20 Questions with Cover Model Lena Paternoster

1) Please introduce yourself? What makes you special? Who is Lena Paternoster?

21 year old, professional Makeup Artist & hairstlist from New Jersey.  As girly and typical as that sounds... what makes me interesting is that I surround myself with heavy weight and iron daily. I'm a national figure competitor & spend majority of each day in the gym 2-3 times, lifting "like a man" and pursuing what I love to do, bodybuilding. 

2) Please tell us a bit about your family, friends and surroundings? 

I have a big Italian family & there's nothing that I love more than being with. I have many many friends, most that I've made in high school and kept in touch with but due to my sport I don't get to go out and see many of them anymore but they support me 100% luckily. I live near the beach in New Jersey in a suburban area where everyone comes to vacation so the seasons bring lots of change in the area. 

3) How did you start competing in figure? 

I started competing after progressing in the gym on my own and people always asked if I did, so it put the thought in my head and eventually I got so obsessed with looking into competitors and competitions that I took the next steps to find a coach and commit to doing so even though I never believed I could reach such a physique.

4) What is your personal policy (not what the judges want) about conditioning and muscularity when coming into a show? Soft or hard? 

I always say the harder the better, it's better to come in extra conditioned than under conditioned... it's not a good look on stage when you're not lean enough.. and I've been there before!

5)  What is your idea of what judges want in a Figure competitor? Do you think judges are clear enough with competitors about how they want you on stage? It seems in Europe they are very clear unlike in the USA and now in Canada things are confusing.

They always say one thing and chose another. They say they want a softer look, with symmetry and overall shape and beauty but that's not always how they choose. I believe every class there's a lot of confusion but figure hands down is where most of it is. 


6) For the next shows what do you think you need to work on physique-wise/conditioning-wise? If anything! 

At JR USA I was one of the most conditioned on stage so that's surprisingly not an issue! I'd like to add some good density to my back and tie ins for sure! All together I would like to improve my muscle quality which definitely comes with age and the years in the gym !!

7) What is your typical training routine in the gym (per day, include sets and reps!) How much cardio do you do before a show?

Twice a day everyday
Fasted cardio, lift, cardio (life in between)
I do up to 2 hours of cardio a day before a show, but it changes depending on how I react and look so some weeks I do more than others!
Lifting wise I always push myself with the heaviest weight I can do regardless of season. In off season I'll go to top sets of 3-4 reps and lots of working sets up to it and in prep season to avoid injury I normally don't go under 6-8 reps as my heavy sets. I love supersets and drop sets.. they make for the best pump & gets your heart rate blazing! 

8) What is your pre-contest diet? (per day, 1 week before the show) 

Each peak week changes, my coach alters upon how I look and I send him check ins each day as of two weeks pre-show!

9) How do you go about dropping your water before the day of the show? How much water do you drink the day of the show. Please be specific.

That also changes. For me I've got up to water loading the week before to 3 gallons by Thursday and mid day Friday I usually drink two gallons before 3pm. Then after that depending on how my body continues to look and flush out water I get ounces in between some meals!

10) What motivates you to train/diet and compete? Are there any competitors you looked up to? 

My motivation comes from myself and wanting to reach new goals and physiques so badly. I love the sport and watching my body transform I think it's fascinating. 
I look up to so many pros, like Natalia coelho, Ashley loose, Ivana ivusic and my all time favorite Dana Linn Bailey of course!!! 

11) Please tell us an interesting experience you had at a show recently, be it a fun thing or something rather not so fun?

12) What is your personal opinion about the figure, fitness, bodybuilding industry we are in? Anything you would like to see changed?  

The outlook many people have on bodybuilding is not good and I'd like to see that to be changed to positive and uplifting rather than all
The hate we get. 

13) What has been your hardest challenge to overcome either in your personal life or competing career?

Competition wise it's a challenge to overcome realizing that my age does play a big part with how I look, whether it's leaning out or the look of my muscle bellies it's harder for me being so young and I just have to be patient for the results as I naturally mature 

14) Did you make any changes to your contest prep for your last show? Water intake, carbing up, etc...

Nope! Whatever coach says goes & he usually is always on point !

15) What do you think of bikini division?

I think it's too saturated. Npc level is mainly girls who don't lift and diet like the rest do they just want to put a bikini on and walk on stage. The IFBB level girls are amazing and earn it just like everyone else, they definitely have a better athletic physique than the local level competitors. 

16) What are your favorite foods to eat right after you compete on a Saturday night?

My favorite food is pizza! And I love ice cream of course !!

17) Please tell us about how you were raised and did you have any interesting experiences while growing up? 

18) Do you have an athletic background? Gymnastics, soccer, volleyball or what? 

I played soccer my whole life, and varsity all throughout highschool. I also danced and did gymnastics up until high school. 

19) What is a typical day in the life of Lena Paternoster? From waking up to until going to bed? 

Fasted cardio 6 am
Go home and get ready for work/pack meals and gym bag
Work generally between 830-530
Go right to gym and lift and do my second cardio session 6-9pm
Go home and get ready for the next day & meal prep ! 

20) What is your current occupation? Please tell us more about it, what do you specifically do in your job? 

I'm the head makeup artist at a hair salon on LBI. I also do some hair and spray tanning & assisting  as well at that location and another location north of where I live. I love what I do especially the wedding parties during the season! And yes I'm running around on my feet ALL day!! 

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