Ashley Gay
Age: 26
Where: San Angelo, Texas
Height: 5’5″
Weight: 130 lbs
Years Competing: 1
Favorite Bodypart: Abs
How and When Did You Get into Training?
I actually started off at a very young age when I enrolled in gymnastics and I began competing when I was just 10 years old at high school.
Although my 13 years of gymnastics had come to a sudden end due to my High School not having a Gymnastics Program, I wanted to maintain an active lifestyle so I began running every evening and eventually joined my town’s local running club. I’d always wanted to push my body and try new sports, so I signed up for 2 triathlons, the Austin Marathon and finally began competing in INBF and NPC bikini competitions.
Because I had a small frame it was important to try and add some muscle so I decide to cut down a little on the running and focused more on weight training and interval cardio training.
What Does Your Workout Look Like?
I’ve always been blessed with a high metabolism, so I tend to burn calories pretty easily, therefore I concentrate on heavy lifting five times per week with 20 minutes of High Intenisty Interval Training three-four times weekly.
Here’s my Workout Schedule
Day 1: Cardio/Legs/Abs
Cardio: 20 minutes
Superset:
Single Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 12 reps
Single Leg Hamstring Curls: 3 add sets of 12 reps
Superset:
Weighted Walking Lunges: 1 set of 10 each leg
Sumo Squats: 1 set of 10 reps
Superset:
Barbell Squats: 3 sets of 12 reps
Calf Raises: 3 add sets of 12-15 reps
Superset:
Leg Press: 3 sets of 12 reps
Calf Raises: 3 add sets of 12-15 reps
Weighted Incline Crunches: 3 sets of 10 reps
V-Ups: 3 sets of 10 reps
Day 2: Biceps/Triceps
Hammer Curls: 3 add sets of 12 reps
Lying Close-Grip Barbell Triceps Extension Behind The Head: 3 sets of 12 reps
Barbell Curl: 3 sets of 12 reps
Reverse Grip Triceps Pushdown: 3 add sets of 12 reps
Preacher Curls: 3 sets of 12 reps
Standing Triceps Press: 3 add sets of 12 reps
Day 3: Cardio/Chest/Abs
Cardio: 20 minutes
Bench Press: 2 sets of 12 reps, 1 set to failure
Incline Press: 2 sets of 12 reps, 1 set to failure
Decline Press: 2 sets of 12 reps, 1 set to failure
Cable Flyes: 3 add sets of 12 reps
Butterfly Machine: 3 add sets of 12 reps
Hanging Leg Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps
Cable Crunches: 3 sets of 10 reps
Seated Leg Crunch: 3 sets of 10 reps
Day 4: Cardio/Legs/Abs
Cardio: 20 minutes
Superset:
Single Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 12 reps
Single Leg Hamstring Curls: 3 add sets of 12 reps
Superset:
Weighted Walking Lunges: 1 set of 10 each leg
Sumo Squats: 1 set of 10 reps
Superset:
Barbell Squats: 3 sets of 12 reps
Calf Raises: 3 add sets of 12-15 reps
Superset:
Leg Press: 3 sets of 12 reps
Calf Raises: 3 add sets of 12-15 reps
Weighted Incline Crunches: 3 sets of 10 reps
V-Ups: 3 sets of 10 reps
Lying Crunches: 3 sets of 20 reps
Day 5: Cardio/Shoulders/Back
Cardio: 20 minutes
Dumbbell Press: 3 add sets of 12 reps
Barbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 12 reps
Bradford/Rocky Press: 3 sets of 10
Standing Military Press: 3 sets of 10
Seated Back Flyes: 3 sets of 12 reps
Mixed Grip Chin-Ups: 3 sets of 10
Seated Cable Rows: 3 sets of 12 reps
Day 6: Cardio Only
Run: 5 miles outdoors
or
Elliptical Or Incline Treadmill: 20/20 minute intervals
Day 7: Rest
My Diet
I try to eat 6 meals a day combining both fats and protein. Even though my diet is usually very strict, I do allow myself cheat meals every now and then, it helps keep my sane! I believe cheat meals help keep me on track, without them I get bored with the diet.
Meal 1: 7:00 AM Breakfast
1/2 cup oatmeal
3 egg whites
Multivitamin
Meal 2: 10:00 AM Mid-Morning Snack
2 scoops protein shake
Meal 3: 12:00 PM Lunch
8 oz grilled chicken or fish
1/2 cup brown rice
Meal 4: 3:00 PM Mid-Afternoon Snack
6 wheat crackers and 1/2 package of tuna
or
Small handful fruits/vegetables
or
Handful of almonds and 1 80 calorie Dannon Light and Fit yogurt
Meal 5: 7:30 PM Post-Workout
6oz chicken breast
Green vegetables
or
Tilapia/salmon
Sweet potato
Green vegetables
Meal 6: 9:00 PM Before Bed Snack
1 scoop protein shake with light soy milk
Supplements I use:
With Breakfast:
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey: 1 scoop
Pre-Workout:
Gaspari SuperPump250: 1 scoop
Intra-Workout:
Optimum Nutrition Powder BCAA: 5g
Gaspari SizeOn Pre-Contest: 1 scoop
My Top 5 Tips for ABS!
- Diet, Diet, Diet, if you want slim, toned abs you must eat clean.
- Cardio, Cardio, Cardio!! You must do some form of aerobic/cardio exercise atleast four times weekly to help with fat loss.
- Don’t overtrain abs with hundreds of crunches, your diet and cardio is far more important!
- If you want great definition try weighted crunches
- Keep going, you need to be in it for the long haul, abs don’t appear overnight!
Good luck everyone with the SixPackNow Program
Ashley