• Figure Competition Guidelines • Body Composition and Assessment • Fat Loss Nutrition • Figure Cardio and Training • Presentation • Figure Competition FAQ’s including what to do the final week and everything from suits to tanning to jewelry.All of this information is available in Beverly’s Pre Contest Workshop Manual and Study Guide as part of our Special Competitor’s Supplement Package. (Email bevnut@aol.com or call 1–800–781–3475 for details.)
Kristy – First off, let’s get one thing clear – competing isn’t about being judged against other girls – admit it, we do that to ourselves every day. We don’t need a competition for that! It’s about pushing yourself to a new level, it’s about turning your weaknesses into your strengths (c’mon, the exercises you hate the most, you hate because they’re the hardest. Once they get easier, you love them). And, it’s not just physical, it’s also mental and spiritual – mind, body, soul.
Here’s how our goals were set at the Beverly Workshop:
# Weeks Left Weight BF% LBS Fat Lean Mass
14 126 18.7% 23.6 102.4
*My goals were to lose one pound of bodyfat per week, and if possible, gain a little lean muscle.
10 121 16.2% 19.7 101.3
*Fat loss was right on target with some muscle gain. Goal – continue to lose one pound per week. Need to add Mass and Ultra 40 to retain muscle.
7 121 14.4% 17.4 103.6
*Lost only two pounds of fat, but I did add two pounds of muscle. Now, I need to lose two more pounds over the next two weeks.
5 117 13.2% 15.4 101.6
*Lost two pounds of fat. I was sick one week and lost some lean mass, now I need to keep or increase my lean mass during the next five weeks leading to the contest. Added Muscle Synergy.
2 122.5 12.2% 15 107.5 (+6!)
Jessica – Besides everything the Beverly Sessions have taught me about Nutrition, Supplements, Presentation and Competing, I think the most important piece of knowledge I have walked away with is IT TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE! Yes, I was the typical person who went to the competitions and looked at the competitors and said, "That is what I want to look like!" And like most normal people, I thought I could do it over night. Well, it took me almost two years after overcoming a horrific eating disorder to get my metabolism back in check as well as build the physique that it would take to get on stage.
Kristy adds one more topic – Journaling
6:45am : 8 Muscle Synergy (before meal) Meal 1: 3 egg whites, ½ cup oatmeal, 3 oz turkey burger (99% lean, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, garlic, pepper) – all scrambled together. OR Beverly pancakes (3 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 scoop UMP, ¾ of an apple – all blended together until smooth and cooked like a pancake – YUM!), then ½ grapefruit. 2 Ultra 4, 3 EFA Gold, 1 Lean Out Meal 2: 5 oz turkey or chicken breast, 1 medium apple, or 1 cup low carb vegetable 4 Mass, 3 Ultra 40, 1 Lean Out Meal 3: 2 scoops UMP in water 4 Mass, 3 Ultra 40, 1 Lean Out Meal 4: 5 oz turkey burger, 1 sweet potato or 5 oz sweet potato chips (thinly sliced sweet potato cooked in extra virgin olive oil until crisp and slightly brown, then drained on paper towel and sprinkled with cinnamon) 2 Ultra 4, 4 Mass, 3 Ultra 40, 1 Lean Out Meal 5: Beverly Protein Pudding (2 scoops UMP chocolate, 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream, 9 oz cold water, 1 ½ tbsp sugar–free, fat–free instant pudding mix) blended and chilled, with a little cool–whip free on top. 3 Ultra 40, 1 Lean Out For a special treat: Beverly Apple Dip: Take 1 scoop UMP Vanilla, 2 Tablespoons sugar free, fat–free instant pudding mix (I like the cheesecake flavor), 4 oz. water, cinnamon. Blend all together, then slice an apple and dip. Another of my favorite meals is Turkey Meatloaf: 1 pkg. 99% lean ground turkey, 2 egg whites, ½ cup old fashioned oatmeal, fresh parsley, oregano, and basil, garlic, ground black pepper, chopped onion and green pepper, no salt added tomato sauce. Mix together and place in pan coated with Pam coking spray, top with more no salt added tomato sauce and bake at 425 until turkey is fully cooked. |
