==subtitles by jukka nyyssã¶lã¤== "what's going on here minna?" jaani here is getting ready a competition. and i'm checking his condition - since i haven't seen him in a while. when jaani stands like that - i feel that is the better pose for jaani. jaani, show your own stance. but we will decide on that later.
he's an excellent poser though - so we make only small adjustments here and there. "why you are on the ground?" often i'm practically laying on the floor. "is it important to learn to pose to the judges?" yes! you should think about where the judges are. for example you stand too upright - so the shoulder line might show off badly. in men's physique -competition -
it's important not to overdo your poses. sometimes the competitors "dance" a little too much. looks good jaani! "how many weeks out jaani is?" i'm usually the one asking how many weeks out - and then give my opinion about the condition based on that. "eight weeks jaani?" yes, eight weeks still to go. i've cut 14 pounds so far.
9 to 11 pounds still to go, give or take. typical classy finnish man! "are you sure you're finnish?" so i've been told. "thanks and good luck jaani!" "minna pajulahti, welcome to this interview! "your an ifbb pro! what does it mean?" well, i compete in professional competitions. in women's physique.
i've have competed in fitness, which lead to me becoming a professional. so i've been competing 16 years. when you compete in a professional level... so i don't compete in european or world championship level anymore. "so you aren't even allowed to compete in national level?" yes. amateur competitions are over for me. so amateurs compete in national level, european and world championship level - and the next level is the professional level. "this is the first time a lot of viewers see you -
so if you will, can we talk a little about your gym background?" "when you first though about fitness - what made you go the gym?" well that is a funny story. when i was younger i used to do team gymnastics. so after 10 years or so when our team broke i quit. i think i was 17-18 years old by then. after that i wanted to start an induvidual sport. i thought about competitive aerobics, but there was none in tampere city.
then came fitness, and it happens so, that there were a lot of competitors in tampere city. i remember when i was a little girl in school - i drew a picture of a muscled lady who had a mercedes-benz. the thought has been there since i was a child that i want to be big. and the funny story is that when i was 17 years old - i was a waitress in a local pub. and there was a bouncer who said i look like a bodybuilder. and perhaps that made me realize this was my thing.
then i saw our fitness champion tarja heikkil㤠walking down a street - and told my mother "that's how i wanna look!". later i confronted tarja and asked for her help in fitness. "you wanted to compete right away?" yes. but i had a lot of background to prepare me for the next level. even in my free time i remember doing pushups, sit ups, glutes exercises, you name it. "how does fitness differ from other forms of competitions?" i think it's totally different. now, when i compete in women's physique -
i see that the whole preparations, mindset and everything else is very different. i felt i was missing something, because there is no "fitness" in women's physique. it took a while to get the gist of it. there is no demanding routine in my current class, which i was used to do. the routine gave me the opportunity to immediately analyze what went wrong and what to improve. totally different from now, where i only go to the stage and stand there looking my best. "could you say fitness then is the most demanding of all?" i'd like to say yes. but considering a lot of people who come into fitness have a lot of gymnastic background.
sure it's demanding to make the diet, go the gym and learn the routine. in some ways though, the gym part doesn't need so much of your attention. mentally i think what i'm doing now, is more demanding than before. now, because there is no routine - i perhaps think there is less control of what i bring to the stage, only my condition. if i had to choose, i'd say bodybuilding by itself is the most demanding form of fitness. "do you get any help on fitness routines?" i've always done my own choreography, but i've had a lot of experience on that from my show dance and cheer leading times - but in hindsight i could have needed some professional help.
i've also done all the choreography for my competitors - which is something i truly love. maikku hiljanen, piia pajunen, oona ylitolonen and eveliina tistelgren have all had my choreographies. "you have affected quite a few of our competitors then?" yes, that's true. "have we had any success then?" i have had some part in it, too say the least. everyone of my competitors, add essi sarja also to the list - have made it to the finals in their international competitions.
if you look at finland as a country, i think we are now beginning to succeed in fitness sport. "we talk a lot about muscle extensibility and elasticity - and typically trainers who use a lot of weight in their trainings have stiff blades, frozen shoulders etc." "do you think you have benefited from your fitness experience considering the fact that now you build muscle?" yes, definately. for example in gymnastics, i didn't want to build so much muscle - rather i focused more on body control. then when fitness and power lifting came along, the more muscles i needed. and now in women's physique, i believe it has benefited a lot that i have such a versatile background. "i was wondering how fitness competitors train? how much gym versus body control and routine?"
