As a former collegiate gymnast at the US Air Force Academy, Holland Canter knows what it takes to be successful at a high level of competition. So it should come as no surprise that Holland quickly found success in the NPC’s Women’s Physique division, winning the Overall at her very first contest – less than a year after starting to lift weights.
“I’ve always been an athlete, but I only recently started lifting and competing,” says the 25-year-old Air Force Lieutenant. “I started lifting weights in July 2011 and entered my first physique competition in January of 2012. After winning that first competition, I knew I had found my new competitive outlet.”
Holland’s 2013 season got off to a good start with a third-place finish at last week’s NPC MuscleContest.com Championships. Now, she will turn her focus towards improving on her sixth-place finish at the 2012 Nationals.
Here, Holland takes us through one of her typical chest workouts in the latest edition of NPC Training Journal.
“As a Women’s Physique athlete, chest can sometimes be an afterthought,” Holland says. “While I love chest exercises, I’ve never had a judge tell me that I just really needed more chest. However, for me to create a well-balanced physique, I must still include chest every single week especially since I haven’t been lifting that long, and those muscles aren’t well developed.”
Go here to see more of Holland Canter’s contest photos!
EXERCISE 1 Incline Dumbbell Press
Sets 4 Reps 10-12, 8-10, 8-10, 12-15
Holland says: “This is my favorite chest exercise. I love the feel of dumbbells. When you do exercises with dumbbells, you really have to concentrate on what you are doing or you will injure yourself. The incline dumbbell press not only works your chest, but it also works your shoulders because you must use your shoulders to help stabilize your upper body when you perform the movement.”
EXERCISE 2 CABLE FLYE
Sets 4 Reps 10-12, 8-10, 8-10, 8-10×2 and 12-15 (drop set)
Holland says: “I like to alternate crossing my hands at the bottom of the exercise for that extra push. I always do a warm-up set with each exercise to help prevent injury. Have a partner help you drop the weight for a drop set on your last rep- performing drop sets allows you to incorporate a high-intensity exercise into your weight lifting regimen and help shock your muscles to create additional hypertrophy. Drop sets also increase your heart rate, which helps burn fat!”
EXERCISE 3 PEC DEC FLYE
Sets 4 Reps 10-12, 8-10, 8-10, 8-10×2 and 12-15 (drop set)
Holland says: “On this exercise, I really concentrate on keeping my head and chest up. I try to do most of my reps with perfect form then I push myself with 2-3 more reps with a partner’s help if I need it. Flyes are a great way to get a isolated chest workout. I shift from incline to decline flyes each week to focus on the different areas on the chest.”
EXERCISE 4 FLAT BENCH MACHINE PRESS
Sets 4 Reps 10-12, 8-10, 8-10, 8-10, 12-15
Holland says: “I like to mix up my workouts and keep my body guessing. On exercises 1 and 4, I pyramid back up and finish with a higher rep range to keep it interesting and fun. The heavier reps also hit more of the slow-twitch muscle fibers, and as fatigue sets in, I’m able to incorporate the fast-twitch muscle fibers with lower weight and high reps.”