Breakfast: 8:00am – 4 egg whites, 3 oz chicken, ½ cup oatmeal Snack: 11:00am – 2 scoops Muscle Provider Chocolate, – 1 tbsp almond butter, 8 oz water Lunch: 2:00pm – 5 oz lean meat; 2 cups salad or 1 cup cooked veggies, 1 tbsp oil & vinegar dressing; 1/2 cup brown rice or 4 oz sweet potato Snack: 5:00pm – 2 scoops Muscle Provider Chocolate, 8 oz water Dinner: 8:00pm – 5 oz lean meat; 2 cups salad or 1 cup cooked veggies, 1 tbsp oil & vinegar dressing Or8:00pm – 5 oz lean meat; 2 cups salad or 1 cup cooked veggies, 1 tbsp oil & vinegar dressing *I always drink at least 1 gallon of Water a day (at least) Sloppy Joe Recipe: • 2 lbs 90% or leaner ground beef • 2 tbsp Vinegar • 1c low carb ketchup • 1/2c water • 1 onion chopped • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce • 2 tbsp Splenda • salt & pepper *Begin browning the burger, once it is halfway there, add the onion and finish browning. After the meat is browned add all of the other ingredients at high heat for about 2 minutes and then let them all simmer for an hour. |
Monday: Legs Leg Press 3 sets of 10–15 reps Squats 3 sets of 8–12 reps Hack Squats 3 sets of 10 –15 reps (We were taught this technique at the Beverly workshop. It’s called 1 ½’s. You go all the way down below parallel, then come half way up, then all the way back down, then all the way up. This counts as 1 rep). Stiff–Legged Deadlift 2 sets of 12 reps Leg Extensions 3 sets of 12 reps (for the leg extensions, I used a high seat or bench with a DB between my feet to also hit the inner and outer thighs) Abs 8 sets of 50 Tuesday: Back, Delts, Biceps One arm DB rows 3 sets of 8–10 reps Pulldowns (to the back) 3 sets of 8–12 reps Seated Cable Row 3 sets of 8–12 reps DB Lateral Raises 3 sets of 10 reps (3 ways each set, bent–over, side, front – These BURN!) Cable Curl 3 sets of 8–12 reps Incline DB Curl 3 sets of 8–10 reps Calf Raises 6–8 sets of 15 reps (I would often do these as donkey calf raises, with my kids on my back as weight.) Wednesday: Chest, Triceps Incline DB Press 4 sets of 6–10 reps Flat DB Press 4 sets of 8–12 reps Pec Deck 3 sets of 8–12 reps Tricep Rope Pulldowns 4 sets of 8–12 reps Lying Tricep Extensions 4 sets of 10–12 reps Abs 6 sets of 15 reps (On this day, I liked doing "Rocky abs" hanging upside down from a bar, crunching all the way up) Thursday: Legs – Glute/Ham Emphasis Romanian Deadlift 3 sets of 10–15 superset with… Wide Stance Leg Press 3 sets of 10–15 (really focus on the inner thigh during the leg press) Bench Step–ups 3 sets of 12–15 (each leg) superset with… Walking Lunges 3 sets of 12–15 (each leg) (This superset will really get your heart pumping and legs burning.) Leg Extension 3 sets of 12 superset with… Smith Machine Squats 3 sets of 12 Calf Raises 6–8 sets of 15 reps Friday: Delts, Back, Biceps, Triceps – (This was a long, hard day, but felt great to go into the weekend knowing you ended the week hard!) Shoulder Press 3 sets of 6–10 reps superset with… Lat Pulldowns (to the back) 3 sets of 8–12 reps Upright Row 3 sets of 8–10 reps superset with… Straight arm pulldowns 3 sets of 10–12 reps Bent over laterals 3 sets of 10–12 reps superset with… Seated Cable Row 3 sets of 8–12 reps Barbell Curl 3 sets of 6–10 reps superset with… Close–grip bench press 3 sets of 6–10 reps Concentration Curls 2 sets of 10–12 (burn out) Dips 2 sets of 10–15 (burn out) Abs 8 sets of 25–50Jessica – Training was really confusing for me. I have always been an athlete and I have always worked out so strength training was nothing new to me, it was all of the different types of training that had me confused. I was never really sure what I was supposed to be doing until I started going to the Beverly Sessions, and even then I still confused myself. My degree is in exercise science and in a way I think this is what made it so confusing for me. I had to learn that sometimes the scientific way is not always the practical or the real world way. I had to learn to stop questioning myself about everything that I was told to do and just do it.
Team Beverly suggested that we should be lifting 5–6 days a week to achieve the hard and toned physique required to be a competitive figure competitor. Below is the Three On – One Off routine that I followed. This allowed me to hit each muscle group twice a week. It looked something like this:Day 1–Legs Day 2–Chest/Shoulders/Tri’s Day 3–Back/Bi’s Day 4–Off Day 5–Legs Day 6–Chest/Shoulders/Tri’s Day 7–Back/Bi’sI would do 3 sets of 10–15 reps and once I got all three sets of 15 I would go up in weight. As I got closer to the competition time I began to increase the intensity by decreasing my rest periods. I began with 90 seconds of rest between each set and decrease each week until I got down to 30 seconds of rest between each set. This was tough!
60 seconds jump rope 10 push–ups 50 crunches 30 second rest Repeat I usually did this for 20 minutes. Then, each week, I increased the jump rope by 30 more seconds.
