How to "cut" for a bikini competitor physique
kirstengeffen
Posts: 103 Member
Hi There!
So my question is with regards to "cutting" I'm going to be doing a 12 week challenge...
My question is; what should I be doing to reach the ultimate bikini competitor physique at the end of 12 weeks.
I'm not overweight to start... but I'm assuming the first 8 weeks should be a clean diet; 6 meals a day...
Eg
Breakfast: oats with a serving protein
Snack: chicken, brown rice an apple
Lunch: chicken, brown rice and brocolli
Snack: chicken and avo
Dinner: chicken, avo and brocolli.
My workouts will be:
5 days a week cardio ranging between 1 and 2 hours a day. And 5 days a week strength training focusing on all muscle groups.
My question is; what should change at around week 8 to week 12??
And as for supplements??
I'll be taking phedra cut (thermogenic fat burner) cla pills, anything else I should be including??
Any other tips on how to maximise results in the 12 weeks?
So my question is with regards to "cutting" I'm going to be doing a 12 week challenge...
My question is; what should I be doing to reach the ultimate bikini competitor physique at the end of 12 weeks.
I'm not overweight to start... but I'm assuming the first 8 weeks should be a clean diet; 6 meals a day...
Eg
Breakfast: oats with a serving protein
Snack: chicken, brown rice an apple
Lunch: chicken, brown rice and brocolli
Snack: chicken and avo
Dinner: chicken, avo and brocolli.
My workouts will be:
5 days a week cardio ranging between 1 and 2 hours a day. And 5 days a week strength training focusing on all muscle groups.
My question is; what should change at around week 8 to week 12??
And as for supplements??
I'll be taking phedra cut (thermogenic fat burner) cla pills, anything else I should be including??
Any other tips on how to maximise results in the 12 weeks?
0
Replies
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You are going to eat 4 serving of chicken per day for 12 weeks in a row ? You must really love chicken!1
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Hire a coach that preps girls for competition. My advice is that you will not get the results you are looking for by just winging it on your own.5
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You are going to eat 4 serving of chicken per day for 12 weeks in a row ? You must really love chicken!
That is week 1 to 4 basically... but until week 8 macros remain the same-ish albeit the diet changing.
I'm asking for advice as I'm new to this.... not really sarcastic comments.
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findingkirst wrote: »You are going to eat 4 serving of chicken per day for 12 weeks in a row ? You must really love chicken!
That is week 1 to 4 basically... but until week 8 macros remain the same-ish albeit the diet changing.
I'm asking for advice as I'm new to this.... not really sarcastic comments.
I think that was more of a light-hearted way of pointing out that you are really planning on eating a lot of chicken. Is that because you love chicken? Or is it because you think that's the best protein source for a cut?1 -
rainbowbow wrote: »Hire a coach that preps girls for competition. My advice is that you will not get the results you are looking for by just winging it on your own.
This. So very much this1 -
I've never competed in a bikini competition so i don't have the experience to pass on.
Firstly, get used to the sarcasm, you'll find most replies tend to be on here with a little advice thrown in.
I have to agree though that does seem like a lot of chicken daily, think of that consumption over the week and then over 4. I know I would be struggling after a couple weeks eating like that, try adding some fish or lean beef for variety. If you think you have the will power try it but many who diet this way tend to get so sick and blow out weeks later because they are so bored of the same meals.
Your first question, 12 weeks probably isn't enough time to achieve this. Three months is a very short space of time when it comes to training especially if you don't have a significant amount of muscle mass before a cut, eating at deficit you'll be strength training to maintain the muscle mass you have not gain more.
Week 8 - 12 re-evaluate, you may be on course for your goal and require no changes. Advice to seek a coach would be best idea, but on a budget and with solid determination and a willingness to research online you can achieve it without one.
I can't advise on supplements either, don't support the use of them. I'm sure there are lots of people on here that could help with that though. Just make sure your hitting your daily macros and micros and you'll be on the right track.2 -
You will not look like a competitor in 12 weeks. You first need to spend years building the muscle base that those ladies have.7
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I would highly recommend checking out some of the plans on bodybuilding.com - they have everything you are looking for - food plan, supplementation and workouts. The plans are free and most are printable too.2
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You will not look like a competitor in 12 weeks. You first need to spend years building the muscle base that those ladies have.
that depends on how good you want to look for your first competition.
More and more i'm seeing girls compete in bikini that are simply lean-as-all-hell without having any real muscle mass. It's like the thing to do once you've lost weight, because you "deserve" it, and you're "only competing against yourself", and "it's a visual representation of all my hard work", etc. etc. If you're one of these people, yeah, it just requires some serious dieting/carb manipulating/water draining/tanning/bikini wearing and it's like a fashion show.