four to five times a week in the gym - but it depends how much background one has in acrobatics. for example oona ylitolonen, who has basket ball background, needs more acrobatic and routine training. "a lot of people in fitness tend to have gymnastic or acrobatics background?" yes, but like oona has shown us, it is not a necessity - as she placed 6th in the world cup. in women's level that is an amazing feat! i was judging also that competition, and the over 20 routines i saw, i could tell that competitors had gymnastic bacground. one thing to note is that fitness shouldn't be a venue for dropout gymnasts -
rather it should be a show. oksana grishina is a good example of that as her routine usually only have one or two acrobatic moves. "do you compete in bench press?" yes, in fact i compete in power lifting as well. "when did you realize you had gifts for strength?" i've always loved to use big weights! so it hasn't been so important how many reps i can do, only how much weight is in the bar. so it's been there as long as i remember. and when i started to compete in power lifting, i found out how strong i truly was.
when i broke my achilles tendon, i couldn't train legs, so i decided that do bench press then. i improved quickly and in no time i could bench press 220 lbs. "do you still you heavy weights to build muscle?" yes and in fact i've always used heavy weights for muscle training as well. in the three year period when i recovered from the injury to my ankle, i focused more on the strength training. bench press made my deltoids grow huge. i used to do a lot of super sets for delts, so there was something different and new that made my shoulders grow. so the training was totally different - i could make three reps and then take a coffee break, and come to bench pressing. i was a shocked at first, when i thought i'm not training hard enough.
but eventually i got used to it and the results were good. my back, legs and everything else really improved because of that. "tell me a little bit about your power lifting career?" i've competed in national level, in the europe and in world cups. i've broken several records, i don't even remember them all by now. i bench 265 lbs (120 kg). i dead lifted 440 lbs (200 kg) right before my last competition. i was in under 165 pound (under 75 kg) class. and my newest record is the squat with 400 pounds (185 kg) and there is lot to improve on that. i lift in raw class.
but for example in squat it is allowed to use knee wraps, but at the moment i don't use them. "so these were records made in a competition?" yes. "are you gym lifts better then?" they are lower in the gym. for example earlier when i dead lifted 350 lbs (160 kg) in the gym, i lifted 420 lbs (190 kg) in the competition. "perhaps the moment of the competition?" yes. i'm really hyped up in the competition. usually the one who is lifting right before me, i'm almost breathing to their necks getting ready to my turn.
i am very a competitive person. "you seem to get a lot of strength from the moment?" the crowd and the show of it? yes. the more people are watching me, the better i perform. compared to a moment where there's no one around - and the atmosphere is a little dull, i might not get the best lift. also if the lift is being filmed, i tend to perform much better. i like to give a good show! "and that is something you should use for your benefit.
a lot of people are afraid of the spotlight and they must concentrate just to get their heads together. as for you, the spotlight is the key to success." "i also like to bench press. what is important in bench pressing?" i think it's a combination of gifts, technique and proper training. technique for one is important for avoiding serious injuries. for example i used to lie flat on the bench, and now my technique has improved a lot. and now i can squeeze my shoulder blades together, which has helped a lot. and the arms and elbows are tucked closed to the body to maximize the triceps' strength. so basically these help you to utilize the whole upper body for the lift.
and also the legs, to give that extra little push. the legs aren't my strongest part and i need to improve on utilizing them more effectively. "a lot of women want to improve their bench press and get strong lifts." so how hard is it to lift 220 pounds (100 kg) as a woman? depends on how much you weigh of course. but to be honest, i haven't seen that many girls that lift over 220 pounds. i think it all comes to one's hunger to achieve that goal. since a lot of it is mental. i for one really struggled to get to 220 pounds.
