Hey ladies! can you guys help me perfect my contest training routine

[LiftingBeauty]

Hi ladies, I'm new here. My name is Shannon :cool:
Currently I'm running Halo Extreme stacked with tribulus

My first show ever is at the end of June and I just started prepping Febuary first, I seem to be having a hard time dropping weight though :/

Currently my routine is all over the place, it's so unprofessional. I've been doing a push/pull/legs for the better part of a year training everything 2x a week and I LOVE that routine lovelovelove but it seems that my upper body has grown to be bigger then my lower body and now my coach wants me to cut my upper body training to once a week and up my lower body training to 3x a week.
I also really need to work on getting more definition in my arms. They are big, but there's no bicep peak and little definition.

I'm also doing one hour of cardio five times a week either fasted in the AM or immediately after I'm done training

can you guys help me put together a routine with the best exercises to add definition. I'm so used to just training like a dude that I don't really know how to get into the nitty gritty of perfecting my physique.

thanks so much!

[LiftingBeauty]

btw I will be logging my whole contest prep journey here on this site, so I look forward to getting to know you all :islandgirl:

[tlwatkins]

Hi ladies, I'm new here. My name is Shannon :cool:
Currently I'm running Halo Extreme stacked with tribulus

My first show ever is at the end of June and I just started prepping Febuary first, I seem to be having a hard time dropping weight though :/

Currently my routine is all over the place, it's so unprofessional. I've been doing a push/pull/legs for the better part of a year training everything 2x a week and I LOVE that routine lovelovelove but it seems that my upper body has grown to be bigger then my lower body and now my coach wants me to cut my upper body training to once a week and up my lower body training to 3x a week.
I also really need to work on getting more definition in my arms. They are big, but there's no bicep peak and little definition.

I'm also doing one hour of cardio five times a week either fasted in the AM or immediately after I'm done training

can you guys help me put together a routine with the best exercises to add definition. I'm so used to just training like a dude that I don't really know how to get into the nitty gritty of perfecting my physique.

thanks so much!

Awesome welcome to the sport! You've come to an awesome place for info and feedback.

Wow an hour of cardio five times a week! That sounds like a bit much! Also doing it immediately after working out tends to burn muscle. Just my two cents.

What types of cardio are doing?

[LiftingBeauty]

those were my thoughts exactly, but my coach wants me to do it. I have SUCH a hard time dropping bodyfat so she thinks the cardio is necessary. I take my BCAAs immediately after so that should help with the muscle burning aspect at least a little bit. I'm also taking Halo Extreme right now.

I do moderate intensity stair master at level 6-7

[Sunnyday]

Hi and welcome to RX!

Agree with tlwatkins - that sounds like a bit much of the cardio at this point in your prep but if you hired a coach you need to follow what she says 100% or she will not be able to help you come in at your best....ESPECIALLY if you have a hard time dropping body fat in the first place. I do all my cardio post-weights so I know it can be done that way (I personally have no other choice).

Looking forward to following you to the stage! :)

[LiftingBeauty]

well I've been dieting since febuary first and though I lost ~2lbs the first week I royally fucked it up about a week and a half in now 2 weeks later I'm only down 1 lb and my bodyfat has stayed the same though i do look leaner

i'm thinking that maybe the halo is having a recomp effect but i don't know about the bodyfat, i honestly do think her test is off because it said I'm 25% and I do not look 25% at all, my avi was taken last night

[sassy69]

Very hard to tell anything from your avi picture - if you can post some progress pix w/ better lighting it will help us understand where you are. I would not get too hung up on what the scale says and focus more on how you look and exchange of lean muscle mass for bodyfat.

Does your coach suggest specific changes for leg training? It can be challenging to split up body parts and repeat, but still leave time for recovery within a single week. And also, again it would help to see what the actual difference is between upper & lower body in terms of how much is about bodyfat loss and how much is about bringing muscles up w/o also eating them back down w/ a pile of cardio.

I would think something like a quad focus day, a ham focus day and maybe a ham/glute/lower back day or soemthing like that might be possible. 2 leg days is easy, 3 can get a little dicey. It may be that a ham day, a quad day and a day of plyo/crossfit type stuff might be sufficient to cover both cardio & training for that day - e.g. lunges + split squats + step ups + sprints - or something like that.

Also what type of cardio are you doing now? HIIT cardio will also contribute to bodyfat reduction and still hit some leg development.

