Good Female Routine

[ChelseaAlexis]

I have been working out for a long time and did sports all through school. However, I recently decided that I would like to trying to get into a competition this year. I honestly dont know where to begin. This is the routine that I came up with. My goal is to get to about 15% body fat. I am taking in around 1500 calories a day right now. I would LOVE to hear some opinions/thoughts/suggestions... especially from anyone who has competed. Thanks so much!

WEIGHTS: 4 Sets: 20-15-13-10 Reps Adding Weight Each Time
45-60 Minutes of Cardio AFTER Lifting Daily

MONDAY:
HAMSTRINGS: *Any 3
*Lying Leg Curls
*Walking Lunges
*Stiff Leg Dead Lifts
*Standing Hamstring Curls
BICEPS: *Any 3
*Bar Curls
*Dumbbell alternating bicep curl
*Cable hammer curls with the rope
*Machine Preacher Curls

TUESDAY:
ABS: *Any 3
*Decline Crunch
*Decline Reverse Crunch
*Knee / Hip Raise on Parallel Bars
BUNS: *Any 3
*Squats
*One-Leg at a time Seated Leg Press
*The Bun Curl Machine

Wednesday:
TRICEPS: *Any 3
*Machine Dips
*Cable One arm at a time Tricep Extension
*Seated Tricep Press
*Dumbbell Tricep Kickbacks
CALVES: *Any 3
*Standing calf raises
*Seated calf raises
*Donkey calf raises

THURSDAY:
BACK: *Any 3
*Pull-ups
*Bent Over Rows
*V-Bar Pull Downs
*Lower Back Extensions
ABS: *Any 3
*Decline Crunch
*Decline Reverse Crunch
*Knee / Hip Raise on Parallel Bars

FRIDAY:
QUADS: *Any 3
*Leg Extensions
*Leg Press
*Thigh Adductor
*Hack Squats
SHOULDERS: *Any 3
*Lateral raises with dumbbells
*Front raises with dumbbells
*Rear delt flies
*Machine overhead shoulder press

SATURDAY:
Cardio Day

SUNDAY:
Day Off OR Xtra Cardio Day

[Leyton Stone]

Chelsea,

My advice would be to reconsider your weights workouts. I think you can come up with something better. The one in your post is very long and has too much overlap, especially for the lower body. If you are going to add cardio and sports training on top of this then you might be overdoing it. See this link for ideas on weights workouts:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/workout.htm

Secondly, it is better to use a wide range of reps rather than just high reps.

Regarding sets, you can use these are a means of progressing just like adding weight to exercises. Start off with a low number of sets and build it up over the course of 3-4 weeks, then drop the volume down to the beginning level and start again. Cycling it in this way allows your body downtime to recover and rebuild a stronger you.