Pauline Nordin is getting sweaty in her workout clothes. In a new social media post the bodybuilder shows off her incredibly fit figure during an exercise session at the gym. “The lack of heavy looking equipment doesn’t mean the workout feels LIGHT. If it feels TOO LIGHT it does not matter how heavy it is, it’s all relative. But the mind usually stops all development in body, due to fear of reps past 21! The burn starts there, past the “honeymoon” phase of a workout, will you last and keep your passion and love for the game? I will because I keep it INTERESTING and I live to prove myself wrong about myself and to be my BEST PAULINE so I have THE BEST FRIEND IN ME FOR ME in this body life with a 100% guarantee of no fail no flake no let go. That’s the kind of partner I want in my life, someone I know without doubts will BE ALL I NEED AND ALL I WANT. So I’m that! ALL MY LOVE TO YOU ALL! I’ll share the podcast on my story then I will spend my weekend in solitude to meditate and just be happy, but first LEG DAY!!!” she captioned the post. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
Pauline discussed her road to bodybuilding to Simply Shredded. She explains that at 17 she was in the “not eating and doing 500 sit-ups a day” routine. “I accidentally bumped into a Muscle & Fitness magazine and saw the fitness model on the cover. I was terrified, she looked CRAZY, but in some way it caught my attention,” she said. “I realized it took dedication, discipline, a lot of exercise and a strict diet. I liked that and felt this was meant for me. I decided to become a pro bodybuilder, went to my first gym and told the trainer I was going to be onstage in 2002 (3 years later) and I needed to get muscular. Said and done, I trained nonstop for 3 years, went on stage and became the ‘Teen National Champ’ three years in a row and runner up in the Senior Division Under 52 kilograms 2 years in a row.”
Pauline relies on free weights, “1-8 reps, and old-school compound lifts,” she says. “I don’t have a set routine, but I am always including the compound basic movements like squats, presses, free weight rows, pull-ups. I don’t keep track anymore about sets and reps, I used to do it for a decade and then called it a day. As soon as I write up a routine I get the urge not to follow it so that’s why I improvise and go with what I have mentally prepared for myself the hour before.”
Pauline also does cardio. “I also do cardio 6 days a week. I alternate between short intense sessions (20 min) @ 85-90% MHR and slower ones at 70% MHR,” she says.
Here are Pauline’s 3 favorite exercises:
- Deadlifts: “Because they shape the whole body,” she says.
- Shoulder Presses: “Because they give the illusion of broader shoulders and a smaller waist,” she explains.
- Bent Over Barbell Rows: “The king of upper body muscularity,” she says.
“I super emphasize on veggies, I don’t eat grains except for wheat bran on ‘plan A’ days which is a ‘Veggie/Protein/EFA’ diet. On plan B days I refeed which means about 100-300% more calories and almost all carbs from oats, rice, pumpkin, jello pudding etc. I use lots of BCAAs and fish oil supplements in my diet as well. I am an AST sports science athlete and use their products and I follow my own diet concept: FIGHTER DIET!” Pauline says.
- “Meal 1: Wheat bran, Whole flax cooked to Porridge, added vanilla Vp2, Cinnamon, Truvia
- Meal 2: Egg whites, CLA & Fish oil
- Meal 3: Egg whites
- Meal 4: Pre workout shake with BCAA’s, Glutamine & Beta-alanine
- Meal 5: Vp2 shake with BCAA’s, Glutamine, NAC
- Meal 6: Veggies, Chicken or Egg whites or Pink salmon, some Shirataki noodles & mustard
- Meal 7: Chocolate protein powder with cocoa powder and coconut shreds plus stevia to sweeten it”