Exercise.com User Story: goREALa | Exercise.com Learn: Your Fitness Business Resource

Exercise.com User Story: goREALa

Tyler Spraul is the director of UX and the head trainer for Exercise.com. He has his Bachelor of Science degree in pre-medicine and is an NSCA-certified strength and conditioning specialist. He is a former All-American soccer player and still coaches soccer today. In his free time, he enjoys reading, learning, and living the dad life. He has been featured in Shape, Healthline, HuffPost, Women's...

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UPDATED: Aug 25, 2020

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Exercise.com is all about motivation through friendly competition. Everyone enjoys earning more points and improving their site rank – not to mention getting real results!

This week, we want to introduce you to a PRO User who is constantly setting records on the site!

With over 145 workouts logged and 8.5 million pounds lifted over time. PRO User: goREALa is ranked #4 on the Exercise.com Leaderboard. This guy is the definition of BEAST!

Check out the user story below to learn about who the man is behind these record-setting numbers!

Where are you from?

Born in Houston, raised in Minneapolis, & currently living in Phoenix.

What got you started working out?

I have always been pretty active. In high school, I played football (TE) and basketball (SF). After high school, I was Recon in the US Army. Throughout my time in the service and my adult life, working out had always been part of my life.

After I got injured and left the service in 2006, this came to a halt.

After seeing myself in a home video four years later (2010), I took notice of my 315-pound frame and realized I needed to get back into shape. I had gained almost 100 pounds since I got out of the Army!

Growing up, I never really had healthy eating habits. It never really was a problem, until I got older and more so when my activity stopped. After a year of “learning” how to eat, the weight dropped; then incorporating exercise was a win-win!

Over the past eleven months, I have been consistent with weight lifting and cardio… NOT!!! I hate cardio! 🙂

What are your current workout goals?

My focus is not so much concentrating on my body weight but monitoring my BMI. I want to continue to reduce body fat, and build muscle. Back in my heyday, I was under 8 percent body fat, and it would be awesome to get back there!

Muscle growth has never been a problem for me, I have always been pretty strong. I learned that I am a mesomorph! This may sound a little cliché but it’s not about the “number.” It’s about feeling good and looking good!

What’s your favorite style of training?

The style of training that I am using is purely weight training. Since I’m already pretty strong, my focus is improving my muscular endurance. This means I lift at approximately 80% of my max at medium to high reps with 4+ sets (time permitted).

I really do not have a favorite exercise, but if I don’t like a routine or if it’s uncomfortable for me, I won’t do it.  I absolutely HATE cardio: running, walking, biking, etc., but I do know something along those lines is a must in order for me to achieve my goals.

What I have found that has made it a little better was High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This way running is short and sweet, but still does the trick!

What’s your favorite non-healthy food?

I make it a point to add some “treats” to my menu at least once or twice a week. I hear this is good for the body, as it “shocks” it and helps with metabolism.

These days my favorite non-health food is chips & dip, cheese curds, mac & cheese, jalapeno poppers, Philly cheese steak, deep fried hot dogs (from the fair), and chocolate-covered nuts to name a few.

It seems I am always fighting off my inner “fat kid”… sometimes I gotta let him out and play!

What’s the best fitness advice you’ve been given?

Simply put: Eat clean, sleep well, lift heavy!!! Two of the three are no brainers to me.

A lot of people don’t realize that results come faster when you push your limits – lifting heavy does this. I also like to do drop sets and rest pauses to muscle failure. This ensures I am exerting all my effort!

Give us an interesting fact about yourself!

I have either lived in or visited every continent of the World besides Antarctica and Australia.

Exercise.com would like to thank PRO User: goREALa for this user story and for being a consistent record-breaker on the site!

If you’re interested in sharing your user story with us we would love to feature it on our blog!

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