[LiftingBeauty]

Very hard to tell anything from your avi picture - if you can post some progress pix w/ better lighting it will help us understand where you are. I would not get too hung up on what the scale says and focus more on how you look and exchange of lean muscle mass for bodyfat.

Does your coach suggest specific changes for leg training? It can be challenging to split up body parts and repeat, but still leave time for recovery within a single week. And also, again it would help to see what the actual difference is between upper & lower body in terms of how much is about bodyfat loss and how much is about bringing muscles up w/o also eating them back down w/ a pile of cardio.

I would think something like a quad focus day, a ham focus day and maybe a ham/glute/lower back day or soemthing like that might be possible. 2 leg days is easy, 3 can get a little dicey. It may be that a ham day, a quad day and a day of plyo/crossfit type stuff might be sufficient to cover both cardio & training for that day - e.g. lunges + split squats + step ups + sprints - or something like that.

Also what type of cardio are you doing now? HIIT cardio will also contribute to bodyfat reduction and still hit some leg development.

yes she suggested 2 light days and one heavy day, the light days consisting of 20+ reps for everything. she also said that the halo will help me make a quicker recovery allowing me to train them 3x a week
I'm really open to doing anything at this point, I just really want to get my routine set up the best way to achieve my goals.

I do low-mod intensity stair master, level 6 or 7. occasionally i'll walk on an incline or ride the bike but my preferred cardio is the stairmaster

[sce0027]

Hey there!

Not so sure if you're new to the forums here, but you're definitely not new to training! I have similar issues as you when you speak on how your upper body has grown at a faster rate than your lower body. I have the most difficult time putting mass on my legs. They cut up nicely, but not getting thicker like I want. Anywho, happy training, I'll definitely be following along! Have an amazing week!

[LiftingBeauty]

alright so i ATTEMPTED to pose (I haven't started practicing yet) and this is what I came up with

143280
I know I'm not lean so to speak but I definitely do not think I'm 25% but what are your opinions ?

on another note I just finished training legs (pic was pre training)
walking barbell lunges 3x15
squats 5x5
extensions with toes pointed inwards 4x20
glute ham raises 3x10-15
lying leg curls 3x12 (maybe 4 I don't remember)

I was interrupted a lot because I saw a friend I haven't seen in a while and I one of the bodybuilders at my gym who was forced to stop training because of an injury was back today so I spent like 20 minutes discussing prep with him but the whole workout was done in about an hour and 20 minutes

no cardio today, i'm planning on doing it fasted tomorrow morning

[LiftingBeauty]

also, better pic of delts

143286

[tammyp]

your coach dosent put together your training program? i always put my programs together as part of my contest prep package for my clients. and an hour of steady state cardio, is not optimal for dropping fat. what division are you competing in? physique? i hate to see people scattered. i give people everything. training cardio diet supps.....the whole package.....seeing this frustates me for you....

[LiftingBeauty]

she gave me a rundown of what she wants me to do. legs 3x, upper body once and she gave me a few exercises she wants me to be doing but no she didn't give me an actual training program

i'm competing in figure. I'm so stressed out I literally cannnnooooootttt lose weight I'm still sitting at 138.0 :mad:

[tammyp]

legs 3 x a week is too much. your body responds w rest and recouperation not over training. leg training is taxing on your central nervous system. you will never recover. and if you are not losing, you have to reexamine the diet. and i dont see a problem w your legs for figure. i am curious what experience your coach has.

[LiftingBeauty]

but isn't the halo helping my body recover much faster then it normally would? She said that protein synthesis is present after training in the body for 36 hours so you only really need 36 hours of rest before you train again. I'm honestly just listening to what she tells me.

she has a masters in exercise science and nutrition and she has all her PT certifications I'll look at her card when I get out of class and I'll post all of her certifications. I've seen girls she works with though and they always do go on stage looking perfect, a few of them actually went pro their first show. A lot of my friends that compete or work in the industry have been telling me she's no good, I'm still 18 weeks out so I'm kind of torn on what to do right now. I'm only paying her $130 a month which is relatively cheap.

I know she has really high hopes for me though because I am pretty young and if I look good on stage I'll definitely make an impression which will make her look good and she's been talking to people at my gym about me telling them that she thinks I can be really successful in competing, but we'll see.

