Name - Mark Palfery
Age : 43
Gym you train at and location: trains and owns Studio1 in Farnham (surrey)
Q.1 Why did you start training and did you have any goals of competing to begin with?
After many years teaching and competing as a freestyle kick-boxer I finally hung up my gloves after a bad loss in a local full contact bout and went to a small gym in Farnborough called Maximus just to lift weights and stay in shape as all guys do at some stage. Before long my competitive streak had broken through and I wondered why I was the smallest in the gym, after a worldly chat from my then mentors Stuart and big dell I started to eat more, train heavy and before long I was on stage as a first timer at the NABBA South where I got hammered. I went away and the year after came back and won the novice class...... after that I was hooked.... not really planned just happened.
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?
I train most days and these days I am very instinctive in my training, I used to be way too rigid. Yes I have a training split over 5 days and off season cardio is my enemy J but my pre contest and off season are quite similar. Heavy weights but long sets, super sets, drop sets and working very much on time under tension principles as opposed to max load for just a few reps. I always squat..... Not enough people do. I find my intense training off season keeps my core in good shape and negates the need for cardio so pre contest when I bring in my cardio and its 40 mins a day total max my body really responds well
Q.3 How long have you been competing?
On and off for 15 years
Q.4 What are your main competitive achievements?
Novice south Britain 1st place, 2nd place Mr East Britain, 3rd Mr. East Britain, 1st UKBFF masters 2009, 1st UKBFF Muscletalk championships 2010,
Q.5 Who are your main sources of inspiration in your training and whose physiques do you most admire?
I admire hardcore trainer’s not easy gainers, I am a small person normally so to maintain nearly 18 stone at 5 foot 7 is really hard for me. People like Branch warren, Tom Platz, Eddie Robinson, Sergio Olivia, and Joel Stubbs are all people I like for different reasons. I find my Louise a massive inspiration too and that is the reason I am back on stage now, her desire to succeed, her modesty yet enormous potential have really fired me back up J Knowing that your other half has reached pro status in 3 shows and is kicking your ass is enough to fire anyone up! ha ha ha.
Q.6 What are your current competitive goals?
I would love to retire having placed top 3 at the British....... a win would probably freak me out but would be the best gift an old geezer could ever have.
Q.7 Why do you feel you have been able to make continuous gains over the years?
This is easy to answer, good food and training continuity. I never take a week off, let alone a month. Even after 10k worth of shoulder surgery I built a gym at home so I could train some parts of my body away from the competitive nature of the gym. I eat well all year round, yes I drink, yes I eat the odd chocolate bar but on the whole my diet it spotless and always high in protein. It is a way of life for me not a passing phase so over the last 13 years I have got thicker, denser and gained great muscle maturity so at 43 I look so much better than my early days.
Q.8 How do you balance your time between your training and your businesses?
Well for many years I have had a desk job so finished training, went to gym trained and went home so the same as 90% of people but Now I own a gym so pretty much spend my life at www.studio1-fitness.com strangely enough often owning a gym can make training harder due to interruptions and you REALLY have to set some personal time aside to train otherwise you just get dragged along with daily gym life and your workouts lack definition. I have made the gym everything Louise & I wanted we went to gold’s and crunch in LA and came back thinking yes.... we want that. We have brand new Icarian and Gym 80 kit, it’s spotless yet hardcore, we don’t compete with the fitness firsts or major health clubs we have a niche for serious trainers in a resistance based gym and people seem to love it. We have loads of female members all into weights and it works so well.
Q.9 What supplements do you use?
I live on Extreme Pro-6 as a protein source along with liquid egg whites; I use a fair amount of pre work out stimulants and fat burners and just love the pump I get from Liquid Fury without the nauseous caffeine feeling that so many NO boosters give. I think Yohimbe is awesome and I consume cast quantities of Vitamin C and green tea extract every day.
Q.10 How much do you feel supplements and sports nutrition help your training?
I rely on supplements quite heavily but nothing too qwerky, I like my basic protein powders (usually low carb), I also use Extreme BCAA’s , etc etc but I really think 90% of people go wrong with their basic diet and nutrition. Not enough protein, getting confused between what is deemed healthy and what adds or promotes fat storage because healthy food isn’t always what a competing B/Builder needs to reach 4% fat levels. Meal timing, ratios of fat, carbs and protein are things I am extremely hot on. Also I am not a fad dieter switching to every new thing I read in the magazines. So many people ask how I get so shredded, simple I know my own body better than anyone so I do ALL my own prep, diet planning and I follow a very old fashioned low carb, very low fat very, high protein diet which works for me... maybe not for others but it works for me. With my clients I take time to find what works for them ... not assume one diet suits all.
Q.11 What is it that motivates you through a hard session?
I am very visual when I train, the better I look the more motivated I get, I am surrounded by hard training members, we have numerous guys and girls that compete here and I have my son Josh, my training partner matt and Louise all pushing me when the going gets tough. Josh, Matt and Louise are the 3 people that I lean on and they all help in different ways....
Q.12 Who would you like to thank for helping you get where you are today?
Well I guess my mum for giving me her best qualities and a work ethic that most people will never understand, the people that support me even though they are not even into what I do for example all my face book mates from years gone by that post really motivational stuff, the guys at Extreme Nutrition for believing in me and giving me chance to step on stage as a sponsored athlete (I felt so proud to be part of the team). Louise Rogers for re kindling my desire to compete and win, for looking after me along with my “30 year old” 17 year old son josh who runs the gym with me and gets moaned at lots, my training partner Matt, James, Jay and my circle of mates that keep my head facing the right way!!!!
 |
 |
 |
 |
|