220 pounds is for many people, and for me to, a sort of a life long goal, and it scared me. but when i finally got it, then i became much easier. of course still the new max is always scary. but the more you lift, the more confident you become. "do you use any special techniques to improve your max? " "the floor press, narrow grip press, board press?" i've done quite a lot of floor presses lately. the lower part of the lift is strong, but the upper part is more weak. "to get the triceps stronger? "
if i compete this year in rovaniemi, i must focus on my triceps and build a training routine for them. i do also board press and pressing with rubber bands. but board press is perhaps my favorite exercise, because i'm good at it! which is totally wrong to do something that you are already good at. i can use heavier weights on board presses, so that might be the reason why i love it so much. "how often do you bench press per week?" two times a week. mondays and thursdays. mondays i do the heavy workout.
pyramids, max reps... and on top of that little bit of delts. so always a little bit of bodybuilding after the strength training. on thursdays i almost always focus on the explosiveness and the speed. i for one don't want to do bench presses more than twice a week. i want to be fully recovered for the heavy lifts. "do you go to the max every time?" no. let's say if i competed every three of four months, then i would do max reps only once or twice in that period.
so the rest of the workouts would be a certain percentage of the max. "how has things changed now that you are a professional?" well, it has been five years already. it's always been my goal to be a professional. when i finally became a professional, i was already looking for the next challenge. the only thing i see that changed, was the fact that i compete in international level and especially in the united states - and that was something i really looked for. but i couldn't hope for more. "have you had a motivation boost now that you are a professional?"
being a professional isn't just competing. it's still a hobby for me, as i work still. so it gives me the opportunity to do so much more - photo shoots, interviews and promo work in the united states. but for sure, being a professional is much more than just competing. "you mentioned that you work. what do you?" i am a flight attendant. i've been doing that for the past 10 years or so. "domestic or international flights?"
both, but mainly international flights. "do you have your cool box full of food with you on each flight?" i don't even have a cool box. i just put my food in a small plastic bag and stuff them into my purse - and eat them 24 hours later. i think i have an iron gut, since i've never had any problems of eating unrefrigerated food. of course i also eat in restaurants, given they serve chicken or salads for example. "do the long flights have any effect on your training?" like i said, i've been doing this for ten years -
so i used to doing the long flights. for example if i were to leave to japan tomorrow - in the morning i do my cardio and my workout. not heavy workouts though. then i go to work and when the plane lands in the morning, local time - i either go to sleep, go to shopping - sunbathe, depending where i'm at. the next morning i do my cardio and up we go again back to finland. when we land to helsinki finland, i drive two hours to my home city of tampere - and there i head straight to the gym.
naturally it would be better to work 9 to 5. for example i took four weeks of shore leave and it really helped me to get into my best condition. "as a side note, have you ever encountered rowdy passengers in flights - or do you just show them your bicep and the situation blows over?" surprisingly i haven't. one time there was this aggressive guy, but fortunately there was a other passengers to take care of him. couple of times there has been a situation developing - but something about my presence usually calms them down... "i wonder what that is?"
"i suspect you are not the typical sight to be seen?" no, i'm not. people always ask me the funniest things. am i an archer for example. "an archer!?" perhaps because the uniform only shows our fore arms. "i'd think they think your an arm wrestler or something." "when you land at a location, do you have a full day to spend whatever you want to do?" "so you've been in a lot places then?"
yes i have. "have you any favorites?" the united states. "is it cheaper to fly because you work there? back in the day i believe it was practically free to fly when you were an employee?" if there's room in a plane, we can fly cheaper, not free though. "tell me a little bit about your diet?" "was the competition diet rough for you?" yes, it's been quite rough.
still i've done this before, so it's nothing new to me. i like routines in my life and like to follow strict rules - so i don't have any problems eating the same food everyday. preparing for my last competition, i was on a keto diet for 8 weeks. and that works for me. "have you been in a high carb diet as well?" yes i have, and it didn't work for me. i didn't make the cut. for some reason carb diet doesn't work for me. but fats and proteins however work very well.