I thought my legs were fine too, they're always what people at the gym and whatnot comment on and they've always been my strong point. but then when she told me that they need to add size I started thinking maybe it's just because I'm always wearing a hoodie and people can't really see my upper body.

I texted her this morning and she really thinks that the amount of clen cycles I've done in the past messed with my metabolism so now she's trying to shock it, I had to do 40 min of hiit this morning (stair master 2 min level 6, 2 min level 15) then I did 15 minutes on the fat loss setting on the elliptical, I was supposed to do 20 but I was running late for class. I was sipping on one scoop of XTEND for my bcaas during it

[Sunnyday]

Tammy has a LOT of experience and her advice is solid. A good coach will give you EVERYTHING you need. Three leg days is just too much...and the fact that you are getting mixed reviews about this coach makes me wonder whether she really has your best interest in mind.

[sassy69]

FWIW, I'd be looking for details on the leg day stuff. If anyone is going to bother giving you any sort of training plan, details should be involved. I kinda think even guys on a major heavy dose cycle aren't going to be doing legs 3x/week PLUS cardio. Because of the expectation of doing legs 3x/week, IMO the details do matter because its already generally pushing the envelope. Also at this far out, I'd be concerned about burn out (speaking of screwed up metabolism).

The worst you do is get details and then try it for a couple weeks if she has a reason for it. I also don't know about the clen + metabolism thing. You honestly don't look that disproportionate. Women tend to cut up more on upper body so I'd be worrying even less about a dominant upper body. I also tend to build easily on upper body and have to fight to get fullness in my legs, while cutting up all my estrogen fat (think: "Good German breeding hips"...:c/). But still I'd be looking for details otherwise this particular approach she wants is only half-baked cuz it's not something I'd do, so I don't know what her intention is. If you guess at the training you do on those days you can easily overtrain. And again w/ the hour of cardio 18 weeks out? Where are you going to take it as you dial in? To 3 hours? Eh.. I'd also be asking for details on how she sees the cardio progress and how she feels about HIIT as an alternative to all SS.

[LiftingBeauty]

I agree with you guys completely, I thought it was a bit much too.
now the 40 min of hiit 5x a week seems like a lot but she said she's trying to shock my body and force it into losing fat.
I will discuss the 3 leg days a week with her, maybe I can make one of them a calisthenics workout with just body weight squats/lunges, ghrs, jump squats, maybe some sprints or sprints pushing a plate or something...stuff like that so it will double as a cardio session + I'll be working my legs... and maybe do one heavy and one light squat day and keep the isolation exercises at high volume?

how much longer do you guys think I should give her before I higher someone else?

[sassy69]

I have a couple questions:

- tribulus -what is your experience w/ it thus far? I tried it way back in the day and yea I got thick. I also got bloated and my period went nuts. IMO could be a contributor to how your body is responding.
- when you started this thread how long had you been doing the program? Sometimes it takes a couple weeks for your body to do anything and its premature to freak out and say your metabolism is fucked if you don't see any action in the first couple weeks up to three weeks.
- What does the diet look like? You can train all you want but if the diet doesn't make sense all the other stuff is irrelevant.

[LiftingBeauty]

I've only been taking it for ~3 weeks, I've gotten my period but I think it's too soon to say. my genitals are a little sensitive and clit may have grown slightly but nothing too noticable. Could very well be the halo though, I'm also getting a few back/shoulder breakouts

I've been working with my coach since febuary first, I started dieting feb 2nd went from 139.4-137.0 then I fucked up my diet feb 15th and went back to 139 now I've been sitting at 138.0 for the past 5 days or so

here is my diet (the link shows it bigger)
http://tinypic.com/r/73m1om/6
143294

I don't really add much to it but seasonings, some have salt like the cajun and the garlic salt but i use them sparingly. I've been allowing myself one diet pepsi a day but I will cut it out if it's necessary drinking around a gallon a day other then the pepsi only drinking green tea and water, i do put a packet of stevia in my tea sometimes but i doubt that's affecting anything

[LiftingBeauty]

http://oi50.tinypic.com/73m1om.jpg
better picture of diet

[tammyp]

Doing a quick run down of this diet w the added olive oil she lists at the bottom, you are at about 1100 cals. Too low in my opinion. I don't see a higher carb day which you need at this level of cals. This diet stinks. Sorry. You need more variety. More veggies. More carbs. Diff protein options. I'd like to see 6 meals over 5

[tammyp]

I agree with you guys completely, I thought it was a bit much too.
now the 40 min of hiit 5x a week seems like a lot but she said she's trying to shock my body and force it into losing fat.
I will discuss the 3 leg days a week with her, maybe I can make one of them a calisthenics workout with just body weight squats/lunges, ghrs, jump squats, maybe some sprints or sprints pushing a plate or something...stuff like that so it will double as a cardio session + I'll be working my legs... and maybe do one heavy and one light squat day and keep the isolation exercises at high volume?

how much longer do you guys think I should give her before I higher someone else?

