Max Muscle: Nutrition for fitness

Jon Meyer is a big guy. He’s not heavy and not overly muscled. What he is, in his Max Muscle T-shirt, is an endorsement for the products he sells.

Meyer sells Max Muscle Sports Nutrition products from his store at 4615 Missouri Flat Road, Suite 4, in Placerville.

The store provides nutrition, tanning, body fat testing, customized nutrition plans, clothing and yoga mats.

Meyer is a Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist. He is trained to custom tailor sports nutrition plans for customers.

Meyer, who grew up in Camino and graduated from El Dorado High School, started working out with a personal trainer in a body building program at a gym when he was 16-17. He changed his diet and gained 20 pounds. It was not 20 pounds of fat, but muscle.

The fitness industry was beginning to take off. Meyer surveyed the area and determined there were no sports nutrition stores around. The nearest was in Sacramento. He connected with Max Muscle Sports Nutrition, with corporate offices in Orange. In 2003, Meyer, along with his wife, Desirae, opened a franchise in Placerville. Desirae handles the business end of the store, the ordering and the financials.

Max Muscle is geared toward people who are serious about sports and fitness. The products are used by Olympic athletes, mixed martial arts, bodybuilding, jiu-jitsu, motorcross, boxing, golf, running and others.

Max Muscle nutrition products are not only for athletes and bodybuilders. Many of Meyer’s customers are ordinary people who want to maintain daily fitness.

Meyer said that working out without proper nutrition will not give you the desired results. “Seventy to eighty percent of results are due to eating the right stuff and drinking enough water. Working out is 20 percent.”

His nutrition plans are based on three meals a day, with two snacks. The diets are high-protein and require drinking lots of water each day. Meyer has written nutrition plans for vegetarians and vegans. “It’s a little harder, but it can be done,” he said.

“People have different goals and different sports require a variety of approaches,” he said. Overall, the intent is to lose fat or gain muscle, to increase metabolism so the body is operating efficiently, and when the goal is reached to maintain balance.

Meyer customizes nutritional programs according to gender, age, height, weight, Basic Metabolic Rate, Resting Metabolic rate, thermic effect of foods, body composition, daily schedule food preferences, and any other factors that come into play.

He listens intently to his customers, asks questions, and suggests the best course. “If they follow the plan, they will get the results they want,” he said.

“I never try to sell something a customer doesn’t need,” he added. “It’s not worth the money.”

Part of the Max Muscle nutritional program is educational. Meyer provides a complete personalized report and follow-up sessions. Meal plans, recipes and shopping lists are included.

He works with several of the trainers and gyms in the area.

He has a Tan America Indoor Sunsystem. It can be good for skin disorders, and some people just like the look, he said. His tanning customers usually stop in for a 15-minute session three times a week.

Kyle Hartman has been working with Meyer for two years. Kyle is another local boy. He grew up in Shingle Springs and graduated from Union Mine High School.

Hartman said he became acquainted with Meyer while they were both working out at a gym. He weighed 195 pounds, but wanted to buff up to compete in the Max Formation competition. The grand prize was $25,000. Hartman offered to intern at Max Muscle. With Meyer’s help, he grew to 240 pounds.

He didn’t win the $25,000, but he did find work that he enjoys. He went through the Certified Fitness Nutrition training and Meyer hired him fulltime. Hartman said he didn’t want to hold at 240 pounds. “I went to 195. I was chiseled, shredded.”

Hartman stabilized at 210 pounds. He works out every day. “It’s become part of my life, like brushing my teeth,” he said. “I follow the diet. I eat every three hours.”

Meyer said his customers range from young and elderly, male and female. “My elderly customers work with a trainer, lifting weights and doing resistance training.”

Meyer has a message: “We’re here to make everybody feel better.”

For more information, visit the store or call 530-626-0239.