Women's bodybuilding has been taken to a level at which size and conditioning are not suitable for me. Fitness allows me to be healthy, extremely feminine, and show off my thirteen years of gymnastics experience. Fitness shows and athletes are given much more press coverage these days than those in the female bodybuilding arena, and receive much more overall athletic respect in the industry.
My Training
The cardio sessions in both the a.m. and p.m. are performed for 60 minutes each. I prefer high-impact aerobics, the elliptical machine, and/or the treadmill set at a high incline and a moderate speed for fast walking. I practice my fitness stage routine for about an hour and a half, three days per week. I choreograph all of my routines myself, but I do seek the advice of my gymnastic coach and my former dance teacher who is also a professional choreographer.
The workouts for the quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves and abs once again follow that of the bodybuilding workouts listed below in the "Bodybuilding and Pre-Contest" training section.
I may, however, drop the weight and increase the number of repetitions. I also often shorten the amount of rest time in between sets from 60 seconds in the off-season, to a mere 20-30 seconds pre-contest. The rest of the body part workouts are as follows:
| Monday | Cardio (a.m.) / Abs / Back / Bis / Cardio (p.m.) |
| Tuesday | Cardio (a.m.) / Abs / Quads / Calves / Cardio (p.m.) |
| Wednesday | Cardio (a.m.) / Abs / Chest / Shoulders / Tris / Cardio (p.m.) |
| Thursday | Cardio (a.m.) / Abs / Hamstrings / Calves / Glutes / Cardio (p.m.) |
| Friday | Cardio (a.m.) / Abs / Routine / Cardio (p.m.) |
| Saturday | Cardio (a.m.) / Abs / Routine / Cardio (p.m.) |
| Sunday | Cardio (a.m.) / Abs / Routine / Cardio (p.m.) |
Back
Wide-arm pull-ups - 4x15
Dumbbell rows (each arm) - 4x15
Wide grip pull-downs to the front - 4x15
Straight arm pull-downs to the front - 4x15
Hyperextensions - 4x15
Back exercises are followed by ten minutes of stretching for the lats and the lower back.
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Bethany Howlett's Back Workout!
Biceps
Preacher machine curls - 4x15
Standing E-Z bar curls - 4x15
Concentration curls (each arm) - 4x15
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Bethany Howlett's Bicep Workout!
Chest
Incline dumbbell press - 4x15
Incline dumbbell flys - 4x15
Cable cross-overs - 4x15
Wide-arm push-ups - 4 to failure
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Bethany Howlett's Chest Workout!
Shoulder
Dumbbell shoulder press - 4x25
Double drop sets of side lat raises 15 reps heavy, 15 reps light - 4x15x2
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Bethany Howlett's Shoulder Workout!
Triceps
Cable push-downs - 4x15
Dumbbell kick-backs - 4x20
Dips, close arm - 4 to failure
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Bethany Howlett's Tricep Workout!
For a more in depth look at Bethany's pre-contest training, click here, or go to: http://www.bethanyhowlett.com/training/bb_pre.asp!
Thanks,
bchowlett@hotmail.com
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