CutAndJacked.com Interview:

Fighter Diets Pauline Nordin

Have you ever been a cardio bunny and avoided the free-weight section?

Never. I always feel skinnyfat if I don't workout with weights, BUT I do tons of cardio to stay ripped. It's not my natural build to be petite & ripped, quite the opposite. Many people at the gym see me do tons of cardio in the AM think I don't train with weights...DUH you don't have a body like this from cardio only lol! They are not there when I'm back for the session # 2 at night.

What do you think about when you have to dig deep and push out that last rep?

Before I was granted a permanent resident card for America (I am from Sweden you know), I told myself "Pauline, if you truly want to move to America you HAVE to do this rep, if you don't do it you are not 100% committed!"

Your biceps are amazing!! Rumour has it you don’t train them anymore is this true?

Yes, I stopped direct training them in May 2006 cause they were making my shoulders look less broad. I also didn't like the bulky side view anymore. Now I train them just very little in combo with forearms cause FOREARMS I love to train. I strive to have an athletic look, and in my opinion biceps are not really that great looking if they are too overpowering. I felt mine were. When I feel skinny I train them some nowadays, but no way as much as I did. I never enjoyed biceps training anyway ;-)

For people who don’t know, what is
the “fighter diet” all about?

Fighter Diet is the lifestyle for those who want to be lean and mean 365 days of the year without being hungry all the time. The name I gave it is due to the mental aspect it takes to be ripped all the time. You need dedication, consistency, patience and commitment, just like you need to toughen up as a fighter you need to be tough when it comes to your food...

Can you fight?

I can defend myself, yes.

Do you have lucky genetics?

I build muscle and strength easily, but fat loss has always been tough. I decided never to get out of shape (as in having normal off seasons), because it took me months to even lose a pound of fat, it was not worth it.

What advice would you give to women wanting to build a full, well shaped derriere?

Really train hard and do full range of motion. Tons of squats and deadlifts and don't focus on camping in the buttblaster cause it's not where you get the thickness you need to pull off a muscular butt.

You consider yourself an intuitive trainer, please explain, do you ever plan your own workouts?

Yes, I always do that, but what I mean is I don't just go through motions, I make sure I feel it, it hits what I want. Also, when I did train clients I tended to "see their bodies" and what they needed while training them more than just following some stupid program. If it doesn't feel right I change it. If it doesn't look good, I change it too.

What types of cardio have worked best for you?

6 days a week interval training at high intensity for long time lol. The truth is tough!;-)

You’re crazy strong for your size at 5ft,2 and 114 pounds we have seen you lift super heavy? What’s your max:

Bench:
never did. At my strongest I used 55 lbs dumbbells for incline db presses for 8-10 reps.

Squat: 230,

Deadlift: 265.

Weighted pullup:
1 rep 70 lbs. 10 reps 90 lbs for 5 sec negative x 3. However, THIS IS NOT THE LATEST STATS, I cut 5 lbs of muscle the last two years in order to achieve a look I always wanted: ripped, tight, muscular but very petite. It's what I love.

What are your most proud of?

That I made it to America without marrying myself to a green card!!!

What’s the longest break you’ve had from training?

6 days since I started February 26th 1999.

You have worked with some amazing photographers like Pavel Ythjall what advise would you give to anyone going for a photoshoot?

Prepare for the photo shoot like you do for a show: do not rely on lightning and makeup to make you look great. You need to be in incredible shape to pull off the muscle poses you say you want to shoot... A ripped midsection doesn't look good if it's covered with a fat layer and no photographer can magically take it away unless you use Photoshop and then it's all fake anyway!!!

If you could teach one thing to every person on the planet about what it takes to reach his or her physical goals what would it be?

Do not ever underestimate the importance of strength: you need to build your mind to be a mind of steel and train every session like it's the last one you have to ever do and never ever be frustrated about the fact the process takes way longer than you want!