Biceps & Triceps with IFBB Pro Emily Nicholson

Today I did this great arm workout!

Building my arms helps me go heavier when I’m training my other big muscle groups like chest and back. Plus it shapes my arms and increases my definition.

I usually do four sets of triceps and four sets of biceps. I rest between sets but this whole routine can be done within 45 minutes.  Today I did:

Triceps:

• 3 sets of 6 of reverse grip bench press.  When the reps are low, I usually go heavier. With this exercise the grip is tricky, so I lift a little lighter weight. I start with 65 lbs on set 1 and end with 95 lbs on set 3.
• 3 sets of 20 bench dips. Here I just use my body weight and do high reps!
• 4 sets of 10 sissy bar skull crushers. I used 50 lbs to start and ended with the 70 lb sissy bar.
• 4 sets of reverse grip push downs. Every cable machine is different, but i used between 60-80 lbs at my gym.

Biceps:

• 4 sets of 10 lying cable curls.  To do this bicep curl, I lie down on the seated row bench and attach a sissy bar to the cable. This exercise provides resistance throughout the entire motion.
• 3 sets of 15 dumbbell preacher curls. This is a tough exercise and I use 20-25 lb dumbbells.
• 3 sets of dumbbell hammer curls. I use 20-25 lbs dumbbells here.
• 4 sets of supinated curls. These different types of curls hit the muscle in different ways. I use 20-25 lbs dumbbells to finish up my workout.

Then it’s time to refuel with my ProNOS Protein Powder!!

 

Contest Prep for Fitness America Weekend -by Nick Bolton

It’s about 3 weeks away from the Fitness America Championships in Las Vegas.  I’m registered, hotel and flights have been booked so now I’ve been focused and training hard in order to make the changes I need for the stage.  A few challenges that I’ve been fighting though have made this contest prep rough:

• I’ve had to fight through some sickness a few weeks ago.  Balancing needed rest with the fire dept and gym time is not easy at this point in the contest prep.
• It’s been hard making time to eat on schedule at the station.  I keep my meals in a cooler and a few key supplements (MRI ProNOS, RED Shred, and BCAA’s) on the fire truck at all times.

I finally feel close to 100% and I like where my conditioning is at this point.  My diet is very clean and I’m keeping my water intake high.

In order to continue to lean out, I’ve made the switch to MRI’s Ripcuts on my cardio workouts, MRI’s CE2 Hi DEF for my weight training, and even some MRI RED Shred.  With my diet, training, and supplementation dialed in, I feel confident that I’ll look my best.  The lineup is looking stacked with some amazing competitors from around the world so I need to stay on track.  I’ll keep you all posted!

Leg Day with IFBB Figure Pro & MRI Athlete Emily Nicholson

Today I’m doing legs! That’s the toughest body part for me!

I try to do each set to fatigue. I do these exercises mostly on machines except for the deadlifts. Today is a high rep day. I alternate high rep workouts with heavy weight low rep workouts.

Here’s my routine today!

• Leg press:  4 sets of 20 reps. Wide stance!
• Single Leg press:  4 set of 15 reps
• Leg Extensions:  4 sets of 15 reps
• Seated Leg Curls:  4 sets of 12 reps
• Bust blasters:  5 sets of 20 reps
• Deadlifts:  4 sets of 10 reps

Then it’s time to recover and grow my muscle definition with a MRI ProNOS protein shake!

Getting Stage Ready -by Emily Nicholson

I’m back in the gym and training again for my next competition.  I’ve taken a nice long off season so my body is ready to diet again!  If you diet for too long, your body will get used to the diet and resist progressing and the risk of injury can increase.  Sometimes at that point you just start losing muscle instead of getting leaner.

I feel I’m ready now to start my cutting phase and get ready for the stage again! I’ve built some good muscle during the off season using my favorite MRI products – such as my ProNOS protein powder in the Dutch Chocolate and my NO2 RED!

Weight training 5 days a week and doing 10 cardio’s a week will get me stage ready in a few months.  I’ll need my Hemo Surge to keep me going! I’ll keep you posted on my progress and which show is next!

