An Interview with Karen Mullarkey

An Interview With Karen

Where are you from and have you always been into fitness?

I was born and raised in the great city of Louisville, KY. I was always involved in athletics and grew up with a very competitive drive. I began playing field hockey in high school and decided to pursue an athletic scholarship to college in that sport. I ended up signing on with Kent State University to play division one field hockey my senior year of high school. Earning that scholarship was one of the proudest moments of my life.

Attending Kent State and playing division one field hockey was truly a memorable experience. It was a time for me to grow not only as an athlete, but as a student and an independent young woman. After four years, I ended up graduating with a BA in Geography.

How did you become a figure competitor?

Following college, I was lost without having a sport to compete in. I moved from Ohio to a small town in Colorado and took up snowboarding and backpacking. I absolutely love the outdoors and Colorado was a huge playground for me. I could not afford to join the gym in Colorado so my weight training was put on hold. I guess it was a small price to pay for being a snow bum!

I tried my best to make a living in the small mountain town of Salida, CO but I was forced to move to a larger city to start a career. That is why I ended up in Scottsdale, AZ. I joined a gym and picked up where I had left off with weight training. It was in July of 2004 that I decided to compete in a figure competition and I met my soon to be trainer, The Great Ernie Villegas. Little did I know that my life and physique were about to change.

Tell us about your figure competition experience

In November of 2004, I competed in my first NPC competition in Phoenix, AZ. I had never even seen a bodybuilding and figure competition, so I was viewing it for the first time from the stage! I ended up placing 3rd in my class and knew that I had found a new sport to compete in. I did one more local NPC show in 2005 and then competed at the USA's. I ended up placing 5th in my class at my very first National show, it was then and there that I realized I wanted to earn my pro card. That dream became a reality when I became an IFBB Figure Pro at the 2007 Figure Nationals in New York. What a year 2007 was...I became an IFBB Figure Pro, got married to an amazing man, and decided to start my own personal training business appropriately named "No Mullarkey" Personal Training.

In 2011, you crossed over as a Pro from the IFBB to the WBFF. What is the WBFF and why did you join it?

WBFF stands for World Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation and they are based in Canada. I decided to make the switch for a couple of reasons. First, I competed in the IFBB for three consecutive years but had little improvements with my placing. I felt that at each competition I brought the best package I could bring to the stage so I do not have any regrets with my efforts in the IFBB. It was an absolute honor to compete with some of the best physiques from around the world, but it was time for a change.

Second, my focus has changed from competing to modeling and writing. I truly enjoy the challenge of staying in shape year round for photo shoots. I also love being creative at shoots and figuring out how to get the images published. One of the creative ways for me to get published was to get back in touch with my love for writing. I figured I am blogging about fitness so why not turn those blogs into articles and get them published? I am now a contributing writer for several publications around the world from the United States to the Middle East! Who would have thought a Kentucky gal would be writing for fitness publications around the world?

Lastly, after speaking with Paul Dillett, the promoter for the WBFF, I felt that it was time for me to make the switch out of Figure and into Fitness Model Diva. We both felt that Fitness Model Diva would better suit my body type. I also like how Paul takes the time to get to know his competitors and will do what he can to help promote me as a fitness model. My dream is to get a shoot with Oxygen Magazine in the near future and Paul has proven to me that he will do his best to make that happen.

I hope to make my WBFF debut this August at the World Championship in Ontario, Canada. I am currently battling a stress fracture in my right foot so it all depends on if it heals in time. I have been training as best I can in a boot and am looking forward to getting out of the boot and back on the track. My body was built to run and I can't wait to get back into competition training. My fingers are crossed that my next x-ray shows positive results and then I will be Canada bound for my WBFF Pro debut! YEEHAW!

What do you do when you are not training, modeling or consulting in the fitness world?

I am an avid lover of the outdoors, so I try and spend as much time as I can outside. Since I am such an active person, I love trying to get my cardio in outdoors by trail running. The time flies for me when I am on the trail and I get such an amazing workout. Plus I get to take my german shepherd, Frank the Tank, with me for his daily exercise. He is such a great running partner. Since I reside in Arizona, wintertime is when I hit the trails.

I am also a huge fan of snowboarding. I learned about 12 years ago when I lived in Colorado. Once I learned, I was hooked! There is nothing better than making turns on a sunny powder day. If I could snowboard everyday, I would. It is not only great exercise, but is also a wonderful activity you can do during the winter. I don't mind the snow as long as I can play in it!

Lastly, my husband and I love to travel. I wish we had time to travel more, but we do our best to get away even if it is just for a long weekend. Being half Italian and half Irish, I can't wait to travel to Europe. There are so many gorgeous places to see on this earth and way too little time. I also hope to make it "Down Under" and visit Australia someday in the near future. If I had it my way, I would visit a new country every year. My top 5 places to visit are...

1. Ireland (Home of the "No Mullarkey's")
2. Italy
3. Australia
4. France
5. Switzerland

Fun Facts About Karen and Her Figure/Bikini Training

Favorite Diet Food: Almond Butter
Favorite Cheat Food: Pizza
My Favorite Body Part: Legs
My Favorite Exercise: Leg Press
My Least Favorite Exercise: Bench Press
How Many Times A Day I Eat: 6
How Many Times A Week Do I Train: I do cardio 5 times a week for 45 minutes to an hour and I lift weights 4 times a week in the off season. When I am getting ready for a show, I do cardio for an hour and lift weights 6 times a week.

Remember..."No excuses and that's No Mullarkey!"