

    I ask all of you one thing…please don’t ever sell yourself short. Everyone of you would have the time of your life as you allow me to kick your ass ;). An ideal that I hold very close…I will never yell, unless you are wasting my time. I will never yell unless you are causing yourself harm. I will never yell unless your hair is on fire.

    I was put on this earth to change peoples lives one pound at a time and I will have a damn good time doing it. I will leave you with something that I say often a with great passion: ” The least we can do, is live up to our potential”

    Thank you again for the opportunity.

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