Now, if you want to be a serious competitor or rival physiques of the top women in even the bikini class (which is the softest class of bb), it takes MINIMUM 3-4 years of lifting and building out certain areas, working on hypertophy and symmetry, etc.
Here's a good visual example of the range i've seen in the bikini class....
to the astounding Mrs. Kaltwasser
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rainbowbow wrote: »Hire a coach that preps girls for competition. My advice is that you will not get the results you are looking for by just winging it on your own.
I think that this is the best advice. Cutting for competition* is not simply about getting lower body fat. Competitors control and time their carbohydrate intake to hydrate (and therefore pump) the muscles prior to the show. Exercise types and the various timings of these also seem to be tailored to achieve peak performance and therefore condition on the day of the show.
Comp Prep Coaches make it sound very complex (on purpose I suspect) but I do think that there is a lot more to it than just "cutting" to remove body fat.
* Note: I do not speak from experience. This is just what I have observed from reading up on the subject and following various prep coaches and male and female competitors on social media - not exactly science I agree but nevertheless they all seem to have days of relatively "clean" eating with a low carb element and days where they are "banging in the carbs left right and centre".1 -
StealthHealth wrote: »rainbowbow wrote: »Hire a coach that preps girls for competition. My advice is that you will not get the results you are looking for by just winging it on your own.
I think that this is the best advice. Cutting for competition* is not simply about getting lower body fat. Competitors control and time their carbohydrate intake to hydrate (and therefore pump) the muscles prior to the show. Exercise types and the various timings of these also seem to be tailored to achieve peak performance and therefore condition on the day of the show.
Comp Prep Coaches make it sound very complex (on purpose I suspect) but I do think that there is a lot more to it than just "cutting" to remove body fat.
* Note: I do not speak from experience. This is just what I have observed from reading up on the subject and following various prep coaches and male and female competitors on social media - not exactly science I agree but nevertheless they all seem to have days of relatively "clean" eating with a low carb element and days where they are "banging in the carbs left right and centre".
not to mention they have to train in a specific style, change things as they get closer to their competition date, you need coaching in posing (which, IMO even if you have the best physique out there if your posing is *kitten* it doesn't matter), it's a whole process.
I'm not saying this to discourage OP, but just saying, it's a little more complicated than eating chicken breast 4 times a day.
4 -
To get a feel for the whole thing I would suggest you pick a few competitors to follow on Instagram and when they mention their prep coach (which they invariably do) follow them also.
I follow https://www.instagram.com/francisdiet/ who is a UK based Prep Coach and often posts details about his trainees with little snips of information about his methods.1 -
Are you actually going to do a bikini competition, or you just want to prep like one?
One thing I will say regardless, is that it is totally possible to prep while using a more flexible diet. It doesn't have to be chicken for every meal.
And keep in mind that stage bodies are just that. After competition it is typical to reverse diet and put some weight back on, it's not a healthy goal to try to look like that all the time.3 -
findingkirst wrote: »Hi There!
So my question is with regards to "cutting" I'm going to be doing a 12 week challenge...
My question is; what should I be doing to reach the ultimate bikini competitor physique at the end of 12 weeks.
I'm not overweight to start... but I'm assuming the first 8 weeks should be a clean diet; 6 meals a day...
Eg
Breakfast: oats with a serving protein
Snack: chicken, brown rice an apple
Lunch: chicken, brown rice and brocolli
Snack: chicken and avo
Dinner: chicken, avo and brocolli.
My workouts will be:
5 days a week cardio ranging between 1 and 2 hours a day. And 5 days a week strength training focusing on all muscle groups.
My question is; what should change at around week 8 to week 12??
And as for supplements??
I'll be taking phedra cut (thermogenic fat burner) cla pills, anything else I should be including??
Any other tips on how to maximise results in the 12 weeks?rainbowbow wrote: »You will not look like a competitor in 12 weeks. You first need to spend years building the muscle base that those ladies have.
that depends on how good you want to look for your first competition.
More and more i'm seeing girls compete in bikini that are simply lean-as-all-hell without having any real muscle mass. It's like the thing to do once you've lost weight, because you "deserve" it, and you're "only competing against yourself", and "it's a visual representation of all my hard work", etc. etc. If you're one of these people, yeah, it just requires some serious dieting/carb manipulating/water draining/tanning/bikini wearing and it's like a fashion show.
Now, if you want to be a serious competitor or rival physiques of the top women in even the bikini class (which is the softest class of bb), it takes MINIMUM 3-4 years of lifting and building out certain areas, working on hypertophy and symmetry, etc.
