These are advanced exercises... attempt with caution:
There are 3 videos below showing a progression of barbell exercises. Each video gets more difficult than he previous one.
Barbells are great for burning body fat because they usually call for you to use your entire body to complete the exercise. If you're not comfortable with the barbell It may take you a few weeks to master these exercises. If you're not strong enough to handle a 45lb Olympic bar, then it may take you longer until you develop enough strength. There are also lighter 35lb and 25lb Olympic bars available.
1) BB suicides: a real calorie burner - work on this for a week or two before moving on to the 2nd progression
2) BB suicide with a clean to squat (progression #1):  pull the bar to your shoulder and then go into a squat
3) BB Suicide with a squat press (progression #2): now we complete the movement with a squat press
These exercises are not easy to do. It's easy to get frustrated if you don't have the strength or coordination to do these exercises. Stick with it. your strength will increase quicker than you think.
  • Squatting with an Olympic bar in front is difficult, you may have to practice with a broom stick to get the proper form.
  • Jumping with an Olympic bar has to be done with a nice and smooth motion (soft landing) so that you don't hurt your knees.
  • Doing pushups on a bar may be a little scary at first... trust me, the bar won't roll away (just make sure you stay over it)
  • get ready for strange looks at the gym when you start doing these exercises
Workout suggestion:
Try running for 4 or 5 minutes on a treadmill and then doing one of the above exercise for 10 ro 12 reps... then repeat {treadmill + exercise (above)} for 30 minutes!
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I've been using the following technique quite successively in training competitors to lose body fat:
When competitors (or anyone) wants to get really lean, they have to learn to push themselves through exhaustion. Where the average person would quit... they must keep going. One of my techniques, is to give competitors a workout that I know they can't finish without taking a break. They work until they are too exhausted and need to take a short rest before continuing. This forces them to work to their max. Remember, fat loss is stubborn... you gotta give it 100% if you want to get lean.
Below are some examples designed to push you past your limits.
Mountain Climbers + Pushups (non-stop)
See how exhausted their upper bodies get toward the end of this workout...
                The idea is to finish the entire 8 cycles without stopping... good luck!
Barbell Squat Press
Here is another example of a demanding exercise I use to get competitors in shape. I will give the competitor a high number of reps that is nearly impossible to complete. In this example it's 70 reps with a 45lb Olympic bar. She must keep going until she is finished, with only short breaks to catch her breath or shake the lactic acid out of her muscles.
(try combining this with the workout above with no rest between them)
Try combining this with the workout above with no rest between them or.... you can combine this exercise with 3 or 4 others and do them all in succession without resting... you will be crawling out of the gym.
 - If you can't handle the Olympic bar, you can use 2 dumbbells instead.
Exercise Spotlight
Arm position and Pushups
What muscles are you working?
Depending on where your arms are positioned will determine if pushups effect the triceps more... or the chest and shoulders.
Most women do push with wide arms but if you want to focus more on the triceps, you need to use a different arm position.
Watch the video below and check out the different hand positions.
Pushups done with arms closer to your body (elbows in) are more difficult because there is more pressure on your triceps.
Pushups done with arms further apart focus more on the chest and front deltoids... they are also easier to do because the shoulders and chest are stronger than the triceps.
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'Running the rack' is something I I've talked about online and get emails asking me about it. It is featured in week 5 of the Figureready program.
I needed a workout to give to figure competitors who had trouble losing body fat. I often had them train separately, but I needed  to know that they were working out intensely since I couldn't always watch their entire workout. So I came up with running the rack - when done correctly, It burns a lot of calories.

The first exercise is the key (it's usually a squat row), you increase the weight each set by 10lbs. until you can no longer perform the required number of reps. The second exercise stays the same (weight and reps) throughout. In this video the Db squat press is the 2nd exercise.
  - Once you reach your maximum weight on the squat rows (when you cant do the required number of reps) then you work your way back down the weight stack, decreasing the weight by 10lbs each set. until you reach your starting weight.
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Here is a quad-killer. It's a combination of jump squats and jump lunges. Individually these exercises are tough but together they are 3X as tough. This is how you perform it:

1) perform a jump squat
2) then perform 2 alternating jump lunges
3) another jump squat
4) 2 more jump lunges
...continue this pattern for the required number of reps (15 is a good number)
Workout idea:
try doing these immediately after a set of seated leg extensions (for the quads)
 - perform 15 leg extensions (or until legs burn), jump off and immediately begin to perform the above exercise
 - do this non-stop for 3 cycles of: 15 leg extensions + 15 reps of the above exercise (i haven't named it yet)
 - you will be crawling along the gym floor afterwards
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Mixing a cardio exercise (ex. running, spin bike etc) with a resistance exercise is a great way to burn calories. I use the spin bike often during the precontest fat loss period for figure competitors. The key is to push hard on the spin bike so that you get the maximum benefit when you move on to your resistance exercise.

