need help with competition

[capluvshll]

I'm entering my first fitness figure competition and seem to be making no progress. I do about an hour of cardio a day plus depending what I am working out an 11/2 - 21/2 hrs of weight training, I alternate between working out the upper body and lower body.

Can anyone offer some suggestion about how much cardio I should be doing and what weight machines I should be doing plus how much weight and the # of reps.


Thanks,
Heather

[LiftGirl]

I think you're overtraining. Your weight workouts should be intense enough that you should be able to go for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours!

What kind of lifts are you doing and how often? What's your diet like?

[abarlament]

You can't just "say" someone's overtraining, LiftGirl. Overtraining is a state of the body, not something you just "do." It's analogous to saying "Oh, you smoke, I think you have cancer."

[capluvshll]

My weight training is as follows:

Upper body (MWF)
Decline Press
Incline Press
Shoulder Press
Bicep Curl
Tricep curl

everything at 15lbs

Lower body (TTh)
Leg press 110 lbs
Leg curl 25 lbs
Leg extention 15 lbs
Calfs 30 lbs
Squat 75 lbs

I do two sets of 40

[tim_mcf]

Heavier weights, smaller sets, compound exercises, short & intense cardio.

[Lady C]

Where are all your back exercises? Pull-ups, lat-pull downs, bent over rows, deadlifts? Leaving out major muscles will not give you a well developed, even body. Maybe consider doing a three day split - Back/triceps, Chest/shoulders and Leg/Biceps.

Definately do much heavier weights and less repetitions. 40 reps will not gain you the muscle you need to perform in fitness. There are many studies that show you can gain as much or more from a couple of sets of low rep/heavy weights than higher reps/lighter weights. I would try a change.

I don't understand how doing lengthy cardio sessions burns more fat either. Try a couple of sessions per week of High-Intensity-Interval-Training (HIIT). These only take about 15-20 minutes. That is all that is necessary.

[capluvshll]

I am trying to get lean without gaining muscle bulk, it is a figure fitness competition so I am being judge on how lean I am.

[Lady C]

I understand it is a fitness contest. You still need muscle to look lean. All the cardio in the world will not build the lean muscle tissue you need to look toned.

I'm suggesting you find some alternative approaches.

Maybe check out this site too. Karen Sessions A.K.A. MsFit (former DFer) has competed before and my have some tips for you.

[.V.]

Muscle burns fat and gives you a good figure. Just avoid the roids and you won't look like an IFBB lady, you'll look like a fitness lady.

You gonna share pics so we can actually see what we are talking about to help you move in the right direction?

[tim_mcf]

You're confused about terminology. "Lean" refers to muscle mass - adding muscle mass makes you more lean. You will NOT end up bulky just because you lift heavy weights. Look at Lady C's progress pics; is she bulky? She lifts heavy all the time. It takes years of intense dedication and high levels of testosterone (either natural or artificial) for male bodybuilders to get bulky. It's just not going to happen to you. What will happen to you is, you will end up in better shape, leaner, and with a better figure than when you started. The high-rep, low weight stuff you're doing just isn't doing anything for you; you wanted to know what was going wrong, well there it is.

[capluvshll]

I'm sorry I misunderstood what everyone was saying, like I said I'm new to working out with the goal of competing. Please forgive my ingnorance.

Ok so I should increase the weight that I am doing and decrease the reps. so I'm still not sure how much to increase with me arms. My legs are fairly muscluar from being a former ballet dancer so I'm not overly concerned with my lower body. It's my upper body I am more concerned with. I am doing a total of 80 reps, 2 sets of 40. How much should I cut back?

Thanks everyone for the advice I greatly appreicate it.

Heather

[tim_mcf]

Try something like 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps each. The weight should be heavy enough that you have a hard time getting the last rep of each set to go up, and maybe can't get it at all on the last set. If you're failing to reach your rep goal on the first set, the weight is too high.

[capluvshll]

Should I be taking any supplements?

[.V.]

I'd ventue to offer a slightly different idea from what Tim did.

Think about this:

One body part each day, 2 days off each week.
Think - legs, arms, shoulders, back, chest/abs (same day).
Each body part, do 6-9 heavy sets - 4-6 reps each. For example on arm day do BB curls, Skull crushers, DB curls, Tricep pushdowns. If you can't do 4 reps, it's too heavy, if you can do 6 - raise the weight because it's too light.
Cardio - very high intensity for about 15 minutes done 8 hours after lifting. The intensity should be high enough that you CAN'T go beyond 15 minutes.

I put my wife on a program like this and within a couple of weeks, her scale weight hadn't changed, but she looked "fitter" and her clothes were hanging off of her. After 8 weeks, she had doubled strength on some lifts - quadroupled on others.

Suppliments - some protein before and after each workout. Some dextrose/creatine after each workout - about 10 minutes before the protein.

[capluvshll]

should I use the same weight for each exericse meaning when I do arms should everything be the same weight? and the same for legs? So that I am not doing 30lbs bicep curl and only 20lbs tricep curl? or does it matter?