Bulking Phase for my Figure Competition

Today is my physique stats day.  I have done my measurements, weight and body fat %.  I will use this information, along with physique pictures, to monitor my progress properly througout this process.  I have added them to the column on the right side of my blog.  I will be updating them monthly from now until the last week of January.  At that point, I will start updating every 2 weeks until the last month before my competition.  The stats will then be updated weekly to ensure I am still on track and ready.  It is approximately 7 months to my Figure Competition in April 2010.  Right now, I’m in what is called, the “Bulking Phase” in Competition preparation.  This is where a person increases their calorie intake in order to build muscle.  But the increase in calories should not come from fatty “junk food”.   It needs to come from mainly a clean, high quality protein and some good fats and some good carbs.  The last week of January I will begin the “Cutting Phase” of my Competition prep.

To build muscle, the workout routine that I am currently using is high weight, low reps.  For the first 3 day routine I use a Push/Pull routine.  In these workouts, a person works out opposing muscles (ie: Biceps & Triceps or Chest & Back) where to work one muscle group you need to use a pushing motion (triceps) and you would need to us a pulling motion for the other muscle group (biceps).  This type of routine will work both the major muscle group and the muscle group that assists them on most exercises.

For the second 3 day routine I use is a major muscle group and a minor muscle group, in that order, with an added superset for each exercise.  (ie: Chest & Triceps or Back &  Biceps).  A person will work the larger muscle group first because the smaller muscle group assists with these exercises.  If the smaller muscle group was worked first, it would be too fatigued to assist when training the major muscle group. Abs are worked the same day as my weight training.  I will do two to three ab exercises of 2 sets of 12 reps each.  I also do cardio every other day between weight training.

I will be changing my workout routines every 4-6 weeks to prevent hitting a plateau.   This is where the tracking of my progress is very important.  By doing so, I will be able to see which routines work for me and which ones don’t.  I will also be able to ensure that my physique is symmetrical and where I need to improve, increase etc.  Stay tuned…….

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