From scoliosis to the stage

A foundation built in the pool

Alexey Forak's athletic life began at age six, when a scoliosis diagnosis led his doctors to recommend swimming. What started as therapy became a ten-year professional swimming career. Assigned to backstroke early on, he trained six days a week, eleven months a year, building the discipline, work capacity and body awareness that still define his coaching today.

Raised around the iron

Strength training was part of his life from the start. His father, an amateur bodybuilder, was his first role model and his first coach. One summer, on his father's advice, Alexey committed to 100 pull-ups a day, 10 sets of 10 on a bar installed in his grandparents' garden. When school resumed, he completed 20 consecutive pull-ups on his PE test.

At 16 he dedicated a full summer to training with nothing more than a basic bench, a barbell and a pair of dumbbells, and returned to school visibly transformed. Soon after, he joined Gold's Gym at Tysons Corner and began a serious, lifelong study of training, nutrition and supplementation.

From student to coach

For Alexey, the gym became a place of structure and purpose: a source of discipline that kept him focused as a young adult and helped him through life's challenges. As his knowledge grew, friends began asking for his guidance. By 1998 he was training clients and structuring their diets, and coaching has been his calling ever since.

Competitive bodybuilding

After years of training, Alexey earned his first personal training certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) in 2008. The following year he prepared himself for his first competition, the 2009 Musclemania World Championships, and placed 3rd in the Heavyweight division. He went on to compete at the national level, including a 3rd place in the Heavyweight class at the 2010 NPC Junior Nationals, the NPC National Championships, the NPC USA Championships and the IFBB North American Championships, where he placed 3rd in the Super Heavyweight class in 2014. He prepared himself for his early shows, then worked with renowned prep coaches Dennis James in 2014 and George Farah in 2015. He competed until 2015, gaining first-hand experience of every phase of contest preparation, from the off-season to peak week.

Coaching philosophy

Alexey's own path, from a childhood spinal condition to the competitive stage, shapes how he coaches. Every client receives a program built for their body, evidence-based nutrition and consistent accountability. Whether the goal is fat loss, lean muscle, stronger glutes or a first show, the approach is the same: a clear plan, honest guidance and a coach fully invested in the result.

In 2016 he founded Forak Fysique. Today he coaches clients one-on-one in a private studio in Vienna, Virginia, at their homes across Northern Virginia, and online.