You enjoy training. You enjoy the ongoing challenge of pushing your body and mind to the limits.

Part of why you do it is simply because you can. You have the mental toughness and tenacity to do things that most people just dream about. While you are a dreamer, you're also a doer. You don't mind; in fact, you enjoy putting in some blood, sweat, and tears into the achievement of your goals.

Speaking of goals, they're the other reason you put in the work. Sure, the work's fun, but you have no shame in admitting that you look forward to the reward — having a lean, aesthetic, lightly-muscled body that symbolizes your hard work.

And yeah, that body will turn some heads along the way, no doubt about it! Hell, that may be one of the things you're looking forward to; and there's no shame in that!

If any of this describes you, then guess what? You, my friend, are a Figure Athlete through and through.

Fig•ure (fĭg´ yər), noun:
1) The shape or form of a human body.
2) The outline, form, or silhouette of a thing.

Ath•lete (ath´ leet), noun:
1) A person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.

Being a Figure Athlete is not about standing on stage in the most revealing (and expensive) bikini you can find while waiting to be judged by seven people. It is, however, about competing. Competing against yourself.

Know Your Weaknesses

To improve any aspect of yourself, you must first know your weak points.

As someone who's listened to lots of girls express their physique goals — and someone who's sat behind the judges table at many a Figure competition, I've both heard about and seen just about every weak point one could have.

I think we'd be better off viewing these "weak points" for what they really are, so let's call them "opportunities for improvement."

In terms of development, the most common areas in need of improvement are in the upper chest and back. These weaknesses aren't gender-biased, either; they affect men and women alike.

Showing great development in these areas gives you the appearance of being a veteran of the iron, even if you're not. But don't think you have to be a rookie to posses one or both of these flaws — even Olympia-caliber athletes often posses these weaknesses.

A Brief (Breast) Tangent

"Women with implants don't need to train chest."

I'm not sure when (or why) this silly myth began, but let me squash it right here and now. Implants cover large portions of the middle and lower chest, but they do not cover the upper chest! So, while doing decline movements would probably be senseless, exercises that target the upper chest are just what the doctor ordered.

In fact, implants look far more natural when the upper portion of the chest is developed because there's a more even thickness from top to bottom. Even middle chest development helps in this respect.

Regardless of whether your chest is augmented or au natural, collarbones that stick out like a cracked-out Hollywood actress don't look good on anyone!

As for back, unless you like the waif shoulder-blade-on-ribcage look, your back probably needs some work. Also keep in mind that the wider your back is, the narrower your waist appears.

Recipe for Improvement

It would be downright mean if I got you all hyped-up, ready to improve your physique, and then just left it at that. Although I do have a wacky, off-beat sense of humor, I wouldn't do that to you!

Instead, I've laid out a complete training routine, designed with a back and upper chest emphasis.

Before we get to the routine itself, let me tell you a bit about it.

As I mentioned, it's designed to improve your chest and back in as short of a period as possible. Sure, you'll improve from head to toe if you apply yourself, but you'll see proportionately more improvement in the aforementioned areas.

One of the absolute best, most time-tested and proven ways to bring up a lagging body part, is to train it more frequently. By training chest and back twice per week and other body parts once, you're able to focus your effort, intensity, and recuperative abilities more toward these weak points.

Note: You'll train both calves and abs twice per week, but this is normal as they tolerate and respond best to slightly more frequent training.

While this approach works great for any lagging muscle group, it's important to not emphasize more than two body parts per training cycle. Would you try to learn Spanish, French, and German all at the same time? No. Nor should you try to focus on bringing up more than one or two body parts at a time.

Feel free to change this workout or training split to suit your individual needs; just make sure to leave the principles in tact.

Without further ado, let's take a look at the program.

Weekly Schedule

Sunday: Off
Monday: Chest, Back, and Abs
Tuesday: Quads, Hams, and Calves
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Chest, Back, and Abs
Friday: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, and Calves
Saturday: Off

Monday:

* (as many reps as possible)

Tuesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Tying Up Loose Ends

• If you'd like to see a detailed how-to on my Ab Triad, check it out here.

• The volume of arm work may seem rather low, but it's not. And no, I'm not a "you don't need to directly train your arms" kind of guy. In this case, however, since the volume of pushing and pulling is so high, your biceps and triceps are already getting lots of stimulation throughout the training week.

• Floor presses are one of the best, underutilized exercises for the upper chest. Sure, they hit the triceps well, too; but the upper-arm (humerus) motion is almost identical to the line of pull of the clavicular pectoralis (upper chest). Focus on using your upper chest to "squeeze" the bar into the top position.

• To do a flye/press, simply start in the flye (neutral grip) position at the bottom. As you start the movement, move toward the press (pronated grip) position. In other words: flye position at the bottom, press position at the top.

Weaknesses: Eliminated

Now that you have yet another tool for your training toolbox, you're that much closer to eliminating any and all weaknesses in your physique.

Train hard, expect success, and enjoy the journey!