Choosing the Best Contest Prep Workouts to Get You in Shape Fast
Contest prep workouts and programs are a dime-a-dozen on the Internet. The tricky part is finding the best prep workouts for you and your body type. Regardless of what workout you find works for you, you still have to train hard to get results worthy of the competitive stage.
How Do I Lose Body Fat?
If you want to enter and compete in your first competition you need to get lean. This does not mean to get skinny and have a battle with the scale every day. The optimal competitive physique the judges are looking for is lean muscle density with full muscle bellies and enough definition so the muscles can be identified.
What Exercises Do I Need to Avoid?
If you are a competitor, don’t take part in the Biggest Loser workouts such as resistance bands and kettlebell swings. Sure, these exercises will help the overweight person burn more calories, but YOU are a competitor and you need MUSCLE to get on stage and compete. Your goal is to at least keep the muscle you have, if not build more, not waste it on aerobic-style workouts. Leave the aerobics to aerobic workouts and the weight training to anaerobic training.
How Do I Workout?
Remember, your contest prep workouts should include the ingredients to build and maintain lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass can ONLY be built by weight training. You need to be including compound exercises such as squats, leg press, shoulder press, bench press, etc. to build a good and solid base that looks GREAT on stage. The more of a solid foundation you can build in the gym, the better you will look on stage when you diet off the excess body fat.
Some Focus Points Many Competitors Need to Work on Are:
Glutes and Hamstrings
Well-shaped and tight glutes and hams are a result squats, stiff-legged dead lifts, a variety of lunges, leg press, a variety of leg curls, glute thrusts, glute kicks, box step-ups, etc. If your glutes and hams are lacking in development and shape, include some feeder workouts.
Shoulders
Many first-time competitors don’t have well-shaped shoulders. Poor shoulder development takes away from your proportion and can give you a lower placement. Your shoulders should be nice and round. You build this by doing good ole’ shoulder presses with barbells, dumbbells, and even the Smith Machine presses. Focus on the shoulder press first since it is the compound exercise and the mother of shoulder exercises. Follow-up with front and rear delt work as well and lateral raises
Quads
A lot of competitors just don’t have the legs they need to get on stage and compete. You really have to put for a lot of time and effort to get great competitor legs. Legs are unlike other body part. They require a bit more training as well as sets and reps. Include a variety of compound exercises such as squats and leg press, and follow through with good shapers such as leg extensions, sissy squats, hack squats, and even lunges to get the fine muscle separation and detail the judges are looking for.
Lats
Another are of concern for a lot of competitors is their lat development. So many competitors are lacking lats. Having well-developed lats will bring balance and proportion, giving you that eye-catching, judge drooling, sexy v-taper everyone wants. Chins, pull-ups, lat pulldowns, pullovers, Hammer Strength high rows are just some of the few exercises that will help bring out your v-taper.
Abs
Abs, abs, abs. Everyone wants them, but many aren’t aware that abs are actually built in the kitchen. Ab work trains the abs, but it takes diet to get rid of the body fat. If abs are a trouble spot for you, it is fine to do abs every day. By doing 10 minutes of crunches, twisting crunches, reverse curls, lying pelvic lifts, butterfly crunches, etc. a day, you will increase your capillary action in your midsection and you can trim it much faster.
How Often Should I Workout?
When you are preparing for a contest, it is good to workout 5-6 days a week. You want to keep your metabolism on fire and ensure those muscle are being stimulated continually. A lot of seasoned competitors adopt a 2 day on, 1 day off training split. This allows them to train for two days, then a day of rest.
Sample Competition Training Workout for 12 Weeks Out, the first 4 weeks
|
|
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Week 1 |
Hams, Glutes, & Calves | Shoulders & Abs | Quads & Calves | Chest, Biceps, & Abs | Back, Triceps, & Calves | ||
Week 2 |
Hams, Glutes, & Calves | Shoulders & Abs | Quads & Calves | Chest, Biceps, & Abs | Back, Triceps, & Calves | ||
Week 3 |
Hams, Glutes, & Calves | Shoulders & Abs | Quads & Calves | Chest, Biceps, & Abs | |||
Week 4 |
Back, Triceps, & Calves | Hams, Glutes, & Calves | Shoulders & Abs | Quads & Calves | Chest, Biceps, & Abs |
Each training session should last 45-60 minutes. It is suggested to use 3-4 exercises per body part in the 12-15 rep range, and using higher reps for legs at times.
Now to Take it to the Next Level…
These are just a few tips on how to train for your competition. Following these tips can help you build more muscle and lose more body. The body transformation is what you, and the judges are after. Watch the mirror, not the scale.
Now, join over 73,000 other’s who want to get in shape and take the stage. Get my FREE insider tips in my Contest Prep Crash Course. Get instant access by clicking the link below…
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Karen Sessions NSCA-CPT
Thanks for reading over my article! I hope you found the information helpful. If you have any questions you can contact me directly using the “Contact Link” at the top of the page. I answer all emails.
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