My name is Michael Perez. I am an accountant born and raised in a town called Haverhill in Massachusetts just 40 minutes outside Boston. I’ve been in Haverhill my entire life. I attended elementary school, middle school, high school and a few years of college in Haverhill. Growing up I never participated in sporting events. I never even watched sports on TV. I may be able to play catch, but that’s about it. What I was good at were my studies. I did really well in school I guess I was a bit of a nerd. Doing well in school was always important to me, that desire to do well continue throughout all of college.
When I was about 12 or 13 years of age, my cousins and I started lifting weights in the basement. I think everybody’s bodybuilding experience began in the basement. Soon after that we joined the local YMCA. This was our first experience in a gym where we were working out with a diverse group of people. I can’t really recall but I imagine we picked up helpful hints along the way. We soon out grew that gym, or so we thought. We later joined what was then World’s Gym. This was a real gym with real weights and real muscles. I spent, and currently do spend, countless hours in this gym.
At this point the gym was just part of a regular schedule which included sleep, school and work. It wasn’t until my cousin introduced me to a trainer in a nearby town that the transformation began. For the next 11 weeks I would learn how to eat, which supplements to take, how to flex, how to pose and how to weight train as well as the importance of cardio training. In those 11 weeks I went from 210 lbs. to 160 lbs. I competed in a natural bodybuilding competition where I place 4th in the open class and 2nd in my weight class.
To this day I follow a strict diet which includes egg whites, grilled chicken, tuna, steak and a training regimen which includes cardio regularly. When I weight train I often like to go with the flow of how my body feels. Sometime I may do 5 or 6 sets of a particular exercise as well as a drop set. I often switch my workout patterns adjusting the rep scheme to keep the body guessing. When it comes to food, I prepare all my meals the night before for the following day. I eat just about every 3 hours which is important to keep your metabolism going. As far as cheats, all I ever want is a bag of m&m’s they really make me the happiest.
Now I find myself excited over the possibility of appearing in a fitness magazine. I met John in 2008. Now in 2010 we’ve been in touch, we’ve taken several photos with plans to take more and I’m really excited about working with him. John has been motivating me since we met again for our 2nd photo shoot in January. His work is amazing; he knows exactly what he wants and how he wants it. I’m looking forward to the upcoming months and working with John as well as other fitness models.
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