Body parts 2X/week

Ok, I sent this picture. It is very fuzzy. Now, don't look at the 80's hair, and the look on my face. These competitions attract all kinds of human debris, and they are always making crude remarks. Someone yelled just as I was trying to hit an ab pose, and my face went ohhhh, then I burst out laughing. So this picture is me trying to hit a pose, making an ohhh face, and busting up. Just wanted to post. Just because. It looks like I have raccoon eyes as well. What can I say. So, I'm not blowing smoke, I actually did it. Thanks for your kindness.

I looked for other, better pics, but I think they are on my husbands computer. But, this will do.

Good gosh, Karen, you look AMAZING!!!! I know what kind of work and discipline those results had to take and I am WAY impressed and inspired!!!!! And hey, as far as 80s hair goes, it doesn't get much more 80s-licious than mine. ;) Nosy question for you that you can feel free to ignore but, out of curiosity, what were your Height and Weight stats at the time of this competition? Did you have to fit a particular weight class to compete?

Christin (Still blown away by the awesomeness of your abs and legs.....)
 
It was a weight class. I can't remember what the weight divisions were. I'm between 5' 7" and 5' 8" tall. I weighed 141 lbs. and bodyfat% was 9.6% I'm pretty sure, I was part of the taller heavy class.

Thanks, Karen! Man, I would love to have a few extra inches added on to my legs....Alas, I am a shrimpy 5'3 and have to fight to keep my thighs from becoming of the "thunder" variety. lol! Your results are awesome! That body fat percentage alone had to take an incredible amount of discipline to achieve! It is so nice to see a pic of such a healthy, muscular, and fit woman rather than the images we get bombarded with every day in the media. I keep waiting for the societal shift towards curvy, muscular women to be the desired norm rather than super-skinny, waif-life women. I have kicked around the idea of competing and am thinking it may not be the best choice for me with my eating disorder history. I worry that the diet, especially the "cutting" phase, may raise up some old and ugly demons. I am trying to find a goal for myself that I can work towards that don't involve appearance or weight. Haven't figured it out yet but I hope I will eventually. Thanks, as always, for being such an inspiration on these forums!
 
You two are cracking me up! So how much extra work will it take for a formerly-scrawny shrimpy Sicilian with a tendency towards thick thighs to look that good??? ;)
I am a mesomorph. My ancestors were the Vikings. I've heard they were kinda big. So some of the work has been done for me. You can do it!!! ( if you want it)

I'm a Viking too! (I have 'Viking Finger' or Dupuytren's Contracture). I'm fair and tall - but still can't put on enough muscle.
No wonder we get on

You two are cracking me up! So how much extra work will it take for a formerly-scrawny shrimpy Sicilian with a tendency towards thick thighs to look that good??? ;)
 
You two are cracking me up! So how much extra work will it take for a formerly-scrawny shrimpy Sicilian with a tendency towards thick thighs to look that good??? ;)




You two are cracking me up! So how much extra work will it take for a formerly-scrawny shrimpy Sicilian with a tendency towards thick thighs to look that good??? ;)

I did my first competition, after hard training for less than a year. I took third place, however, I was just hoping I could get on stage without fainting. If you train right, (for you) you will be amazed at the results.
 
Ladies, you crack me up.
I'm also about an inch taller, but same weight. I'm a mesomorph, but somehow I can't always tell when I'm adding muscle. Is that odd? And it's not obscured by a lot of fat, although I'm nowhere near as cut as Karen in that photo!

No, it's not at all. I look at myself, and don't see a lot of change, however when I went to the gym to train, people would tell me I was gaining a lot of muscle. I think we see ourselves in the mirror every day, kinda like growing taller, we never see it, it just happens. Also, when you start leaning out, the muscles start popping.
 
No, it's not at all. I look at myself, and don't see a lot of change, however when I went to the gym to train, people would tell me I was gaining a lot of muscle. I think we see ourselves in the mirror every day, kinda like growing taller, we never see it, it just happens. Also, when you start leaning out, the muscles start popping.
I think you're 100% right. I know I have more muscle than I did a year ago. Both visually, and weight-wise (I'm probably up 5 lbs, but it's not all fat). In the last month or so, I've just recalibrated my diet a little post-breastfeeding and lost ~4lbs (not starving, always staying above 2k cals), and just that little bit has really made a difference in what I'm seeing. Lats, and in the last couple days I've really noticed my front delts have popped.
 
Ok, Renee, here's your three day split.

