Advice to Prepare for a Bikini Bodybuilding Competition

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Frequently_Fabulous
Frequently_Fabulous Posts: 132 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just completed by first bikini bodybuilding debut!! Here is my two cents for everything you wanted to know (and some things you didn't) about my experience preparing for the big event. :) I hope it helps some other aspiring contestants!

A Smart Girl's Guide to Bluffing Your Way through a Bikini Competition

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  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    Good read. I've always been curious about that. I would love to try it one day but I have tooo many stretch marks :(
  • Frequently_Fabulous
    Frequently_Fabulous Posts: 132 Member
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    Giiiiirl, Join the club! I have so many stretch marks. So many!!! Hips boobs arms...the marks are covered up pretty well with the tanner but up close you could still see them quite easily. literally tho- every single girl has stretch marks. Don't let it stop you if you really want to compete! :)
  • pat_costin
    pat_costin Posts: 2 Member
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    Excellent write-up! I've only done one physique competition, and only had 2 weeks to prepare, so I learned most of what you posted backstage the day of the competition. It definitely is an interesting sport.
  • noclady1995
    noclady1995 Posts: 452 Member
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    That was a great read!! Thank you for sharing!
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    Interesting! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the good info! My friend is starting her prep right now so I'll pass on the info to her.
  • maryliscious
    maryliscious Posts: 25 Member
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    Thanks for the read. A few questions for you. Do people not shave? I don't have the balls to wax. Does everyone wear makeup? Is it necessary? Are there a lot of people with stretch marks and lose skin? I know I have a long way to go before I get anywhere close to doing any competition. Thanks for any answers.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    Thanks for sharing :) I had a look at your pics, and you look amazing!

    Your routine is a little different from what a lot of people here do - you did about an hour of cardio most days, and for strength, 3 sets of 10 on the machines, at lower weights than a lot of people report. And your results are great. I find that interesting!

    Questions about food - what was your calorie target? (and what's your height?)

    Congrats on competing, what an experience it must have been!
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    maryliscious wrote: »
    Thanks for the read. A few questions for you. Do people not shave? I don't have the balls to wax. Does everyone wear makeup? Is it necessary? Are there a lot of people with stretch marks and lose skin? I know I have a long way to go before I get anywhere close to doing any competition. Thanks for any answers.

    I shave everywhere for comps, as I normally do more than 1. You'd have too much regrowth if you waxed doing comps over 3-4 weeks and you wouldn't be able to wax in between. Shaving is better I think as you don't open the pores, tan doesn't get in and potentially cause issues.

    Makeup is necessary - you're on stage with bright lights. You'd have no features if you didn't accentuate with makeup. Full on drag queen stage makeup with false eyelashes.

    Stretch marks, yes most people have those. Loose skin, hopefully not so much - you can hide some loose skin on your belly by having a properly cut suit.

    OP - I'd suggest doing IIFYM. There's no reason to cut out all those foods and restrict yourself to such a small variety. It can cause issues with digestion, intolerances, nutrient deficiencies, boredom (and potential post comp binging).
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,668 Member
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    Great write up. Lots of info that many don't know about Bikini, Fitness , Figure contests. I've personally competed and know the steps and preps one has to do to be ready to step on stage. It's a lot of damn work. For practically nothing but personal satisfaction. Kudos to you. Especially from where you started from.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Frequently_Fabulous
    Frequently_Fabulous Posts: 132 Member
    edited April 2015
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    Your routine is a little different from what a lot of people here do - you did about an hour of cardio most days, and for strength, 3 sets of 10 on the machines, at lower weights than a lot of people report. And your results are great. I find that interesting!

    Questions about food - what was your calorie target? (and what's your height?)

    I think if you're thinner to start out with- muscle building is the name of the game. I have always been a "big" girl and I've got a good bit of running under my belt (including a half marathon) so for me, weight loss and getting rid of subcutaneous fat to show the muscle I already had was my game plan (hence all the cardio). I agree that if I ever wanted to do figure, I would need to bulk up and focus a lot more of strength training over cardio.

    I am 5'7". I tried to eat between 1300-1900 calories a day. Again- two schools of thought with eating I think. Go very low carb to put yourself in ketogenesis for weeks (which is great for fat burning) Or do lower calorie with significantly more carbs (which has worked for me in the past and I greatly prefer it!).