The video below shows the:
spin bike + jump squats
spin bike + Db squat presses
Turn the tension up on the spin bike so that it's difficult to pedal. Push hard, your leg muscles should be burning by the time you get off the bike.
Workout idea:
(perfrom the following 9 sets without interrupton - this is one giant set)
1) 100 reps on the spin bike + 20 jump squats
2) 110 reps on the spin bike + 20 jump squats
3) 120 reps on the spin bike + 20 jump squats
4) 130 reps on the spin bike + 20 Db squat presses
5) 140 reps on the spin bike + 20 Db squat presses
6) 150 reps on the spin bike + 20 Db squat presses
7) 160 reps on the spin bike + max pushups
8) 170 reps on the spin bike + max pushups
9) 180 reps on the spin bike + max pushups

It's important for anyone getting ready for a figure show to constantly try to force the body to lose body fat. Sometime switching the type of workout can be the spark to keep fat loss going.
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Muscle vs Fat 11/07/2010
 
Can Figure Competitors Lose Fat & Build Muscle At The Same Time?
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Answer: This may help you figure out the answer
1) In order to build muscle you must eat MORE calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight

2) In order to lose body fat you must eat FEWER calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight

The answer is a resounding NO! NO! NO!

There should be a clear distinction between the gaining phase (off-season) and the fat loss (precontest) phase… never the two shall meet. Competitors who try this are only spinning their wheels and often wonder why they don’t make progress. It’s like trying to build a house when someone takes a brick down as soon as you put one up – gonna take a long time to build that house!

When it comes to women it’s especially important not to mix the two because it’s really hard for most women to gain muscle… even with proper rest, eating and heavy lifting. If you want to build muscle, stay away from cardio during the building phase.

“But I read something that said….“

I know, I know, I know… you read in XYZ Magazine or ABC website that if you follow this ‘special’ program or drink that ‘new and improved’ protein powder you can gain muscle and lose body fat. Don’t listen to them… most likely they are just trying to sell you something or trying to get you to sign up to train with them. When I tell new competitors that they should do NO cardio in the offseason if they need to gain muscle (which most newcomers need to do)… a look of shear horror comes on their faces: “Omg! no cardio? I’m going to gain a ton of weight!!!” I tell them there is only one way to gain too much weight… and that is to eat too much food!

Fear of weight gain…

Many figure competitors are afraid to gain weight in the off season so they try to slow weight gain down by doing cardio, while trying to gain muscle. This will result in minimal gains in muscle size. The nervous system only has so much ‘energy’ in it’s reserve each day… you need all of the energy going toward building muscle. If half is used for your 60 minute treadmill run... how much do you think is left over for building muscle?

If you need to build muscle you must take the time in between shows to lift heavy and build some size. Get over the fact that you need to gain a few pounds. you can gain muscle holding 10 lbs over competition weight. You don’t have to gain a ton of weight. If you find yourself gaining too much fat then do more push-backs everyday…. push back from the table! don’t do cardio…. save the energy for building muscle, otherwise you’re just spinning your wheels.

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No trainer? ...No problem - just cut out all the clutter and stay focused
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I get this question from all over the country... new competitors struggling with the decision to compete or not compete. The truth is... Yes you can do it alone.... but it's hard without proper direction - really hard! It's hard if you don't have someone looking over your shoulder, checking your progress, making sure you're following the diet etc. My group of competitors not only have me but they have each other to lean on (...and there's a lot of leaning goin' on). If you are trying to do this alone then you need to understand that there will be many rough days and doubtful nights.... you just gotta get through them and keep working hard. I would say that 80% of women who start training for a figure competition will not finish. I think a big problem is the enormous amount of misinformation out there being disseminated in gyms and on the internet. It can get extremely confusing, this is some of the stuff you might hear:
  • "take this supplement"
  • "don't take that supplement"
  • "you have to use steroids to get muscles"
  • "doing cardio while trying to build muscle (in the off-season) is ok"
  • "you can build muscle while losing body fat for a show"
  • "you gotta carb deplete/carb load before a show"
  • ....or maybe it was salt load.... or was it fat loading that was so important before a show?
  • "you shouldn't be eating less than 1500 calories to get ready for a show"
  • "you have to take all of your carbs out when dieting for a show"
  • you must increase your carbs 2 days before a show
  • don't work your legs the week of a competition
  • ....and on, and on, and on
With all the advice 'out there' who wouldn't be confused. I know a lot of the information is incorrect but some of it almost convinces me it's good - but I quickly come to my senses.... because if i can't find real research to back up a claim OR have not seen it work with my competitors, then I won't endorse it!
Everyone seems to be an expert and has some secret. The truth is... getting ready for a competition is simple and straightforward. Train hard and diet correctly - that's all you need to do. You don't need special supplements, crazy diet tricks or fancy equipment.... and you definitely don't need advice from someone who doesn't know what they're talking about.
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