The problem I have is with her contest prep.... I get her about 2-3 weeks out and can't get that last percent or two off her. I mean offseason she is only carrying 14% and over 160 (bod pod)... I figure it must be a estrogen issue holding onto that fat, any tricks you have for thoose last couple lbs. I have done contest prep for many men, and never have a issue..with her.. she is just different.
There should be no difference in getting the last couple 1-2% bodyfat lost whether she competes in Figure OR Physique. Inability has nothing to do with estrogen - if that were the case, then no female would be able to lose fat without a lot of difficulty and there would be few who were lean.
The best thing I can recommend is to look at her NUTRITION. The last 1-2 weeks, and especially the LAST week before a show can make a HUGE difference in look.
A few things to consider (there are many more):
* Manipulate her nutrition more - don't eliminate water if using diuretics, but keep intake the same; play around with carb loading and depletion;
* Change her training up a little to make short recovery and high intensity (although not necessarily via load);
* Increase posing practice a little more;
* Add in a light 20-minute post-weights cardio session after a couple of her resistance sessions a week for a few weeks - THIS is what makes the difference re fat loss for me personally.
Experiment a bit and find out what works for her the best - if everything else is right, that's all you can do.
Another suggestion is for her to be even leaner off-season - closer to 12% bodyfat or something, so that she doesn't have to lose as much bodyfat pre-competition. Personally, I like to stay between 8-10% bodyfat, so that if I want to get a little leaner, I can - I let myself get up to ~14% bodyfat this year during a forced time out from training, and definitely don't like the way it makes me feel that high.
...She is just the first female I have ever trained that actually bodybuilds... I have never had a problem getting a woman prepped for figure.. and she could come in extremely lean for figure, just way to big. Its that few percent between figure and bodybuilding I am having trouble with on her
There should be no difference in her training, whether she plans on competing in Figure or Physique, really. The only difference between such competitors is that Physique women have more muscle mass - which means eating more than their Figure counterparts to train for it in the off-season, whereas many Figure competitors may simply recomp or maintain relative leanness in the off-season instead of focusing on gaining more mass.
Leanness for competition doesn't really differ, since Figure is also judged on leanness, and having more muscle mass than a Figure competitor should also make it EASIER for her to lose the bodyfat than one.
If she has to, get her to start her competition preparation 1-2 weeks EARLIER than what you think she should start at - give her more time to get lean.
~Team APPNUT
