Interview With Power Couple, Terry Gallyot And Lilian Tan
Written by: Lai Wee Kiat | Date: Dec 20, 2010
Lilian Tan and Terry Gallyot are certainly a power couple (They are currently engaged to each other). The former has won four ladies’ bodybuilding contest and the latter has won countless bodybuilding titles, which he couldn’t keep track of, including a Mr Asia title. Read on to find out what these two veterans think about the sport and their steps to success.Lilian Tan and Terry Gallyot are certainly a power couple (They are currently engaged to each other). The former has won four ladies’ bodybuilding contest and the latter has won countless bodybuilding titles, which he couldn’t keep track of, including a Mr Asia title. Read on to find out what these two veterans think about the sport and their steps to success.
Wee Kiat: Hi guys. So, what got you two into bodybuilding? How old were you then?
Lilian: Oh! Oh! I want to answer this for Terry! When Terry was like 3, he saw some super hero cartoon and was inspired by it. Ok, that’s all I know. I suck. Haha.
Terry: Haha. I always like the strong and muscular physique like the Hulk, Spiderman, etc. Plus, my uncle and cousin were into bodybuilding, so I guess it’s in the genes. Then after a few years of learning the tricks of the trade, I joined a gym when I’m old enough and started training seriously. I never intended to compete but I wanted to see how far I can go.
Lilian: As for me, I got into bodybuilding (and not physique contest) by accident. I was a sick child and in my early teens, I picked up swimming until I was in college in Palomar College, California. One day, the pool was under renovation but I was restless and needed to be active. So my aunt introduced me to the gym and I got a great membership offer. I started with lots of cardio and by the time the pool was renovated, I lost almost 20lbs! But a trainer took my body fat test and it turned out that my body fat percentage did not drop! So I lifted and got stronger. I could even see my biceps popping and would prolong my tooth-brushing in the morning to look at them. Someone told me that I should compete. Then, after watching my first bodybuilding contest, Mr Penang, I decided to compete.
Wee Kiat: I see. What is your track record to date?
Terry: I have too many to remember actually. I’ll just list down the highlights of my career. I got a silver in Mr Commonwealth 98’, I placed first in Mr Asia, top 15 in the World Championships and won a number of local contests.
Lilian: I’ve won the International Natural Bodybuilding Association (INBA) Ms San Diego twice in the women’s bodybuilding category; I got 2nd in the IFBB San Diego Border States and I won the INBA Ms USA. The Ms USA qualified me to the Natural Olympia, where I wanted to represent Malaysia but I wasn’t allowed to by the Malaysian bodybuilding federation because female bodybuilding was banned in Malaysia. So I represented USA and got silver in the amateur category and 3rd in the professional category. After that, I took a long break until 2010, which is when I competed in the Multi Asians in Singapore and got 3rd in the women physique’s category.
Wee Kiat: So tell me, how did both of you met?
Lilian: An official actually gave me Terry’s number and told me to call him about representing Malaysia in Muscle Mania.
Terry: Yes, I remember that time. She was like, “I AM LILIAN TAN! I WANT TO REPRESENT MALAYSIA!” Hahaha!
Lilian: No I wasn’t! Anyway, in 2009 I finally got a Facebook account and I added Terry on it. Then, we started chatting and chatting. Honestly, I was trying to avoid him on Facebook because he kept talking about bodybuilding and during that time, I didn’t really train much and was over it. And after more and more chatting, he went, “Why don’t you come home and marry me?” To me, that was psycho! I thought that he was insane! So I told him, “I must have a good reason to come all the way back to Malaysia”. So we kept on chatting and our relationship became serious from March 2009 onwards. We were practically dating online and after that, we started texting and calling each other. We took the effort to go online at a fixed time because of the 16 hours difference between our time zones. On the phone, we chat for up to six hours! My phone bills skyrocketed during that time. After all this, suddenly, the idea of marrying Terry was closer to reality. So I told my mom that I’m coming back to marry Terry and she was like, “Are you sick?” But I did and now I’m in Malaysia pursuing freelance personal training.
Wee Kiat: Wow. That was beautiful love story! Let’s talk about training. Could you two describe your training?
Lilian: I’m more consistent with cardio during pre-contest season. In the off-season, I just do it every now and then. As for weights, I train five times a week, or more accurately, 3 days on, 2 days off. I go as heavy as I can with few reps. Quite often, I listen to my body and determine what’s best for it.
Terry: I perform 10-12 reps per set, and 4 sets per exercise, always to failure. My pre-contest and off-season training is pretty much the same, except that I may use higher reps.
Wee Kiat: What do you think about training protocols such as High Intensity Training, German Volume Training, etc?
Terry: I think training protocols are just marketing ideas to make the creator seem smart. Training is all about pushing your body to perform its max. And you can just follow any routine as long as you do just that.
Wee Kiat: I see. Do you have any advice to the younger guys who are planning to get into bodybuilding?
Terry: Study hard, get a real job and bodybuild as a hobby.
Lilian: I noticed that Malaysia got into weight training only recently. However, most ladies only perform cardio workout, which isn’t optimal. They should weight train too instead of misinterpreting that weights will make the bulky. And in general, women should be more conscious of their health.
Wee Kiat: Thanks for your time Terry and Lilian.
2 comments:
cool.
nice
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