Name Crow Dillon-Parkin
Age 47
Gym you train at and location: VirginActive Birmingham and Manchester, Central YMCA London, Hillsborough Leisure Centre Sheffield and anywhere else I happen to be working...
Q.1 Why did you start training and did you have any goals of competing to begin with?
I started training because I was naturally quite strong and wanted to get stronger. I thought about competing after a couple of years but I also wanted kids so I had those first.
Q.2 What is your current training schedule like? How does it differ between pre-contest and off season? Do you do much cardio work?
Currently recovering from the competitive season so am doing a whole body workout three times a week. I periodise my training so I never do the same routine for more than four weeks. During contest season I increase my training frequency to six days a week. I have a chronic foot injury from too much cardio over the years, so now I keep it short and sharp.
Q.3 How long have you been competing?
Technically two years – 2006 and 2008. I started prepping in 2007 but the aforementioned foot injury put a stop to that season.
Q.4 What are your main competitive achievements?
2008 BNBF Scottish 2nd Miss Physique. I think I looked better at the 2008 finals but only managed fifth place.
Q.6 Who or what was your initial inspiration to start training and whose physiques do you admire most?
I wanted to look like Lisa Lyon initially, then I got inspired by Gladys Portugues and Juliette Bergmann, then Kay Baxter and Kimberley-Anne Jones – who is still awesome. I still love that 1980s big gal look!
Q.7 What are your current competitive goals?
I’m at that end-of-season back-to-the-drawing-board stage – not sure whether to plan a year out (as opposed to having one forced on me through injury) or get straight back in the saddle for another go at the BNBF title. Ask me again when I’ve finished catching up on my cake-eating!
Q.8 Why do you feel you have been able to make continuous gains over the years?
I read a lot and have a wide network of people I can discuss training and nutrition with. I use myself as a test subject for anything that I think looks useful, and I never stop asking questions.
Q.9 What supplements do you use?
Creatine, protein in my morning oats, a post-workout protein and carb drink, and L-glutamine in the dieting season. Plus a multivitamin when I remember.
Q.10 How much do you feel supplements and sports nutrition help your training?
I have made the best gains of my training life since I started eating like an athlete as well as training like one. Talk about things I wish I’d known twenty years ago… I do think that supplements should be add-ons to an already decent diet, though as I travel a lot for work, I do rely on MRPs to provide what hotel catering does not!
Q.11 What is it that motivates you through a hard session?
I LOVE to work hard, and I am proud of the fact that very few people in the gym work as hard as I do. If I have given myself something really tough to do, or I’m a bit tired, then I quote Gladys Portugues’ ‘no hard work, no hard body’. However, on the very rare occasions that my computer says No, I will ditch an exercise or even a session on the grounds that my CNS is more sensible than my ego.
I’d like to say thanks to a few people: To my amazing husband Peter, who supports me unfailingly in everything I do, even if he thinks it is mad and would rather I was spending my free time with him and the kids. To Vicky McCann of the BNBF for providing a level playing field for natural athletes to compete in and for her friendship and support –even though I always feel like a total weed when I stand next to her kick-ass physique. And to the many friends-for-life I have made through bodybuilding, top of the list being Andrew ‘Action’ Jackson.
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