By DualFit.com
Meet Margret Gnarr, a fitness competitor from Iceland.
Age: 23.
Height: 5-5.
Bench Press: 132 pounds.
Deadlift: 220 Pounds.
Squat: 242 Pounds.
Dual Fit: Why did you decide to begin training and exercising?
MARGRET GNARR: I have been in sports since I was a little girl. It was one of those things I was really good at. My favorite class in school was gym class. I started in figure skating when I was 8 but after I injured my ankles I couldn't train for couple of months. When I got better I didn't really want to do figure skating anymore so I tried the Korean martial art taekwondo. I have been doing taekwondo for 10 years now and I will be a black belt in couple of days.
Last year I went though some tough times and lost a lot of weight. I was 47 kg (104 pounds) and starting to have heart problems. I couldn't do taekwondo in that state because as soon as I did a hard cardio like workout my heart would skip a beat or stop for several seconds. I needed a new goal in life and my fiance dragged me to the gym with him to do some weight training. After a month in the gym I was hooked. I got stronger and stronger and soon I decided to compete in fitness.
DF: What are your workout goals for the future?
GNARR: My goal is to do the best I can every day and in competitions. I want to be a good role model for young girls.
DF: What is in your experience the most effective routine?
GNARR: Right now I'm trying to get my upper body a little bigger and I want my thighs to get a little smaller.
For my leg workout I do light weights and 20-25 reps but for my upper body I do heavy weights and 8-12 reps. I also do taekwondo 5-6 times a week. It's great for cardio.
DF: What is your current routine?
GNARR: My trainer Katrin Eva from is in charge of my workout plan and it sounds like this:
Chest and shoulders:
Warm up 5-10 minutes
Dumbbell bench press 3 sets 12 reps
Decline barbell bench press 3 sets 12 reps
Cable standing incline fly 3 sets 12 reps
Barbell shoulder press 3 sets 6-8 reps
Dumbbell upright row 3 sets 6-8 reps
Cable rope rear-delt row 4 sets 6-8 reps
Cable one-arm lateral raise 3 sets 6-8 reps
Dumbbell seated rear-lateral raise 4 sets 6-8 reps
Abs:
Cable crunch 4 sets 10 reps
Butt–ups 3 sets 20 reps
Weighted vertical leg-hip raises 3 sets 20 reps
Back:
Warm up for 5-10 minutes
Wide-grip lat pulldown 3 sets 6-8 reps
One arm dumbbell row 3 sets 6-8 reps
Seated row machine 3 sets 20 reps
V-bar pulldown 3 sets 6-8 reps
Straight-arm pulldown 3 sets 6-8 reps
Underhand cable pulldown 3 sets 6-8 reps
Wide-grip pulldown behind neck 3 sets 6-8 reps
Legs/Glutes:
Warm up for 10 minutes
High box march 3 sets 20 reps
Lying leg curls 3 sets 20 reps
Star jumps 3 sets 20 reps
Leg extensions 3 sets 25 reps
Lateral bound 3 sets 20 reps
Plie dumbbell squat 3 sets 30 reps
Bicep/Tricep:
Warm up for 5-10 minutes
Barbell curl 3 sets 8 reps
Concentration curl 3 sets 8 reps
Cross body hammer curl 3 sets 8 reps
Tricep dip 3 sets 10 reps
Cable pushdown ( with v-bar) 3 sets 8 reps
Preacher curl 3 sets 8 reps
Superset:
Cable hammer curl 3 sets 8 reps
Tricep pushdown – rope attachment 3 sets 8 reps
Shoulders/Back:
Lever pulldown 4 sets 20 reps
Barbell bent over row 4 sets 20 reps
Inverted row 4 sets 20 reps
Seated dumbbell press 4 sets 20 reps
Cable lateral raise 4 sets 20 reps
Lever seated reverse fly 4 sets 20 reps
DF: What is your diet and supplementation like?
GNARR:
8:00 Oatmeal or weetabix
10:00 Protein pancake
12:00 Green tea noodles at Icelandic restaurant Nings
14:00 Icelandic Yogurt (Skyr.is)
16:00 2 Rice cakes with organic peanut butter and 2 scoops of BSN NoXplode
16:30 Weight training
18:00 1 scoop 100 percent whey protein and 2 scoops of BSN Cell Mass
18:15 Taekwondo
20:30 130 gr chicken breast and 100 gr brown rice
Before bed: 1 scoop 100 percent whey protein
I get all my supplements from a store in Iceland. In between I eat a lot of fruits.
DF: What is one of your biggest training mistakes that you have made and how would you have done it differently?
GNARR: I tend to overtrain. That's my biggest problem. And I have a hard time with resting. Overtraining is a serious thing and I don't take it as serious as I should. So as soon as you feel the symptoms of overtraining, rest.
What is your top tip for general fitness?
GNARR: Dream big, but don't put to much pressure on yourself. The only thing you can do is to do your best. In competition you can only do your best and then its out of your hands.
