Last Sunday, Succeed Physique athlete Ellie Potter travelled to Shellharbour to compete in the 2012 ANB South Coast Natural Physique Championship - this was her first ever competition, and she lined up in the Open Model Short catergory.

Ellie had dieted and trained perfectly for 12 weeks, and blew the competition away to take out the title, and a nice $500 cheque to go with it!!!

A fantastic effort - great work Ellie!

Ellie has now moved her focus to the 2012 INBA All Female Classic, which is 6 weeks away in Melbourne. She will compete in the Novice Division, then challenge herself and line up in the Open Division which will be a great experience for her.

Ellie has a fantastic stage presence, and she exudes the confidence of a seasoned competitor. Her goal for the All Female show is to come in about 10-15% leaner.

Congrats Ellie - you have a huge future in this wonderful sport of ours!

Well, the first part of the competitive bodybuilding/physique season is well and truly underway, and that means there are scores of people toughing it out in various stages of comp prep. At the moment, there are 3 Succeed Physique athletes preparing themselves for competition - being:

ELLIE POTTER

Ellie is currently just under 4 weeks out from her very first show! She will be travelling to the South Coast to compete in the ANB South Coast Natural Physique Championship, and will be competing in the Sports Model division. When I met her, Ellie was already a regimented trainer and ate really well, so it was just a matter of adding a little more structure to training and eating, and a few tweaks here and there over the weeks to help bring her into the show in fantastic condition. Prepping for your first show is both scary and exciting at the same time, and Ellie has done an awesome job in staying focused and not giving into cravings - and I have every confidence that this dedication will show when she steps onto stage on May 6th!! Following this show, she’ll have a week or so to relax a little, then we’ll turn her focus towards the INBA All Female Classic on June 24th!

SHARON STOREN

Sharon is currently 9 weeks out from her first show of the year - the ANB Asia Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast on June 9th. Despite this only being her third year of competition, Sharon is a seasoned competitor, and this will be her 9th show. She has a reputation for getting really ripped, and this year we will be looking to bring the same condition with a little more size and fullness after another solid off-season. Aside from this show, we are still discussing what other comps Sharon will focus on, however she will definitely be competing at the INBA Australian Titles and the Bali International, both being held in October.

SARAH WRIGHT

Sarah is also prepping for her first show, the INBA All Female Classic in 11 weeks time (June 24th) - she will be competing in the Sports Model division. Sarah comes from a gymnastic background, so is no stranger to hard training and focus. She had already established solid nutritional habits, so again it was some initial minor tweaking and removing of the treats to get her on track. Due to her gymnastic background, she possesses some solid muscle on an athletic and powerful frame, so I’m looking forward to seeing her in shape and doing her thing on stage!!

Stay tuned for more updates and of course, contest pics!!!!

In an effort to maximize growth, experienced bodybuilders will utilize various ‘shocking’ techniques to induce variety into their workouts and keep muscles progressing past plateaus. A favorite technique is using giant sets of four or more exercises for one bodypart, performed in rotation with little rest between sets. Normally, the giant set will be repeated three or four times, and that will consist of the entire workout for that particular bodypart.

According to 2000 NPC USA overall champion Bob Cicherillo, the most important factor is to choose exercises that hit the targeted bodypart from different angles in different ways. This means using modern technology to your advantage and choosing lifts that differ from each other as much as possible.

Cicherillo recommends 10- to 15-second intervals between exercises to regain strength, especially when going to or near failure. Even with a brief rest, the increased workout speed should allow a good muscle pump. The faster pace lends itself to relatively higher reps: 12-15 are recommended.

Giant sets are not suggested for beginners, and Cicherillo insists that they’re really for advanced bodybuilders with at least two years of training experience and a developed strength base. Because a full giant-set workout is designed to spark growth or shock a particular bodypart, the recommendation is to use a giant-set shock workout only once per month per bodypart. They are also ideal for focusing on a special section of a bodypart, such as the lower outer lats or upper inner chest.

Another reason for using giant-set workouts sparingly is if you use them too often, your muscles will become accustomed to them and they won’t be as effective at their shocking purpose. Done too frequently, giant sets can lead to overtraining, due to their increased intensity.

If used only occasionally, pumping out four exercises in a row with little rest between them will almost always catch your muscles by surprise. Here are some of Cicherillo’s favorite giant-set combinations. Do three or four full circuits of all the exercises with reps in the range of 12-15.

GIANT SET TIPS
-Choose four exercises that hit the targeted bodypart from different angles.
-Giant sets should be done instead of your normal workout, not in addition to it.
-Rest 10-15 seconds after each exercise.
-For the most part, do three circuits during each giant set workout, but increase the shock value occasionally by doing four circuits.

Someone posted this great little graphic on Facebook the other day and I thought it was fantastic, and a great illustration of what ’staying in your comfort zone’ can really mean. Check it out:

Take a good look at it a few times.

Now, ask yourself where do you stand most of the time - in the circle of comfort, or outside of it?

Let’s be honest - most of us spend a lot of our time in that comfort zone, putting up with the results we are getting (in all areas of our lives) and accepting that’s as good as it gets. But think about this…….what if you spent the majority of your time OUTSIDE of your comfort zone??? What would your life be like? What could you achieve?

2012 is still young - it’s not too late to sit back, take a good look at things and DECIDE what you’d like to change……………….will this be the year that you take yourself out of your comfort zone and really start to achieve the things you ARE capable of?

If your answer is “YES!!” , then you’ve taken the first step. Now write down your goals and the action steps needed to make them happen. Surround yourself with positive influences and don’t be dragged down by the ‘negative majority’ (none of whom you’ll have too much trouble finding!!!)

And, accept and expect nothing but the best for yourself - the time has come to move out of the ‘Comfort Zone’!