Here's a good visual example of the range i've seen in the bikini class....
to the astounding Mrs. Kaltwasser
Throwing a vote for #112 -
rainbowbow wrote: »More and more i'm seeing girls compete in bikini that are simply lean-as-all-hell without having any real muscle mass. It's like the thing to do once you've lost weight, because you "deserve" it, and you're "only competing against yourself", and "it's a visual representation of all my hard work", etc. etc. If you're one of these people, yeah, it just requires some serious dieting/carb manipulating/water draining/tanning/bikini wearing and it's like a fashion show.
Right. Women like that are not 'bikini competitors' as I think that is a huge slap in the face to women who actually train for years to be stage ready. Anyone can do a show but not everyone is a competitor.5 -
findingkirst wrote: »You are going to eat 4 serving of chicken per day for 12 weeks in a row ? You must really love chicken!
That is week 1 to 4 basically... but until week 8 macros remain the same-ish albeit the diet changing.
I'm asking for advice as I'm new to this.... not really sarcastic comments.
I am not trying to be sarcastic at all. I am trying to understand if you just love chicken and normally eat a lot of it, or if there is another reason for this kind of menu. Why not other sources of lean protein?2 -
I recommend you to check a girl on youtube called Heidi Somers, she has some vlogs on her journey to a competition show (her boyfriend was competing too) so she shows how she trains and the food that they eat. She’s amazingly sweet and they eat different stuff everyday.
She won the show she was preparing for by the way. Scroll through her videos and you’ll find them!2 -
Hi guys!
So, a little more info, I'm doing the usn 12 week body makeover challenge, and then depending how I look at the end of 12 weeks, there is a show 16 weeks away which I'm considering...
The reason for chicken; I got a meal plan and that is basically the meal for day 1 to 10. Then it changes day 11 to 21. Then changes every 10 days.....
I work until late at night so don't have too much time to prep food and I'm not too phased about eating boring foods as usually I'm so rushed during meal times its just to fuel me!0 -
hire a coach.
I have a good friend who is a bikini competitor and theres a lot more to it than eating chicken for weeks.1 -
callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »hire a coach.
I have a good friend who is a bikini competitor and theres a lot more to it than eating chicken for weeks.
As much as I'd like to hire a coach....
I see a personal trainer 3x per week. The food is really expensive. My gym membership costs a bomb. And I'm a student......
so for now I guess I'm going to have to kind of wing it
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findingkirst wrote: »callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »hire a coach.
I have a good friend who is a bikini competitor and theres a lot more to it than eating chicken for weeks.
As much as I'd like to hire a coach....
I see a personal trainer 3x per week. The food is really expensive. My gym membership costs a bomb. And I'm a student......
so for now I guess I'm going to have to kind of wing it
Have you looked into prices for competitions?
suit and shoes- several hundred
membership and show fees - depends what fed you go with
spray tan
hair/makeup/jewelry
Many people opt for posing lessons so they look like they know what they're doing on stage.
If you just want to get on stage, I guess that's one thing. If you want to do well or place, coaching and posing are a must for most first timers. (even pro's have coaches)
No offense, but if you are struggling with the costs of food and a gym membership, I I'm not sure competing will be for you. Perhaps it would be better to work on building a solid base for a few years and look into it when you are out of school and can afford it.6 -
Everyone here has given you great advise.
If I were you I would work on building a base and compete a few years down the line.
Body building is a sport. It should be treated like one. Its not a competition to see who can get the leanest. A competitor gets lean to show muscle.
I have been training for 3 years and while my upper body has come up nicely tho still quite small (lean muscular people tend to photograph big alone in a photos) my legs are lagging. When I cut the fat down to 13-15% I have no legs.
Bikini is looking for solid legs AWSOME GLUTES and a good ham glute tie in. If you are not in collegiate sports no matter how in shape you are on lean you are now. You just don't have this without being a genetic dream. It takes work. If you want to get on that stage do it, but only when you are stage ready. Go do the work.5 -
I say go for it. If your committed enough and do enough research online to not need a coach and put in the effort needed imagine how rewarding the feeling will be just to make it to the stage. Charge it!1
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I say go for it. If your committed enough and do enough research online to not need a coach and put in the effort needed imagine how rewarding the feeling will be just to make it to the stage. Charge it!
Agreed. I assume this is an amateur competition and you don't have your pro card. I don't think many, if any, amateurs have coaches.
Work hard, stay committed and have fun.1 -
Just thought I'd update everyone here. I posted this in April and September I competed and managed to place 5th in South Africa at IBFF. ♡6
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findingkirst wrote: »Just thought I'd update everyone here. I posted this in April and September I competed and managed to place 5th in South Africa at IBFF. ♡
Congrats!!!0
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