    IIFYM does sound like the best option for most people! I like the monotony of clean eating because I am an all-or-nothing chick ( one cookie has a tendency to turn into 10 with me) but I agree, the contest diet is lacking in essential stuff for the long term! I was especially concerned w my calcium intake bc of the lack of dairy- I took calcium/vit D suppliments and a multivitamin to help alleviate that. And I'm glad to be eating more variety nowadays! :)
  • Frequently_Fabulous
    Frequently_Fabulous Posts: 132 Member
    edited April 2015
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    maryliscious wrote: »
    Thanks for the read. A few questions for you. Do people not shave? I don't have the balls to wax. Does everyone wear makeup? Is it necessary? Are there a lot of people with stretch marks and lose skin? I know I have a long way to go before I get anywhere close to doing any competition. Thanks for any answers.

    I agree w the above advice- waxing or shaving is a must. I actually stopped shaving everywhere about 2 years ago (down with "the man" and patriarchal standards of beauty!!! Lol) , so the thought of tackling all the body hair myself w a razor sounded like a lot of work. It was easier just to yank all that out. Also I do get horrible irritation if I shave my bikini area (which happened w the wax anyway so phooey on that)

    Yes, everyone wears make up. So much makeup. As was previously said, I looked like a drag queen. That is very accurate haha.

    I have soooo many stretch marks. The tan helps cover them and I brought up my insecurities about seeing them on stage to two different make- up artists- who said- hmm? What? Oh, huh yeah I guess you do have quite a bit!! I didn't even notice (and I'm pretty sure they were being honest)

    Posing and finding good angles really helps with the loose skin issue- essentially the same angular posing you do to take a really cute duck face selfie- just with you hips, arms, and legs too, lol! I would never, for instance, touch my toes in a competition (loose skin and fat rolls over the stomach abound!) but reaching overhead like in my profile picture makes my stomach look way more lean and cut. I hope you give competing a try one day- it was crazy fun and bizarre, haha!
  • maryliscious
    maryliscious Posts: 25 Member
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    Thanks to both of y'all for answering my questions. I hope to do it one day. I could suck up wearing makeup :)
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    maryliscious wrote: »
    Thanks to both of y'all for answering my questions. I hope to do it one day. I could suck up wearing makeup :)

    Don't put it off because "you're not ready".... Many people do this, when in reality you aren't ever perfect or ready, and you just need to start! If you decide to do more after your first, you aim to improve on your previous comp, so you're constantly a work in progress
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    down_w_the_man wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Your routine is a little different from what a lot of people here do - you did about an hour of cardio most days, and for strength, 3 sets of 10 on the machines, at lower weights than a lot of people report. And your results are great. I find that interesting!

    Questions about food - what was your calorie target? (and what's your height?)

    I think if you're thinner to start out with- muscle building is the name of the game. I have always been a "big" girl and I've got a good bit of running under my belt (including a half marathon) so for me, weight loss and getting rid of subcutaneous fat to show the muscle I already had was my game plan (hence all the cardio). I agree that if I ever wanted to do figure, I would need to bulk up and focus a lot more of strength training over cardio.
    down_w_the_man wrote: »
    I am 5'7". I tried to eat between 1300-1900 calories a day. Again- two schools of thought with eating I think. Go very low carb to put yourself in ketogenesis for weeks (which is great for fat burning) Or do lower calorie with significantly more carbs (which has worked for me in the past and I greatly prefer it!).

    Aha, gotcha! Yeah, it makes sense that different people will respond differently to different approaches, . So you more or less did a cut, to show the lean mass you had, and trained for hypertrophy to pump up your muscles, that makes sense too. Thank you for your answer :)
  • maryliscious
    maryliscious Posts: 25 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    maryliscious wrote: »
    Thanks to both of y'all for answering my questions. I hope to do it one day. I could suck up wearing makeup :)

    Don't put it off because "you're not ready".... Many people do this, when in reality you aren't ever perfect or ready, and you just need to start! If you decide to do more after your first, you aim to improve on your previous comp, so you're constantly a work in progress

    You're so right. I still have weight to lose, which is taking it's sweet time. It's slower than molasses lol. I also have a marathon on I'll be doing next year. So, I won't put it off. I'll start researching more into it while I'm working on one goal. Thanks :smile:

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