Leg Press Variations for Great Glutes -by Maribel Burgos

Targeting the glutes can sometimes be tricky. I have a couple of different exercises for targeting the glutes using the leg press.

1. Narrow Leg press: place your feet together on the middle of platform. Bringing your quads close to the chest and pressing through the heels to push through. Make sure to push all the way back up without locking your knees.  I start my first set with 90lbs and gradually increase to 270lbs. 4-5 sets with 10-12 reps
2. Wide and high leg press: place your feet wide on the platform but high towards the corners of the platform and point your toes out slightly. This will target your hamstrings and your glutes. Make sure to bring it completely down and push all the way back up for a complete rep.  I drop my weight to 180lbs and gradually increase to 230lbs.3-4 sets with 10-12 reps
3. My favorite because it targets just the BOOTY!!! Put your feet super wide at the top of the platform. Bring your quads right above your chest then do small little pulsating movements. This targets the glutes specifically for the nice round look all ladies want 🙂  !!!  Again, I drop my weight to 180lbs and gradually increase to 230lbs.3-4 sets with 10-12 reps 3-4 sets with 10-12 reps

Remember… in order to target the glutes you must always push through your heels and focus on targeting the glutes. Don’t just go through the motions!!! Focus on your targeted muscle group.

My leg and glute days are my toughest days in the gym. So I rely MRI’s Hemo Surge to make each workout more intense than the last and take each one to the next level!  Hemo Surge’s turbo-charged nitrix oxide gives me the massive pump, strength, and mental focus needed for these intense workouts! Once I have killed it in the gym I refuel my muscles with MRI’s French Vanilla ProNOS protein! Now it’s time to rest.  🙂

Legs! Legs! Legs! -by Alison Burgess

I am NOT trying to have bodybuilding legs!  And I am NOT trying to have chicken legs!!  I am trying to have ATHLETIC, bikini-champ leg…and it’s working! :)))

Here is one of my favorite leg workouts, easily done with just two 5lb weights, one in each hand.  Oh, and a timer!

3-deep static lunges:

Right foot forward in the lunge position, free weights held down to each side
Pulse lightly up and down about 25% of the way down for 30 seconds
Then pulse about 50% of the way down (so that your forward leg forms a 90 degree angle at the lowest point in the lunge) for the next 30 seconds
Pulse deeply, going a little deeper than the last 30 seconds and all the way back up, for 30 seconds

Repeat with left leg forward, then repeat the whole thing 3 more times.  It will BURN!

Calf raises:
Stand up completely straight, arms down to each side, holding 5lb weights

Slowly raise up and down on your tip toes for 30 seconds
Then, stay up on your toes and pulse up and down for 60 seconds

Repeat 2 more times.  FIRE!

45 Degree Squats:

Stand in the squat position, both hands on the inside of your legs with your toes facing away about 45 degrees

Pulse lightly 25% of the way down for 30 seconds, driving with your heels and squeezing your glutes at the top
Same for the next 30 seconds, but come down deeper so your legs form a 90 degree angle at the bottom

Final 30 seconds: Deep, full squats – very low, and come all the way up

Repeat 3 more times.

The results I’ve achieved are strong, toned legs without a ton of bulk and zero chicken-ness!

I do this once a week, and once a week, I wish someone would carry me to my car when I’m finished. 🙂  So make sure you truly finish your workout by supplementing with a protein shake (you know I love ProNOS), glutamine, & BCAA’s.

Staying Prepared While on the Road -by Nick Bolton

The end of summer will be very busy for me with several trips, my birthday, training, and of course, firefighting.  It’s the same excuse I hear from my clients – too busy to workout and eat right.  I don’t have that luxury with the opportunities coming my way this month and the eight week prep for Olympia.  As I’ve mentioned before, fitness models have no off-season.

