Manitoba Muscle
Darren Mehling
BA, CSCS
As a strongman competitor, Darren has pulled 50,000 lb trucks and dead lifted 805 lbs. As a competitive bodybuilder, he has won Provincial Super-heavyweight & Overall titles. As President & CEO of FREAK Fitness, he has coached his clients to hundreds of Novice, Provincial/State, National, and IFBB Pro titles. Having been involved in the sport of bodybuilding for over 20 years, Darren has his finger on the pulse of the local and international bodybuilding scenes, and will be keeping you informed through his column, “Freak Fitness."
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Training A Fitness Competitor vs Figure vs Physique vs Bodybuilding
Q. How do you train a fitness competitor versus figure vs. women’s physique versus women’s bodybuilding?
A. Numerous factors determine how I program for each of my female competitors and the discipline she wants to compete in, so I can only answer in general terms.
The women’s fitness and figure competitor physiques are quite similar even though the recent trend indicates the judges want to see figure athletes a little smaller since the creation of the physique division. With that said, I will typically prescribe more plyometric exercises and speed and agility drills for the fitness competitor so she can develop more power and athleticism for her fitness routine. Caution must be used when prescribing intense plyometrics though, because too much pounding on the joints can increase risk of injury, so a balanced approach for the individual competitor must be maintained.
Because the aesthetic requirements are similar for women’s physique and bodybuilding, I train them in a similar fashion. I normally recommend the female competitor allow the amount of muscle she can develop or more. How much muscle she is comfortable with determines which discipline she competes in, with the more streamlined muscular female competing in physique or the more heavily muscled female competing in bodybuilding.
If you want to get trained by Darren Mehling, visit his website FreakFitness.ca
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