First Batman, then Spiderman, and now the Hulk — it seems that superheroes are back in the public spotlight. For years, these champions of justice were shunned as freaks living amongst us. Nightly news reports featured these demigods fighting off injustice in the form of terrorist factions, super villains, and alien invaders.
The result: crushed cars and city blocks left in carnage.
Tired of the destruction, many people began protesting the presence of the superheroes, causing many of the caped crusaders to go into hiding. As a consequence, crime rates went up and spandex stocks went down.
Thanks to Hollywood's recent fascination with the superhero, crusaders all over the world are once again receiving their just due. Recently, we got to sit down with Figure Athlete's own costumed crime fighter, Barbella, and got some insight on her
Our interview was conducted on a rooftop high above the city, allowing Barbella to keep watch over the city as we spoke.
She came clad in her black cat suit, the blood red barbell insignia emblazoned on her chest. Barbella's knee high boots looked like something worn on a high-end fashion runway. In typical super hero fashion, she wields her trusty weapons — a kettlebell in one hand, and a seven-foot Eleiko slung across her back.
Even though we've seen her in news footage and on the front page, sitting before her was awe-inspiring. Barbella is a sight to behold; her 5 foot 7 frame is a walking contradiction of feminine softness contrasted with sinewy muscles that can tear through steel.
Her legs impressed us most. They're muscled and take on the appearance of finely crafted pillars. Before we could utter a word, she called us on our fascination with them; this is where the interview began.
silence and a long, admiring stare...
It isn't polite to stare!
Our apologies. It's just that we've never seen a pair of legs like that on a woman before! How did you build them?
Lots of hard work and heavy lifting.
I used to train like the average woman that you see at the local gym; you know adductor and abductor machines and a ton of leg lifts, but I noticed that I had no snap to my kicks and could barely leap over a single building!
It wasn't until I started incorporating a lot of heavier compound movements like the barbell squat, bent knee dead lifts and weight lunges that my legs started to really take shape.
Interesting. Is there a specific training template that you follow?
Not necessarily. I try to periodize my workouts so they never get stagnant. Right now I'm in the hypertrophy phase of my training, so my workouts resemble that of a figure competitor.
Meaning?
Well, I perform a three day split of legs on day one, chest and back on day two, resting the following day, and then training my shoulders and arms on the forth day.
I try to repeat this cycle two times within an eight day period. The beauty of this system is that the major muscles get hit at least twice a week, yet they are spaced out well enough for super compensation to occur.
MON | TUES | WEDS | THURS | FRI | SAT | SUN |
Legs | Chest & Back | Rest | Shoulders & Arms | Legs | Rest | Chest & Back |
MON | TUES | WEDS | THURS | FRI | SAT | SUN |
Shoulders & Arms | Rest | Legs | Chest & Back | Rest | Shoulders & Arms | Legs |
What about your set and rep scheme?
I tend to have an upper limit of overall volume of thirty total work sets, usually staying closer to twenty-four.
That sounds rather pedestrian; why do you keep the volume so low?
Though I am super human, I try to keep things in perspective. I live a rather hectic life and may start to burn out with a higher training density.
Besides, I'm a firm believer in quality over quantity — even for hypertrophy. A typical workout may look like the following:
| | Movement | Reps | Sets | Time Under Tension | Rest |
A1 | Incline Dumbbells press | 6-8 | 4 | 5,1,2,1 | 90 secs |
A2 | Neutral Grip Pull-up | 6-8 | 4 | 5,1,X,0 | 90 secs |
B1 | Dip | 9-10 | 4 | 3,0,2,0 | 60 secs |
B2 | Dumbbell pullover | 9-10 | 4 | 3,0,2,0 | 60 secs |
C1 | Neutral grip dumbbells fly | 10 | 3 | 3,1,2,1 | 60 secs |
C2 | Face pull with external rotation | 10 | 3 | 3,0,2,1 | 60 secs |
Incline dumbbells press
Pull-up
Bench Dip
Dumbbells pullover
Neutral grip Dumbbells fly
Face pull with external rotation
Nice! Looks like you know Poliquin!
Yeah we fought off a hoard of criminals a few years back.