With everything going on, my focus stays on my goals this fall. I’m scheduling workout time in when I can every day and doing my best with nutrition.  I’ll be traveling back to Iowa to spend time with family so I’m making gym and food arrangements ahead of time.  And of course, I never forget to haul my MRI supplements with me.  For convenience purposes I put my ProNOS and WAR in zip-lock bags, use the Black Powder sticks (because they’re easy to haul around) and I fill up a small tackle box with all the pill products I use.

My MRI products are key because if I’m going to be punishing myself in the gym every free moment I have, I might as well get the most out of it.  With the right planning, being busy shouldn’t slow down my progress.  Everyone gets busy, but with the right planning and dedication, I will keep moving forward.

Nick Bolton Looking Forward to the Olympia

This summer has been a very busy time as I’ve been traveling, shooting for several commercials and print advertisements, was the featured athlete in the debut of Natural Build Fitness Ezine, and putting on MRI Product Demos.

With the summer’s travels, I’ve been forced to be more creative with road workouts than in the past.  This has given me a chance to bring an element of excitement back into the workouts that can sometimes be lost in the normal routine within the gym walls.  I think it’s also a great way to break through training plateaus.  My preparation continues for the Olympia in September where I’ll be shooting with some of the top photographers in the industry.

With only about 2 months to go, my nutrition and supplement plans have to be in check.  Crea7ine and Pro-NOS have been key in helping me hang on to the gains I’ve been making.  There’s very little room for error with these amazing opportunities so I’ll keep dialing it in one day at a time.

Making Gains in the Off Season -by Maribel Burgos

It seems as if I have been dieting all year. Well, actually it has only been seven months. I want to make some serious gains for next year! This means that I have to devote the next few months to hard core training in order to be at my best when I step on stage again.

Dieting, reducing calories and incorporating cardio is the key to leaning out and being stage ready. However, I cannot make the necessary gains when I am dieting and doing cardio twice a day as I have been doing. Now that I have increased my calorie intake I can begin to lift heavy again and make the gains that I would like.

I absolutely LOVE MRI’s Hemo Surge. Hemo Surge gives me the intense pump that I need to be able to tackle the heavy workouts. Especially on leg days… those are my toughest work outs!!!! I have to make sure I pack on the size I want on my tiny legs!  🙂

In bikini, it is all about the legs and the glutes, which is why I train them twice a week. Training legs and glutes twice a week is really hard on your body. I use MRI’s RED Repair to help with the rebuilding of muscles.

After all my workouts, especially after a grueling leg work out, I make sure that I feed my muscles with MRI’s ProNOS protein. I always carry it around with me wherever I go!!!

I am extremely motivated and anxious to step on stage once again!!!

Chest Training with MRI’s Maribel Burgos

Even as a bikini competitor, chest workouts are important. Chest workouts also target the shoulders, biceps and triceps… great for sculpting the upper body!!! I try to mix up the order and the exercises for chest. I try to keep my body guessing so it does not get use to the same routine.

Here are the chest exercises I mix up during my chest routines:

Flat Bench

4 x 10-12. The first set of my chest routine is always at a lighter weight so I can warm up my muscles. I gradually increase the weight of the next sets.

Incline Dumbbell Press

4-5 x 10-12. I use dumbbells in each hand and pressed them up while seated on an incline bench.  It is important to not arch your back. Otherwise, you can injury your lower back.  Weight used: 15, 17, 20, 25, lb dumbbells

Dumbbell Flies.

4 x 10. I alternate between a flat bench and the incline bench.  Dumbbell flies can be strenuous on the shoulders, so I don’t go very heavy.  Weight used: 10, 12, 15, 20 lb dumbbells.

Cable Cross Over

4 x 10. I like to change up the position of the cables on this exercise. During this workout I placed the cables at the top of the machine.  Weights used were:  15, 20, 20 lbs on each side

Push ups

5 x 10-12 Using body weight is a great way to fatigue the muscle. By this point my muscles are so tired that I know I am pushing them to the final extreme for that day.  I love push ups!!!

Don’t forget your daily dose of protein after your workout! In order to grow you must feed your muscles. MRI’s Pro-NOS in French Vanilla Cream is my favorite!