Where and when were you born?
I was born May 3, 1977 in Tampere, Finland.
What is your profession?
Physiotherapist.
Were you involved in sports or fitness prior to bodybuilding and how did you get started with weight training?
First I danced ballet almost 10 years. After that I did a lot of aerobics and that did lead to weight training. My ex-boyfriend was a bodybuilder and he introduced me to bb.
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?
I started to gain muscle quite rapidly after I started weight training and decided to try out competing in bodybuilding. I have always admired muscular female physique and that was very inspiring for me to see muscular women in any sport.
Can you give me your competition history?
Finnish national heavyweight champion 2001, 2004 and 2006.
Worlds at Santa Susanna 2006, 6:th in heavyweight.
Which contest has been your biggest success; which has had the most meaning to you?
6th place at Worlds because it was the first time I did compete at international level.
Please tell me something about your training routine (ie: how many days per week / training split /cardio, etc.)
My training routine (split, sets,reps) varies a lot. However the exercises that I use are almost always the same.
In offseason I now use 2-split routine (training 4-5 days/week):
day 1 - quads, chest, delts, triceps
day 2 - back, biceps, hamstrings, abs, calves
When aiming to competition I use 5 - or 6 - split routine and train twice a day (5-6 days/week) + cardio.
What is your favourite exercise in the gym and which one you don’t like so much?
I like squats best and dumbbell lateral raise the least. Delts are hard for me because I have some problems with my shoulders.
Which body part is your best in your opinion?
In my opinion quads and legs in general are my best body part. It has always been that way even when I just started weight training.
If you don’t mind would you give me some stats (best lifts and some body measurements)?
I´m sorry to say I have never measured my body parts (or if I did that it happened so many years ago I can´t remember). Also my best lifts have not been marked down because I don´t care about doing any lifting records etc. I wish my best lifts are yet to come
What do you enjoy about training for competition....what do you enjoy about the 'off season'?
When training for competition I enjoy most about the challenge and that feeling that you have when training hard to reach your goal. Training for competition is more intense and you push yourself to extreme...Competing requires discipline which I like. The best about off season is that you can really concentrate to training hard without that extra cardio every day. Also I like to concentrate to other things like my work and family/friends and that is perhaps easier to do at off season.
Please describe a typical day in the life of Inkeri Salminen
My typical day now at off season would be something like this; I wake up early in the morning and go to work. After 8-9h workday at the clinic where I´m working and a several lunchbreaks I go to the gym, meet my friends later on and then go home to cook some dinner. After that I read my emails and maybe plan next day´s workstuff etc. When training for competition my day starts even earlier with 45-60 minutes cardio. I think 24hours is never enough to do everything I would like to do so I usually keep it simple and concentrate on working and training.
Please tell me about what you do when you don’t work out ( hobbies, what do you do to relax?, etc.)
Sometimes I go out to dance and party with my friends when I want to relax. But more often I go to movies or watch dvd with my boyfriend. We also have good friends with whom we often go out to dinner. Usually every meeting includes a lot of food. Now I don´t have much time to do any other sports than bodybuilding though I would like to add different sports to my schedule maybe sometimes in the future.
What do you enjoy most about the bodybuilding/fitness lifestyle?
The fitness/bb lifestyle gives me so much energy to do anything I put my mind to. Training and this lifestyle means not only physical but also mental health to me and affects positively on everything. Also I have met some of the most amazing friends that I have among this sport!
What are your competition goals or personal future goals?
My competition goal is to compete at Worlds again and do better next time. My goal there would be to get to the finals. I would also like to work hard to improve my physique in the future. Personal level I would like to perhaps study more and set some goals at my work as well. Though I must say I consider my boyfriend and family to be the top priority for me in the future.
Please note:
Inkeri does not do sessions or wrestling of any kind. Please don't ask!!
