Supplement Judge Speaks to Marc Hector

For this weeks interview we got to speak to Marc Hector, a Pharmafreak sponsored athlete telling us about what it takes to be a fitness model and successful athlete.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

My name is Marc Hector and I lived in Leicester for my whole life. I have always been a keen sports enthusiast and growing up I played football for both my secondary school and English schools. I moved my attentions to athletics sprinting where I held the record for the county championships record for three years in a row for the 60 and 80metres sprint. Unfortunately due to knee injuries I turned my sights to training in a gym.

How long have you been training for?

I have been weight training since I left school at 15 and I am now 26. My training has not always been bodybuilding specific, as mentioned before I competed in athletics.

How did you get started in training?

Being a keen sports enthusiast when leaving secondary school weight training was always something I wanted to do as I had reached the age to start weight training. I initially started training as I wanted to improve my athletics performance.

Who got you motivated to start training?

 

My dad and Dennis ‘Sugar’ Christopher motivated to start bodybuilding training. Growing up I seen pictures of them both when they trained together. Sugar went on to compete in bodybuilding and won numerous bodybuilding awards. Although my dad did not compete he also had a great physique. Equally both my dad and Sugar motivated me.

What are your short and long term fitness goals?

My short term goals are to improve my whole body week by week, by pushing myself both whilst in the gym and away from gym. My long term goal would be to become a professional bodybuilder and should bodybuilding go to the Olympics I would like to represent my country.

What workout routine has worked best for you?

My workout routines continually change depending on what phase of training I am in. Recently I have seen my best results through including more drop sets, partial reps, giant sets, forced reps and negatives. My body will only respond to different training methods, I do not stick to one set method of training.

Could you outline your basic daily diet?

My daily diet changes each day depending on what body part I am training in addition to factoring my rest days and my working week. Generally, I have between 6-8 meals with my main meals coming from whole foods. My meals include both protein, fats and carbohydrates.

Do you use supplements? If so, what do you recommend?

I am a sponsored PharmaFreak athlete, so all my supplements that I take to support my diet come from PharmaFreak products. I use either protein freak or mass freak for my protein shake, ripped freak pre-workout, Amino freak either in powder or tablet form, vita freak for my vitamin support, flex freak for my joint support and ripped freak fat burner and diuretic during contest preparation.

Do you have post/pre-workout meals? What’s your favourite?

I do have both, it is important to my body with the foods that work for my body. I enjoy both meals, but if I had to choose one it would be my post workout meal. I either have PharmaFreak mass gain or protein freak depending on what body part/time of day I train, by chicken and rice 30minutes or so after my shake.

 

How do you deal with things such as hunger and cravings?

 That is tough especially during competition preparation. But as I do not have any contests for the time being I factor in a re-feed meal on a Sunday and I eat some fruit throughout the day which helps with cravings. I enjoy my eating lifestyle as it’s part of my short term and long term goals so it is important to look at the bigger picture.

 

Do you have any cheat meals?

On a Sunday I have one refeed meal unless this needs to be moved to another day for whatever reason.

 

What is your biggest motivation to get you back in the gym?

 When I compete and receive feedback from judges it motivates me as I have been competing for one year and have achieved more than I ever imagined within a year. In the UK I have competed twice with the UKBFF and won both times. I have also competed on the international stage with IFBB amateur both in Europe and the World Championships. When I see my body improve from contest to contest it inspires me to keep bringing my best to the stage as I know there is more to come.

 

If you could go back in time, what would you change in your training?

I would not change my training because this is what set the foundation for me to be where I am now. However, since training at Sugars bodybuilding gym for the past three years I have seen my body change for the better. If I had been training there sooner then who knows what I might look like now. But again, no regrets I can only change the present.

 

Any advice for beginners or anyone looking to get back into fitness?

 Set yourself short, medium and long term goals to help you have a focus. Keep a track of your training and nutrition and review it to help achieve your goals. Remember to be consistent, changes do not happen overnight.

 

What advice do you to anyone looking to gain mass?

Do not be afraid to eat more food. Eat clean foods that help to increase your calories combined with supplements. These meals need to be spread out throughout the day.

 

And how about advice for somebody looking to lose weight?

Create a calorie deficit. Consume less calories than what you are burning of. Ensure you still eat regular meals throughout the day.

Anything else you’d like to add?

 Give everything during your training session because once it is gone, there is no getting it back.

 

We’d like to thank Marc for taking the time to give us a great insight into what it takes to be a professional bodybuilder. You can stay in tough with Marc through his twitter account (@H3ctorG3ne) and Facebook!