Name: Marc Czepiel
Age: 31
Occupation: Insights Analyst at Baltimore Gas & Electric
What brought you to Baltimore Built? I had been looking for a way to improve my strength. I dropped into a few classes many thanks to my friend Kayla Sarette and when I attended as a drop-in I was very impressed with the coaching towards OLY lifting and overall conditioning. I was also very impressed to see how much variety Baltimore Built incorporates into the journey of overall health and well being.
How long have you been a member at Baltimore Built? About 2.5 months (since January 2024)
Were you athletic or involved in sports when growing up? If so, what sports and or activities did you participate in? Played some sports in school at the club/intramural level (soccer, tennis flag football, softball), but nothing too serious. Didn’t start truly lifting until college as a means to gain weight. Have always struggled with gaining muscle my entire adult life.
Were you working out regularly prior to joining Baltimore Built? If so, what were you doing? I was working out about 5-6 times a week through various methods. CrossFit, running and obstacle course training as I love spartan races were the main areas I would train.
Why do you workout? To be able to eat what I want lol. I started my fitness journey in college as I had/was required to gain weight since I was severely underweight. As time has gone on since then my motivations to workout have evolved into a source of maintaining my mental health, improving quality of life, and making friends. All workout communities (except for the big box gyms (i.e., LA fitness and crunch) I have felt welcomed and encouraged from other members and I love that feeling.
What is your favorite lift or movement and why? Handstand pushups are my favorite as I enjoy being upside down.
What is your favorite workout or type of workout and why? I will get a lot of crap for this but it is a tie between Fran (pull ups and thrusters) and Diane (handstand push ups and deadlifts).
What have you accomplished as an athlete (big or small) during your time at Baltimore Built? Increased my strength and improved my technique for various lifts: back squat, overhead squat snatch, and both jerks. I have evidence from tracking my own numbers on increases in all of those lifts in weight or better technique.
What fitness goals do you have for the next year? Continuing to build strength and limit/remove my bad habits with Oly lifting. Multiple bar muscle ups in a row would be great too.
How has your fitness influenced and/or impacted your life outside of the gym? It used to be a problem for my home life as it was taking up too much of my free time as a CrossFit coach and athlete and that wasn’t fair to my better half. A reason why I chose Baltimore Built is I wanted to take a step back from coaching and just focus on my “athleting”. Only focusing on my “athleting” has tremendously improved my home life (my thinking) but my fiance might disagree depending on the day. I feel more energetic to help her with house and wedding planning items too (hoping to get married around October 2025).
What hobbies and activities do you enjoy outside of the gym? With the world starting to come back to “normalcy” from COVID, I enjoy attending sporting events and concerts. While it is in the fitness realm I also enjoy doing obstacle course races and just being outside. I also love playing tennis and that is something I got more into right after college.