20 Questions with Cover Model and NPC Figure Nicole Pearson
1) Please introduce yourself? What makes you special? Who is Nicole Pearson?
My name is Nicole Pearson I am 22 yrs old from the Chicagoland area.
2) Please tell us a bit about your family, friends and surroundings?
I come from a family of six with one older brother and a younger brother and a younger sister. I am really close to my family I started going to the gym when I was 16 with my older brother who was a good football player. He showed me a coupled different lifts and I fell in love with weightlifting and working out. A year later I started taking my younger brother to the gym with me and it became a family bonding thing between my brothers and I.
3) How did you start competing in figure?
Competing was always something in the back of my mind that I always wanted to do. I met a local competitive bodybuilder at my gym who encouraged me to compete and me with diet prep for my first show last April.
4) What is your personal policy (not what the judges want) about conditioning and muscularity when coming into a show?
Soft or hard?
I rather come in as lean and hard as I can because I personally feel I look best that way.
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.
It seems like judging for figure is very inconsistant. Some shows they go for the most fit and conditioned look (usually at the national level) but they go for an overall softer look at the pro level. Every show seems to vary as far as what they're looking for.
6) For the next shows what do you think you need to work on physique-wise/conditioning-wise? If anything!
I need to improve on my back width and would like to come in a lil more conditioned my next show.
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?
I train six days a week: chest, quads, shoulders, rest day, tri'/bi's, glute/hams/calves, back. I'll do some abs every two days and once my pre contest diet starts that's when I start my cardio, either stairmaster or elliptical, six days a week. I am always changing up my actual lifting routine and the lifts I do.
8) What is your pre-contest diet? (per day, 1 week before the show)
I do a low carb diet, one week prior to the show I cut my carbs completely. I try to not get too far from my contest weight in the off season so I only diet for twelve weeks out from a contest.
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.
The past two shows I have messed up on cutting my water. One show I didn't drop enough and the next show I dropped my water way too much. So I still am trying to figure out what works best for me. This next show I am most likely gonna cut my water out a day before with small amounts while carbing up.
10) What motivates you to train/diet and compete? Are there any competitors you looked up to?
Honestly looking at past picks of myself and seeing my progression while knowing what I want to fix keeps me motivated. Any Jay Cutler bodybuilding dvd always gets me motivated before I lift.
11) Please tell us an interesting experience you had at a show recently, be it a fun thing or something rather not so fun?
Nothing really interesing has happened to me at a show...yet.
12) What is your personal opinion about the figure, fitness, bodybuilding industry we are in? Anything you would like to see changed?
It is a lifestyle and it seems like were one big family, even though we compete against one another you do meet a lot of great people.
13) What has been your hardest challenge to overcome either in your personal life or competing career?
My hardest challenge was mentally being ok seeing the scale go up in the off season. I have always been very conscious of my weight so as soon as I am done with a show and I start bulking it's initially always frustrating to me.
14) Did you make any changes to your contest prep for your last show? Water intake, carbing up, etc...
I kept my diet the same but I cut my water too much and wasn't able to carb up enough. My next show I plan to do things a little differently.
15) What do you think of bikini division?
If it means the figure girls can comein harder and more muscular because now the bikini division is what the "softer look" is for, then I'm all for it!
16) What are your favorite foods to eat right after you compete on a Saturday night?
Chicago- style, deep dish pizza.
17) Please tell us about how you were raised and did you have any interesting experiences while growing up?
I was raised with the mentality that as long as you try you can do anything you want, and the only person that can hold you back is you. I grew up in a competitive environment, my brothers and I seemed to make anything and everything a competition when we were kids.
18) Do you have an athletic background? Gymnastics, soccer, volleyball or what?
I had been involved in some form of dance (ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern/lyrical, hula/polynessian) since I was two until twenty. In between I played softball, soccer, basketball, and ice skated in mychildhood. In my teenage years I was involved in motocross and I still enjoy riding my dirtbike for fun with my family and friends on the weekend.
19) What is a typical day in the life of Nicole Pearson? From
waking up to until going to bed?
I wake up take care of personal errands, train, and then off to work. I work as a bartender so my days start late and end early in the morning ( I work at a 4am bar). My training and diet schedule isn't very typical.
20) What is your current occupation? Please tell us more about it, what do you specifically do in your job?
I work at a local bar as a bartender. My shifts either start at 7 or 10pm and I am at work till about 4:30/ 5am since the bar closes at 4am. I have a lot of great regulars that are very supportive of my competitive career...even when I'm on a diet, lol!
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