At this year’s Ms. Fitness Olympia, 38-year-old Adela Garcia won her fifth title, breaking a tie with Susie Curry to set the all-time mark for most Fitness O titles. Three months before that, we teamed her with two others looking to defend their Olympia titles, Iris Kyle (bodybuilding) and Nicole Wilkins-Lee (figure) for a back workout featured last month in FLEX’s Olympia issue. On that day, the three Ms. O’s combined their training styles. Now, we get the lowdown on the unique way Garcia typically trains her back.
GARCIA ON FUNCTIONAL TRAINING
“As a fitness athlete, my training combines traditional bodybuilding exercises with functional exercises, and I keep moving. I rest less between sets than a bodybuilder. For back, I like to start out with plyometrics, and I incorporate TRX suspension training on pullups and hyperextensions, which allows me to vary my positions a lot. I work back once per week in the offseason, but as I get closer to a show I focus more on my fitness routine and I do whole-body workouts three times per week.”