"how much cardio did you do?" i started with 45-60 minutes of cardio in my 15 week diet for the arnold classic. and for karina nascimento competition, the diet was 13 weeks. in fact i really like the shorter diet, since usually it has taken me 20 weeks where i have 28 to 33 pounds to cut. so the shorter diet felt like i was in hurry and perhaps made me concentrate more. "did you have any help on the diet?" yes i had help from jani ihalainen who trains me. he also give his opinions which sometime overrule my own, which is a good thing, since i'm quite hard headed. my long time coach matti halonen has made my diet and my condition checks.
it's easy to work with him since we go a long ways. "like all coaching, the best results come from long-term relationships" yes that's true, even in bad times you still stick together and learn from your mistakes. "how did you your last competition go?" karina nascimento was not planned, but i looked upon competitions and decided to take part in that also. it was good learning experience since i didn't have so much experience in women's physique. the competition went well, although i was so afraid of the first round. it was all new to me and in the backstage i looked at the other competitors - and thought they are all really good!
and i had to compare myself to them in front of the mirror. i wondered am i even in the right category. after the first round all the anxiety were gone, since i thought i were the biggest one in the lineup. i even got comments about how big i was compared to the rest. i placed 6th. the feedback what i got was that i was literally too big. and in that particular competition, the others were quite small. if it were that all the other competitors were also big, the lineup would've been different. so compared to the smaller-sized women, i showed off in the wrong light perhaps. so my legs and shoulders were too big.
the condition could've been more dry also. we didn't do too much final preparations, we didn't even have the time. "how do you prepare in the final days?" i've been depleting for a long time. this keto diet has lots of eggs, chicken... i've left out all the other supplements, protein powdres and dairy products. since i've been depleting for so long, there is no last week depletion routine. i loaded carbs very moderately for both competitions. since i have bigger muscles now, i don't have to load up so much.
and there's always the risk of not being dry on the stage. so one day carbs load up and then one day without water. after karina there were two weeks for the arnold classic. so between that time i did over 2 hours of cardio and trained each day. i lost about 6,5 pounds. i knew i was in better shape because of that. there were 49 competitors in the arnold classic - and my number was 49. that was a shame, since the place i stood wasn't good.
"bad luck?" i was pretty happy about my condition. the only feedback was that i could look smaller. that i can perhaps tweak with my poses. small things. little bit dryer and more lean in the future. "when is your next competition?" hopefully in may. i try to get some shore leave from work again. there's one competition in europe, in slovakia.
also one is in puerto rico, where i really want to go just to see the country. denver and toronto after that. "today we are training delts, correct?" "what exercises are we going to do?" actually i haven't changed my routine for the past 15 years. shoulder presses, side lateral raises and rear delt raises, as usual. "heavy weights?" i would like too, yes. i've been eating a lot for the past five days.
"preparing for this video?" i dunno, i don't know what's coming. "let's get going then!" "go past here". i was already going over it... "without paying?" i'm from hervanta and there's a joke about me... "abs sherko!" now?
"always there!" "who the hell..." "oh, it's just me." "what's up?" not much, chest day today. "we are filming minna today. she's quite the bench presser, wouldn't you say?" yeah, she's amazing. heavy weights for a woman. "see you around." i like to begin with lat pull down.
it activates the shoulder area and rear delt. i usually warm up with rubber bands. before bench press and shoulder workouts. same for the inside. this is still warm up. "i like it when you use 22 pound dumbbells for warm up." "they are the max for most people." i use wrist wraps and a belt, but i don't have them with me right now. "do you use belt to keep the waistline slim?
i don't know if it really matters. i'm used to wear a belt. i've heard that you can slim your waist, but the side effect is that your abs tend to weaken at the same time. but yes, it supports and gives strength to my dead lifts. i'll maybe do a drop set. eight reps each. usually three sets of eights. "the pump already?" yeah, especially when i've eaten so well. "it must feel good to feel the pump after a diet?"
i did legs yesterday and i just couldn't do it, too much. "how about some hc-training and music?" i did three heavy sets of shoulder presses usually i have a spotter with me, so i can go even heavier. now some rear delts. "how's your strength levels after a long diet?" actually pretty good! the pump is just unbearable. it feels like my arms are going to explode.
"how about 45 minute long phone call on top of that?" next week i'm going to start bench pressing again. i'm thinking about going to a raw bout in april. "all finished?" "thank you minna!" "i had a fun time!" "let's do this again sometime?" "i want to see that 440 pound dead lift" sure! and i can spot your bench press as well!
"good luck to this year's competitions!" thank you and see you soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment