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Quick stats
| Name | Petra Enderborn |
| Age | 30 |
| Marital status | Fiancée Patrik |
| Height | 173 cm (5"8') |
| Weight | 80 kg (176 lbs) off season, 66 kg (145 lbs) when ripped. |
| Sponsored by | See Contact page for info. |
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My Story
I started training in the gym about seven years ago because I suffered from neck pains, especially when
I had been studying a lot, sitting by the computer etc. An X-ray showed that I had two neck vertebrae
grown together from birth, which led to that when I overstrain the neck muscles they swell easily causing
the pain. Apparently this is not so uncommon. Anyway, I’ve always liked competing but been annoyed when I
haven’t been able to concentrate on my own training but also have had to take into account other people
and their wishes. Really I prefer to train on my own and then the gym suited me perfectly. So I kept on
training. After a while I met a nice guy that helped me with a training schedule and showed me how to
train properly. After a few years of competing and dieting I am now preparing for yet another few
competitions the year to come (2002). Hopefully I will compete abroad if everything goes as planned. My
boyfriend Patrik is training at the same gym as I am and we train together every day after work, which
works perfectly.
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Athletic background
Since I grew up in Strömsholm (Sweden), the Mecca for horses, I’ve been horseriding ever since I was five
years old. For a while in my teens I trained and competed seriously in horsejumping. However, when I was 17
I kept my interest for horsepower and high speed, but instead of having a horse that takes so much of your
time I got myself a motorbike, a Suzuki 750 that I have had until half a year ago actually when I finally
sold it. I just never got around to using it. Apart from horseriding I have been swimming quite a lot
through the years as well, but never on a serious level.
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My work
I’m working as a teacher of English and Spanish in upper secondary school (High school in America). I really like
my job and feel happy to have found the right thing to do. I’m fortunate to be working in a very nice school, the
oldest one in Sweden actually, and we have very nice students generally so couldn’t be better off. However, it is
a very hard job with lots of work on the weekends and evenings but I think it’s worth it!! I feel I am doing
something useful and try to be the kind of teacher I would have wanted when I was 17-19 years old.
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Competing
I participated in my first competition last year when I attended the competition needed to qualify for the
Swedish Championships. That was in two weeks before the actual nationals took place, which I also attended
and ended up third in the heavy weight. If I would have had three weeks more of dieting to get the definitions
on my legs I could’ve done better, but now I know for next time. After having been second in the Swedish
Championships 2001, Heavy weight, I am now eager to improve my legs, which were the only reason why I didn't end up first.
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What others think
When I was younger I had a lot of problems with food. I guess you could say that I had severe eating problems.
I think this is something just like alcoholism; if you once get it you can learn to live with it but you are
never completely free from it. For me bodybuilding was a way to control my food in a positive way. In the
beginning I still went to throw up every now and then after eating. In the end I was told by my training
partner that "if you are going to continue like that I won’t bother training with you cause there’s no point
training if you can’t eat properly" as the food is really more important than the actual training if you
want results. This made me learn that the food was necessary for good results. I still have problems every now
and then, if I don’t train for example I tend to overeat instead and lose control that way. So for me the
training is necessary for me feeling well. As my father is a doctor and was very worried for me when I was
younger he has noticed that I feel much better now when I train and he trusts Patrik to look after me and check
on me so I eat in a more or less controlled way. So he can see the positive part of it even if he worried a lot
just before I was competing as I got used to living on 900 calories, walking an hour before work, work and then
train again in the evening. My brothers think I’m crazy but I’m sure that really it is just because they don’t
know the sport. My younger sister who is really close to me sees that the training does me good so she approves.
The same goes for my closest friends as well. I have a lot of male friends that train themselves so they understand
me, and my very closest girlfriends agree since they see that I like it. Of course Camilla Palazzi who’s a close
friend of mine is a great support, as she knows all about bodybuilding and competing.
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Peoples' reactions
My pupils think it’s really cool to have a teacher that trains so at times they ask me for training tips. Most
of my colleagues are ok about it as well. I’m quite used to getting stared on when we’re in town.
Really I feel we’re not that big but I guess a "normal training" person sees us as big as they stare like they do!
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Femininty & Muscularity
The new rules that say that female bodybuilders will also get judged upon their makeup and hair I think are an
insult to the whole sport. I mean, bodybuilding must be kept as a muscle sport or else we will soon not see a
difference between fitness and bodybuilding. I think there should be a clear distance between the two sports as
they are different and people should be allowed to choose. Personally I can feel too big off-season, as it is
really difficult to find clothes that fit. I have to be very ripped if I want people to see that it is muscles
and not fat, otherwise people think you’re just big and clumsy and you feel like that too. This is why I’m not
sure about how to do next year. Maybe I will compete once more and then cool down and train so I lose some of
the volume to feel more normal. Now it is impossible for me to find a jacket or dress that fits me: Everything
with sleeves is impossible due to my arms and my back also lead to problems with clothes!!
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Modeling work...
If somebody would want to use me for modelling I would feel flattered and accept immediately as long as the
photos were to be professional and nice. No nude photos are of interest but modelling for different clothes or
training articles would be very fun as I love to act in front of the camera, and have my photo taken.
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The Gladiator Trials
It was really fun to be elected as one of the potential gladiators. I did all the tests but then my work stopped
me from being able to join as I would not be able to leave my students for two weeks. I was in the same team as
Anna Rosén (The strongest woman in Sweden) and Gunilla Söderberg, (one of our first good bodybuilders still
going strong) and we had a really fun day together. I only found out about the event three days before so I never
got a chance to prepare as a few of the others had done so I was very pleased with my results and the experience,
even though nothing came of it.
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Future plans
Within a couple of years I want to give up training on competition level. I want to be able to see friends after
work and eat more "nice" food every now and then, even if it is a Thursday. As I have just moved back out to
Strömsholm, I have bought my family home there, Patrik and I will spend a lot of time on the house as well.
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My personal proverbs
"You dream a dream until it becomes reality", and like Karin Boye said: "Of course there’s a meaning with
everything we do but it is the way getting there that is what really counts" ("Visst finns det mål och mening
med vår färd, men det är vägen som är mödan värd") . My mother, who died when I was 15 of illness, always said
that. I still think about that a lot, how she struggled so hard just to stay alive and how important it is to
appreciate every day and all the small things in life, they are what make life worth living really.
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