This is not true hiit that you are doing. Hiit is shorter cardio sessions 20 secs of all out balls to wall sprints 40 sec recover. Repeat. Done for say 15 mins. I am 8 weeks out. I am doing 10 mins of hiit and losing weekly.

[LiftingBeauty]

Doing a quick run down of this diet w the added olive oil she lists at the bottom, you are at about 1100 cals. Too low in my opinion. I don't see a higher carb day which you need at this level of cals. This diet stinks. Sorry. You need more variety. More veggies. More carbs. Diff protein options. I'd like to see 6 meals over 5


This is not true hiit that you are doing. Hiit is shorter cardio sessions 20 secs of all out balls to wall sprints 40 sec recover. Repeat. Done for say 15 mins. I am 8 weeks out. I am doing 10 mins of hiit and losing weekly.

wow this is so upsetting. she really did make it seem like she knew what she was doing and since I'm new to the sport I've just been going with it. Sure some of the stuff seemed funny to me but I always just assumed there was a rhyme to her reason you know?

can anyone recommend an affordable good prep coach? being a college student I really don't have 1k+ to blow on a coach right now

[LiftingBeauty]

also did delts today
db presses- 1x8 30, 1x6 25, 1x5 25, 1x8 20
upright rows - 3x10 50, 1x12 40
cable upright rows - 3x20 40
front raise - 3x10 12.5
side raise - 3x15 10

I was EXHAUSTED (even after a nap) today, so my lifts aren't too impressive

[IslandGirl]

I'm in agreement with Tammy on training legs 3x a week is overkill. I looked at your photos and I don't see a problem with your legs for figure. I would question this more with your coach. I also provide training programs for my clients if they ask for one or if I feel they need to target a particular bodypart I will create a program for them geared towards that goal.

Who is your coach btw?

[LiftingBeauty]

I will PM you her name just because I don't want her to see this lol

[The Prodigy]

http://oi50.tinypic.com/73m1om.jpg
better picture of diet


WOW! I will leave it at that!

[LiftingBeauty]

Is it really that bad ? :/
what can I do on my own today to make it somewhat better? I talked to her this morning and she still wants me doing the interval cardio, but she's going to add more food to my diet.
Either way I'm done with her. I really thought I hit the jackpot with her because she was going to teach my posing, meet with me on a weekly basis, lend me a suit... it really sounded like she wanted me to do the best I could do.

One of my really good friends owns a training company and he knows so much about the science of nutrition. I might work with him until I'm ~12 weeks out because he'll coach me for free, but he knows nothing about contest prep so I'm going to have to get a prep coach when I get closer to my show.
I feel like I may have to drop the June shows I want to do just because there's no time, but that's probably just me being paranoid because like you've all been saying 18 weeks is a lot of time.

[tammyp]

18 weeks is a shit ton of time. from your pics you dont have THAT much to lose.i would do a 16 week prep and take it slow since this is your first show and you dont know how your body will respond. i think your just fine. relax and go for it!

[Sunnyday]

18 weeks is a shit ton of time. from your pics you dont have THAT much to lose.i would do a 16 week prep and take it slow since this is your first show and you dont know how your body will respond. i think your just fine. relax and go for it!

^This...100%!

[LiftingBeauty]

thanks so much guys! I'm so happy I joined this forum.

I'm taking a rest day today because my body just feels drained. I upped my calories a little bit by adding 2 tablespoons of almond butter and 2 rice cakes so i should be at around 1500 for the day. Tomorrow I will be doing fasted cardio in the morning and either back, legs, or a full body in the evening. my friend who's a trainer really advocates full body routines but I'd like to hear you guys's view on that. I never looked at them very seriously.

[tammyp]

i dont really think you can train each of your body parts effectively w full body routines. i would opt for a 4 or 5 day split personally.