Fitness 360: Melody Wyatt, Training

New Exercise and Fitness Review

Name: Melody Decena Wyatt
Age: 26
Height: 5-foot-5
Occupation: Bodybuilding.com athlete, Optimum Nutrition athlete, Army National Guardsman, NASM-certified trainer, mother
Military: 6 years in the National Guard; Airborne and Air Assault qualified

Melody Wyatt begins every training session with a very clear objective: Lift with fearsome intensity. “If I’m not walking out of the gym completely fatigued, I don’t feel that I gave it my all,” she says. If you bring that same intensity to your training sessions, you can accomplish great things.

Melody believes that the ability to consistently push oneself with focus and intensity separates a champion from the folks who simply “go through the motions.” To Melody, that means lifting as heavily as possible. When heavy becomes too heavy, she bangs out as many reps as she can—safely and with a spotter, if possible—to failure using a dropset or other technique like running the dumbbell rack.

A dropset is a technique that calls for reaching failure with your first weight, immediately dropping to a lighter weight by 20-25 percent, and continuing to rep until you hit failure again. Running the rack follows the same approach. You start with the heaviest weight you can lift for a set number of reps, go to failure, drop down in weight, rep again, and repeat until you hit the end of the dumbbell rack or total failure.

These techniques sound intense, and they are. But they’re the key to great results “You can’t expect to progress if you’re not working with your whole body, mind, and soul,” Melody says. “It takes heart and discipline; train as strong as you want it!”

Melody’s training involves a 5-day split. She dedicates whole days to chest, back, arms, shoulders, and legs. Every other day includes abs or calves. To get her amped up for the monumental effort ahead, Melody listens to upbeat EDM and watches motivational videos. For her, hearing motivational words as she works out pumps her up even more; the words help her visualize her workout and materialize that vision into strength and power.

“The power of the mind is such a strong thing,” Melody says, “and that’s what you have to overcome: the mental part of it.”

MELODY’S TRAINING PLAN

• 
  

  Superset 1

  
  


• Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press
  3 sets of 8-10 reps; 1 dropset to failure


• Barbell Curl
  3 sets of 8-10 reps; 1 dropset to failure


• 
  

  Superset 2

  
  


• Triceps Pushdown – Rope Attachment
  3 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 dropset


• Alternate Hammer Curl
  3 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 dropset


• 
  

  Superset 3

  
  


• EZ-Bar Skullcrusher
  4 sets of 8-10 reps


• Incline Dumbbell Curl
  4 sets of 8-10 reps


• 
  

  Superset 4

  
  


• One Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl
  3 sets of 8-10 reps


• Tricep Dumbbell Kickback
  3 sets of 8-10 reps


• 
  

  Superset 5

  
  


• High Cable Curls
  3 sets of 8-10 reps


• Weighted Triceps Dips
  3 sets of 8-10 reps. Last set burnout to failure


• 
  

  Superset 6

  
  


• Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl
  Run the rack to failure


• Triceps Pushdown
  Run the rack to failure starting with your max weight

• 
  

  Giant Set

  
  


• Romanian Deadlift
  4 sets of 5-8 reps. Last set 1-2 rep max


• Sumo Deadlift
  4 sets of 5-8 reps. Last set 1-2 rep max


• Smith Machine Sumo Squat
  4 sets of 10-12 reps (w/ small pulses to failure at the bottom on last set).


• 
  

  Superset 1

  
  


• One-Legged Cable Kickback
  4 sets of 12-15 reps


• Thigh Abductor
  4 sets of 12-15 reps


• 
  

  Superset 2

  
  


• Lying Leg Curls
  4 sets of 10-12 reps


• Barbell Hip Thrust
  4 sets of 10-12 reps


• 
  

   

  
  


• Glute Ham Raise
  Burnout set to failure

• Barbell Bench Press
  1 warm-up set of 15 reps; 4 sets of 8-12 reps; 1 max set of 2-4 reps; 1 triple dropset to failure


• Dumbbell Flyes
  4 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 dropset


• Incline Dumbbell Press
  4 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 dropset


• Cable Crossover
  3 sets of 8-10 reps; 1 dropset to failure

• Pull-ups
  3 sets of 10 reps (switch between grips)


• Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
  4 sets of 10-12 reps (6 behind and 6 in front of head)


• One-Arm Dumbbell Row
  3 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 triple dropset to failure


• Bent Over Barbell Row
  3 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 dropset to failure


• Seated Cable Rows
  3 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 dropset to failure


• 
  

  Superset

  
  


• Lying T-Bar Row
  3 sets of 10-12 reps


• Kneeling High Pulley Row
  3 sets of 10-12 reps


• 
  

   

  
  


• Underhand Cable Pulldowns
  3 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 dropset to failure

• Barbell Squat
  1 warm-up set of 12-15 reps; 5 sets of 4-8 reps; 1 max set of 1-2 reps; 1 dropset (70%) of 12-15 reps; 1 burnout set at lighter weight to failure


• Front Squat (narrow stance)
  3 sets of 10-12 reps


• Barbell Walking Lunge
  3 sets of 10-12 reps each leg


• Hack Squat
  3 sets of 8-10 reps


• Leg Extensions
  3 sets 10-15 reps; 1 dropset to failure


• Thigh Adductor
  3 sets of 12-15 reps; 1 dropset to failure

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press
  2 warm-up sets of 10-12 reps 4 sets of 8-10 reps; 1 triple dropset to failure; One-armed lateral raise; 3 sets of 15-20 reps each arm


• Lying Rear Delt Raise
  3 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 dropset


• Upright Barbell Row
  3 sets of 10 reps


• Arnold Dumbbell Press
  3 sets of 10-12 reps


• Face Pull
  3 sets of 10-12 reps; 1 run-the-rack set to failure


• Straight Raises on Incline Bench
  3 sets of 10-12 reps


• External Rotation with Cable
  3 sets of 15-20 reps per arm; 1 dropset to failure

Abs & Calves

Alternate these two muscle groups every other day. Melody either incorporates them between sets for active rest or squeezes them in at the end of each workout.

• Ab Crunch Machine
  3 sets of 25-30 reps


• 
  

  Tri-Set

  
  


• Otis-Up with weighted medicine ball
  3 sets of 25-30 reps (minimal rest)


• Hanging Leg Raise
  3 sets of 25-30 reps (minimal rest)


• Bosu Ball Cable Crunch With Side Bends
  3 sets of 25-30 reps (minimal rest)

• 
  

  Triset

  
  


• Standing Calf Raises
  3 sets of 30 reps (or to failure)


• Seated Calf Raise
  3 sets of 30 reps (or to failure)


• Calf Press On The Leg Press Machine
  3 sets of 30 reps (or to failure)

Cardio

Melody keeps cardio to a minimum, especially in the off-season. She prefers to do 20-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions a few times per week. During contest prep, she’ll do 5-6 HIIT sessions a week for around 30-45 minutes each.

Melody believes that if your goal is to burn fat, HIIT is far more effective than steady-state, distance running, or cycling.

If cardio is in her workout plan for the day, she usually tacks it on at the end of her workout.

[ Melody Decena Wyatt Fitness 360 Main Page ]

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About The Author

Stephanie hails from California and has a degree in clinical nutrition from the University of California, Davis.

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Fitness 360: Melody Wyatt, Training