Where and when have you been born? March 5, in Ephrata, WA Where do you live now? Western Washington What is your profession? Security Supervisor in a Juvenile Corrections Facility What kind of activities/sports did you do before you started lifting weights? Basketball, Volleyball, Softball, Snow skiing How and when did you get involved into lifting weights? Well, I’ve always been fascinated by muscle, so I got the bug for athletics when I was real young. I started weight training in high school, but it never lasted for more than a month or two because it was mainly used as conditioning for whatever sport we were playing at the time. I lifted off and on in college, but never real consistently. Was it a goal for you to compete in bodybuilding competitions right from the beginning or was it something that grew in your mind as time went on and you saw the progress in your body? When I started training consistently it was for the sole purpose of competing. National level Heavyweight Gerri Deach is my current training partner as well as my prep coach, and our training split is: Monday: Shoulders/calves, Tuesday: Legs, Wednesday: Back, Thursday: off, Friday: Chest/Abs, Saturday Arms, Sunday: off Which competition has been your first one and how did you place? I competed in the Washington State Championships, promoted by Nic Younis. I won the Novice Heavyweight and overall. And which contest has been the biggest success for you yet? Probably the Washington State, because it was my first show and I had to prove to myself that I could do it, by hanging in there throughout the whole prep. Diet, cardio, and finally the stage, where you are just OUT THERE, all your flaws exposed for the world and the judges to see. Could you please add a history of all contests that you have entered so far? 2002 Washington State Bodybuilding Championships, 1st Novice Heavy and overall. 2002 Ironman, 3rd Open Heavyweight 2003 Canadian National Power Lifting Championships, 1st in 181lb. Weight class. 2004 NPC Emerald Cup open Light-heavyweight winner and Overall. My weight was 137.4 lbs. 2004 Contra Costa; 1st Open Middleweight and Women's Overall Champ...134lbs. 2005 NPC USA; 5th Place Light Heavyweight Please describe a typical day in the life of Nicole Berg. Wake up, eat, shower, train, eat, shower, eat, go to work, eat, go home, eat, then it’s off to bed. Pretty exciting life I lead huh?? Lol. Please tell me something about your daily training routine. I usually warm up a little, then weight train for an hour, the time varies depending on whether or not I have a partner that day, then do a little cardio…maybe, then I’m done for the day. I usually train in the mornings. How often do you train in a week? 5 days/week What are the main differences when you train for a competition and in off-season? In the off-season I don’t do much cardio at all and keep the weights pretty heavy. Come prep time though, the calories go down and the cardio goes up (usually two hours/day) Leg day stays sacred though…no cardio. And every so often my trainer will throw in a volume or “rep” day into the mix. If you don’t mind would you give me some stats (best lifts and some body measurements)? I haven’t taken measurements in a while, but my best lifts are probably my squat at 405, Deadlift 405, and I don’t barbell bench really at all, so my dumbell presses have been 100’s for 10 reps. Which bodypart is your best in your opinion? That’s a tough one, I guess my back or my quads, we’ll see when I get lean again;) What is your favorite exercise in the gym and which one you don’t like so much (if there is any)? I hate training calves, I don’t like the way they burn. I do like squats and extensions…those are a good kind of burn! And I love Deadlifts! Judging in Women’s Bodybuilding has always been criticised in one or the other way. But please tell me your honest thoughts about today’s judging in Women’s Bodybuilding. I can’t really answer that. I won’t speak for any of the judges. I’m not inside their heads, so I have no idea what they are looking for these days. I think the women should just show up in the best possible shape they can and see what happens. We are not cookie cutter shapes of the ‘dream physique’ so it shouldn’t matter what the “look” is that year. We should all train to improve our own weaknesses and work towards stepping on that stage so good they can’t deny you. Please tell me about what else you are doing when you don’t work out (profession, hobbies, etc.) I like to relax with my friends by shooting the occasional game of pool, and I love to visit with my family. In the summer we usually get to go water skiing, and in the winter we all go snowmobiling in the hills. Time spent with family is few and far between unfortunately, because of the distance and my work schedule. What are your future plans for 2004/2005? My next show will be the 2005 USA's Please note: Nicole does not do sessions or wrestling of any kind. Please don't ask!! |