Musculargalore.com Blog

With a beaming smile, Susan Maloney stood on-stage at the OCB Iron City Classic proudly accepting the overall title for the Figure Division and the pro card that came with it. It had been an incredible day for the 39 year old college professor. Her 5’3” 103 lb physique displayed an impressive combination of muscle development and cuts, and on this day she reigned supreme as the most heralded competitor in the entire show with a complete sweep of wins in every category she entered. In addition to the Figure Open Overall, she also won the Figure Novice, Bodybuilding Novice and Bodybuilding Open Overall titles. During her posing routine she flexed with the poised presence of a veteran, but in fact this was her first ever contest. Actually, Susan Maloney first started bodybuilding training just 18 months prior to the show. Here’s her story…

Athletic Background

“I have enjoyed playing sports since a young age. In high school I played basketball, volleyball and softball. After that, I got into running and went on to do a few marathons. In ’07 I injured my hip and had to take some time off from running. Around this same time I was really busy working full-time and taking classes for my doctorial in Psychology, feeling very stressed. I ended up putting on fifteen pounds. When I went back to regular running the weight wouldn’t come off. I joined a local gym in my area, Bill Lawrence’s Personal Fitness, and began getting personal trained by Bill Lawrence, who is a competitive bodybuilder. This was my first experience with bodybuilding training, and I found that I immediately liked it.

My plan when I first started was to lift for a few months and lose the weight. Once I started to see changes in my body from the lifting, though, I was hooked. The workouts caused not only my body fat to drop but my muscle tone to increase. As this was happening, I watched some of the competitive bodybuilders train in the gym and I was really inspired by how hard they worked and the results they were able to achieve. They made me want to see for myself what I could do with my body if I dedicated myself further. I decided to set a goal for myself to enter a competition.”

Discovering Bodybuilding Training

“My first program was lifting every Tuesday and Thursday — upper body one day and lower body the other. From there, I switched to a three day a week program, splitting the body parts. Monday I did chest/biceps/triceps; Wednesday I did legs; Thursday I did back and shoulders. For cardio, I did the stationary bike or Stairmaster five times a week for 16 minutes of maximum intensity. As far as the bodybuilding training went, I took each set to exhaustion. I did one warm-up set and two working sets, trying to get 4-6 reps and then a few forced reps. It is a low volume, high-intensity style that Bill has always had me do and it has worked very well for me.”

The Daily Diet to Build Muscle

“I averaged about 200 grams of protein daily and probably about 80 grams of carbs. I ate every two hours, with the protein sources coming primarily from egg whites, lean fish, and chicken breasts. Most of my carbs came from vegetables, although I always ate a starchy carb after my workout. I followed this year-round. I didn’t do cheat meals. For daily supplementation, I took protein powder before and after my workout, multiple vitamins, amino acids, glucosamine, glutamine, 5-7 grams of Vitamin C, Beta Alanine and Arginine.”

The Pre-Contest Diet

“My body fat was around 10 % when I made the decision to compete about eight weeks before the Iron City Classic. At that point, Bill raised my daily calories from 2000 to 2500 to try to put a little more mass on me. Most of the extra calories were protein. I was able to put on three and a half pounds of muscle in approximately two weeks. Next, he cut my carbs slightly. Since my diet was very clean to begin with there wasn’t any major changes. As far as weight-training, the only real change was the last three weeks I went from the two working sets per exercise to one.”

Cardio Conditioning

“To prep for the contest, I did cardio eight times a week: Monday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and twice on Tuesday and Thursday. The time and intensity was the same as before. I just did it more often.”

Physical Goals for the Show

“Having very lean, cut glutes and hamstrings were definitely a priority. I was very happy with the end results. One of the judges commented to me afterwards that I was really lean in my glutes and hamstrings, which they said isn’t easy for women. Another judge told me though that I need to have wider lats and bigger shoulders, so that will probably be something I will focus on now.”

Learning how to Pose

“About eight weeks out my trainer taught me the bodybuilding poses and I practiced them a couple of times a week. At three weeks out, I began daily practice and my trainer evaluated my posing technique once a week by observing my whole routine. I also studied posing videos and an audio CD I bought from OCB’s website, which helped a lot. As a result of all this preparation, I felt really comfortable on stage. Because I knew that I had done my homework I also felt very confident about my presentation, which I feel was a deciding factor in me doing so well. Either way, though, I knew I had worked as hard as I could in preparation, so the outcome was just that much sweeter.”

Future Competition Plans

“I plan on doing the Yorton Cup in Washington DC in November for both bodybuilding and figure competition. At the last show, one of the judges told me that if I pursue the pro card for figure I may want to be a little softer and if go with bodybuilding I will probably need to put on some more mass. My trainer recommended I continue doing both and see if there’s one I like more than the other.”

Competition Advice for other Women

“Train hard in preparation, practice posing a lot, and seek advice from someone experienced when you have contest prep questions, be it diet or workout related. Most of all though have fun with the whole experience. That includes being on-stage as well. Allow yourself to enjoy the moment.”