Exclusive Interview: The Muscle behind the Fitocracy Spark!

Ever since Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger began his “Pumping Iron” days, he shocked the world with his accomplishments in muscles, exercise and athleticism. Without a doubt, The Austrian Oak has been the greatest role model for once low-esteemed couch potato zeroes turned confident athletic heroes. Followers would ride the rails of his fitness train. Come with Arnold if you wanted to live a healthier lifestyle and do some push-ups on the lawn of the White House when Schwarzenegger was on the President’s Council of Physical Fitness. Cut to decades later, long after Arnold was a competing bodybuilder, and we STILL see him as a top motivator of fitness. He’s continuing to educate and inspire the world’s population to stay hungry for a better body by means of seminars, sports festivals, tweets and interviews, and now this muscular action hero is teaming up with FITOCRACY, a fantastic new online gym with a free membership!

Fitocracy and Arnold Schwarzenegger are partnering up to give you free workouts to help you “find your Spark.” These workouts last 15 minutes and can be done anywhere by anybody. All you have to do is join the Spark Challenge right HERE. You can also win badges and other goodies from Arnold and Fitocracy.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: “Give me 15 minutes a day. That is 1 percent of your day. All I’m asking is that you do something for your health and fitness 1 percent of your day. It’s true. I’ll talk more about this later. I’ll show you a workout that you can do in 15 minutes, wherever you are. Maybe you need your 15 minutes to plan a healthier menu for the week. But for now I want you to take 1 percent of each day and make it all about you living a healthier life. Trust me, if you make the 1 percent pledge, you’ll find yourself doing more.”

TheArnoldFans.com spoke with Richard Talens, co-founder of Fitocracy, as well as some other heroes behind the brilliant fitness website.

TheArnoldFans: How do you feel about Arnold Schwarzenegger teaming up with Fitocracy to promote the Spark challenge?

Richard Talens: My co-founder Brian, myself, and the rest of the Fitocracy team are incredibly excited about working with Arnold. He’s been a huge inspiration to each one of us. When Brian and I were out-of-shape video gamers growing up, we looked to Arnold as someone we aspired to be, so having him on the platform is just surreal, and we’re very fortunate.

TheArnoldFans: Are there any future plans for Arnold to stay with Fitocracy . . . or would you like him to?

Richard Talens: Arnold’s Spark campaign lines up directly with Fitocracy’s mission – to make fitness accessible for everyone and get them to the next level. At Fitocracy, we’re particularly good at getting beginners “hooked” on fitness. When you combine that with Arnold’s ability to reach people and inspire, we think that it’s a pretty good pairing. Arnold’s world-class team of fitness experts like John Romaniello, Neghar Fonooni and Adam Bornstein already have a track record of helping beginners in the Fitocracy community “find their Spark,” so we think that this will be an amazing campaign.

TheArnoldFans: Might there ever be a Fitocracy meet-up event, or will it attach itself to fitness conventions like The Arnold Sports Festival, or will Fitocracy stick with an online format only?

Richard Talens: Our users have already started to meet up all across the globe. There have been meet-ups in the UK, Canada and all across the US . . . our latest New York meet-up had over 100 attendees. Holding an official “convention” or festival would definitely be interesting to think about, but there’s nothing in the works right now.

Adam Bornstein, fat terminator and author of “Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha”, shares with TheArnoldFans his gratitude for Schwarzenegger's “Spark”!

Bornstein: I think the great thing about “The Spark” is that it speaks to everyone in a different way – if you're willing to listen. Arnold has given me the spark while showing me what is possible if you have a relentless attitude. Your life and what you achieve are literally limitless; the only limitations are barriers of perception that you set on yourself. Arnold has personified that, proven that a “spark” can result in a fulfilling and enjoyable life, and has offered a replicable model. And that model has nothing to do with bodybuilding, acting, and becoming governor. Instead, it’s about charting a course and pursuing it with an indomitable will and consistent passion. It’s a message that anyone can understand and apply to their life. "

Bornstein also tells me he’s fired up about Arnold joining Fitocracy.

Bornstein: It’s an exciting time – both for Fitocracy and Arnold. Fitocracy is undeniably one of the better and more effective platforms for getting people to be active and enjoy fitness. And Arnold is undeniably one of the greatest influencers – if not the greatest influencer – of modern fitness. The fact that he adjusts with the times to help spread the Spark on a platform that can reach and help so many says a lot about his commitment to improving the health of everyone, and Fitocracy’s dedication to going to all lengths and finding the best influencers to make a difference. Not to mention – can you imagine how much fun it’ll be to take on workout challenges created by Arnold? I’m all in on that. "

Follow Adam Bornstein at www.bornfitness.com! You can purchase his book, “Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha: A Real World Guide to an Unreal Life” at Amazon! Don’t forget to read the book’s forward written by Arnold Schwarzenegger!

Fitocracy’s mission is to make fitness a more fun, more addictive experience. Play Fitocracy to beat challenges, push your boundaries, and show your friends who’s boss. Get addicted to your fitness and keep track of your daily pump.

Arnold’s Spark challenge started on April 1st but it’s not too late to sign up. In fact, once you look into this great online social gym, it won’t just take an Arnold challenge for you to stick around. Because Fitocracy’s gamification makes user experiences so fun, I think “you’ll be back” over and over again. This social fitness club is growing in huge numbers every day, and I think it has the potential to be the next big thing (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+). Prepare to make friends: Just minutes after I signed up, I received friendly welcome greetings by random members. But unlike Facebook, you’re entering a realm of strictly fellow fitness fans. You can connect with fitness experts, beginners or even join new fitness groups like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s group or our own group for TheArnoldFans. So now you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Fitocracy! Why are you still reading this story? Get off your marshmallow buttocks and get fit! Sign up with Fitocracy! Go, get to da Fit-Choppa!