Now, this is all fine and dandy for a lady looking to put on some size, but what about strength? You can't kick anyone's ass with nothing but show muscle!
Fair enough. When I do get into my strength phase, I tend to change things up a bit. First thing I do, is reduce the number of movements I perform and increase the loads I use.
Secondly, I change my template to an upper/lower body split. Lastly, I increase the rest intervals while decreasing the repetitions performed.
Can you give us an example?
Sure:
Pretty impressive! What kind of loads are you using here?
When I train for strength, I try to do about 80-85% of my one rep max.
Okay, well you're obviously strong. We recall you pushing an out-of-control commuter train to a grinding halt! But what do you do to keep yourself so lean?
You mean aside from fighting legions of ninjas and chasing down nuclear missiles?
Yeah, aside from that.
Excuse me a sec?
Before Barbella can complete her sentence, she dives off the rooftop into the dark alley hundreds of feet below. Moments later, the sound of a gunshot echoes through the sky, followed by what sounds like a scuffle and a loud shrieking scream.
We run over to the ledge to see what all the commotion is about, but before we can even peer over, Barbella reappears behind us.
What the hell was that?
Oh, just another mugging attempt. I have a feeling the burglar won't be using his legs for a while.
A strange mix of genuine attraction and complete fear for this incredible woman nearly overwhelms us. Intending to finish the interview and find out how she stays so damn lean, we ask Barbella to sit so we can wind things down.
Okay, so we were talking about your conditioning and what you do to stay so tight.
Well, I believe in performing work that will keep my body burning calories for the rest of the day. Some of my favorite things are bodyweight circuits, Tabatas and speed rounds on the heavy bag.
Can you give us an example of each and how you would fit it into a training program?
Sure. When it comes to conditioning, you want to watch out for exposing the body to too much volume, as that can be counter productive.
The basic rule of thumb is to add a few higher intensity work sets on days when I don't strength train, or cut back on the volume of work done in my actual workouts and use the conditioning protocols as a finisher. Here are some examples:
Weeks 1-4 | Week 5-8 | Week 9-12 |
Kettle bell swings | Dumbbell push press | Burpees |
Work | Rest | Work | Rest | Work | Rest |
10 secs | 20 secs | 15 secs | 15 secs | 20 secs | 10 secs |
10 secs | 20 secs | 15 secs | 15 secs | 20 secs | 10 secs |
10 secs | 20 secs | 15 secs | 15 secs | 20 secs | 10 secs |
10 secs | 20 secs | 15 secs | 15 secs | 20 secs | 10 secs |
Thruster
Kettlebell swings
Burpee
Upper body | Lower body | Total body |
A1 | Push-up x 12 | A1 | Jump squat x 10 | A1 | Chin up x 12 |
A2 | Mountain climber x 30 | A2 | Speed squat x 20 | A2 | Walking lunge x 20 |
A3 | Burpee x 10 | A3 | Alternating lunge x 20 | A3 | Push-up w ext rot x 12 |
A4 | Push up plank x 1 min | A4 | Static squat hold x 1 min | A4 | Jump tuck x 20 |
Repeat once | Repeat once | Repeat once |
Combo | Work | Rest | Sets |
Left jab, right cross | 30 seconds | 60 seconds | 2 |
Double left jab, right cross | 30 seconds | 60 seconds | 2 |
Double left jab, double right cross | 30 seconds | 60 seconds | 2 |
Left jab, right cross, left hook | 30 seconds | 60 seconds | 2 |
Left jab, right cross, left hook, right cross | 30 seconds | 60 seconds | 2 |
So those are the secrets to your washboard abs?
Yeah; that and a clean diet, of course. But let's save that for another time.
Thanks Barbella! Our readers will love reading what a true to life super hero does to stay in shape!
Barbella flashes us her mesmerizing smile and disappears into the cool night air once again.
Stay tuned for the second installment of The Super Heroine Interviews, where Barbella details the nutrition program that keeps her looking PVC outfit-ready.
Teiko Reindorf is a NSCA-certified personal trainer and operates a Personal Training business in Toronto Ontario specializing in personal training, post-rehab exercise and nutritional consultations, you can learn more about Teiko on his website.
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