My training program

People have asked me how I've been training for this event, so I thought I'd offer a timeline of what I've been doing for the past year.  Here it is:

12 months prior

Last summer (2009), I knew I wanted to compete in a figure competition, but I didn't have a date in mind.  I was in the middle of chemotherapy and had radiation therapy and two surgeries ahead of me.  My primary fitness goal was to rehabilitate my body after each ordeal.  In between chemo treatments (and recovery from them), I would do a combination of resistance training, cardio training and stretching six days a week.  I did all of this at home, using equipment that I own.  Each day, I worked two or three body parts and did 3 - 4 sets for each part I worked.  I attempted to evenly train my whole body.  For cardio training, I either walked, ran (when I had the energy) or used my lateral slide trainer at home.  Flexibility was very important, I knew, and I did a 20-minute whole-body stretching routine once or twice a day, seven days a week.

6 months prior

By mid-January, 2010, I was beyond my last major surgery and knew it was finally time for me to begin training more specifically and intensely.  Over a period of a month, I built up to a training program that I followed for four months.  Domenick, my trainer, worked with me to ensure that I was making gains and having enough variety in my training program.  I trained one major body part a day, six days a week.  This was pretty intense, as I would do about 15 sets of 8 - 12 reps for each body part.  For example, on Monday, I trained my quads and hamstrings, Tuesday was arms (biceps, triceps, forearms), Wednesday was my back and shoulders, etc... In addition, I either trained my core (abs, obliques, low back) or my calves each day.  I added cardio training at the end of each workout for about 20 minutes.  This was a great program for me.  It was very challenging, but I experienced significant gains all over my body from it.

3 months prior

I had my final surgery in early June 2010, which kept me from training for about 3 weeks.  (I walked and stretched during this time, though.)  When I went back to training, Domenick had me focus especially on my weak areas.  He created two workouts for me:  weak points (3 days a week) and strong points (2 - 3 days a week).  My weak areas were my back, shoulders, chest and core, so I wanted to focus more on those.  I also had one day a week to just do cardiovascular training.  I also began learning to pose and practicing posing (seven days a week) at this point.

5 weeks prior

My workouts really kicked up a notch at this point.  The competition was drawing near and I needed to work even harder to be prepared.  I also began losing some body fat by dieting, which made the workouts even more challenging.  Four days each week, I did two workouts a day.  In the morning, I did moderate-intensity cardio training for about 40 minutes.  Later in the day, I would do resistance training.  Two days each week, I had only one workout, and it was an intense cardio workout with interval training.  I had one day a week to rest.  I followed this program until the week prior to the show, when the intensity of my workouts decreased.

Home vs. Gym workouts

I did at least half of my training at home, as it just wasn't an option to get to a gym on a regular basis.  Being a busy mom of young children, I needed workouts that I could do at home while I watched my kids.  We own a full set of Russian kettelbells, some dumbells, a TRX body resistance trainer (worth every penny!), a Reebok step and a Reebok slide, and  body bar.  Domenick and I were creative in figuring out how to use this equipment, plus furniture around the house.  I was pleased with how much I could accomplish at home.  In the gym, it was easier, of course.  I used the fitness lab in my department at school during the school year two days a week and my home equipment on the remaining days.  In the summer, I used my home equipment most of the time, but bought day-passes to gyms when I was traveling (for about four weeks).  I loved visiting different gyms and found it motivating to have new places to train with different equipment to try.