Monday - Back and Biceps
Tuesday - Legs and triceps
Wednesday - Chest and shoulders
Thursday - Rest or short Hiit
Friday - Back and Biceps
Saturday - Legs and triceps
Sunday - chest and shoulders
Monday - Rest or short Hiit

Just keep rotating three days on, one day off, through the weeks. You can do your cardio after lifting, or do it on your days off from lifting. This is a bodybuilding schedule, and one I used to get in competition shape.
Switch it up every six weeks. It's a lot of lifting, but it will get you in kick butt shape. Just posting as a suggestion. Be careful, it can burn you out.

Hi Karen,
How many reps and how heavy did you go when you where doing this rotation? When I was younger in my mid twenties through early 40's I use to do total body every other day followed with cardio and I remember looking leaner with more definition, but then again it might of had something to do with me being younger. For the past 6+ months I have been alternating between Ripped with Hitt and Xtrain rotations, while I did see some great results but filling totally burned out on them and need to change it up a little. Thanks in advance!

Lourdes
 
Hi Karen,
How many reps and how heavy did you go when you where doing this rotation? When I was younger in my mid twenties through early 40's I use to do total body every other day followed with cardio and I remember looking leaner with more definition, but then again it might of had something to do with me being younger. For the past 6+ months I have been alternating between Ripped with Hitt and Xtrain rotations, while I did see some great results but filling totally burned out on them and need to change it up a little. Thanks in advance!

Lourdes
As heavy as I could lift, for ten to twelve reps. At least three sets, depending on the body part. I tried to use different exercises, so I got a good mix for every body part.
 
Ok, I sent this picture. It is very fuzzy. Now, don't look at the 80's hair, and the look on my face. These competitions attract all kinds of human debris, and they are always making crude remarks. Someone yelled just as I was trying to hit an ab pose, and my face went ohhhh, then I burst out laughing. So this picture is me trying to hit a pose, making an ohhh face, and busting up. Just wanted to post. Just because. It looks like I have raccoon eyes as well. What can I say. So, I'm not blowing smoke, I actually did it. Thanks for your kindness.

I looked for other, better pics, but I think they are on my husbands computer. But, this will do.
Wow Karen Hats off!!! I need a little Viking in me!!! Now I have the ohhh face from jealousy!!
 
It's like I always hear fitness gurus say....."Long, lean muscle".....Karen's got that in spades! While I, on the other hand, lean more towards "short, stocky muscle". Those extra few inches on my legs might be worth the pain?

I've heard both arguments about the ability to create "long, lean muscles" made by various trainers and even scientists or doctors. Keeping in mind that I have no scientific background whatsoever :), I do know that we can't change where the muscles are attached in our bodies. This article sums it up a bit better than I can. Not that you don't already know this stuff, I'm simply posting it for anyone interested in the anatomical info (written in layman's terms):

http://www.barbellsandbeakers.com/2012/07/04/can-you-really-lengthen-your-muscles-or-is-that-a-lie/

In that respect, I do believe we have some limitations on how we can make our bodies look, even with a flawless diet and loads of exercise. Also, depending upon genes, lifestyle and our overall health, it just may not be realistic to diet down and exercise to the point where we look "cut". It seems easier for ectomorphs or mesomorphs to do this, but I know as an endomorph that it would take what I would consider excessive concern over diet and an extreme amount of exercise - and doing both forever - for me to ever look truly defined. It could be achieved, I suppose, but I think I'd be wearing out my ligaments, joints, and possibly my brain. The deprivation would make me unhappy in the long run, no matter how "attractive" I might be. It took me a long time to accept myself as an endomorph, and it's still a process at times. When a person starts working out regularly, one can believe they'll eventually achieve the same look as their beautiful instructors, such as Cathe. :D However, I am now happy enough simply being healthy, fit, and strong. I accept that I couldn't look like Cathe (just for an example) without extreme measures on my part. I have friends who could much more easily achieve that look, although it would still take dedication. That said, I know my body continues to evolve with training and good nutrition. I don't use my genes as an excuse not to work out or eat well, I simply know that accepting how I look today is key to my happiness.

Here's an example of someone with a genetically shorter muscle that's quite well-developed naturally.Some people will always have the classic "ballerina calves" because their calf muscle lays a certain way on the leg anatomically. They can stretch the muscle frequently, of course. They can choose not to train the calves if they feel they're already too big. Muscle atrophy could make the muscle smaller (although they'd have to be really inactive to avoid using their calves very much). However, they can't truly "lengthen" the muscle per se, unless they get some sort of muscle-sculpting surgery. I've heard rumors of people having that done in the entertainment industry, although I can't find any information on that sort of surgery online. Anyway, I've read that (at least in the past) Molly Sims has complained about her own ballerina calves. However, I think they're beautiful! I WISH I could get that kind of leg definition!

molly-sims-chair-workout-2.jpg
 

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