Bodybuilding.com - Bethany's Pre-Contest Training!

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Bethany is a professional opera singer.

Women's bodybuilding has been taken to a level at which size and conditioning are not suitable for me. Find out how I train for upcoming shows!

By: Bethany Howlett

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