Bikini Competition Prep Diet And Workout Plan

Pre-competition nutrition programs help people lose fat while maintaining muscle. The details of the meal plans depend on the division the person is competing in. Knowing the differences between the divisions can help you better prepare your client for a successful experience!

Selecting the Appropriate Division

When a woman wants to compete on stage, the first thing she needs to do is decide which division to compete in. This decision determines how lean and muscular she needs to be. It's important for the trainer to be honest about what the client's preferences, lifestyle, and dedication to nutrition will be. The trainer's job is to explain the different categories and how they differ.

FIGURE

• Tight, defined look.
• Focus is on a V-taper: wide shoulders, defined deltoid caps, tiny waist, lean legs and round glutes.
• Moderate amount of muscle with little amount of striations.
• Structured mandatory poses to highlight V-taper.

WOMEN’S PHYSIQUE

• Extremely tight and defined more muscular look.
• Focus is on a V-taper: wide shoulders, defined deltoid caps, tiny waist, lean legs and round glutes.
• Large amount of muscle with some muscular striations.
• Structured mandatory poses to highlight both V- taper and muscle definition.
• Bodybuilding posing routine.

WOMEN’S BODYBUILDING

• Most extreme tight and defined muscular look.
• Focus is on a V-taper: wide shoulder, defined deltoid caps, tiny waist, lean legs and round glutes.
• The most extreme muscle development with as much muscular striation as possible.
• Structured mandatory poses to highlight muscle definition.
• Bodybuilding posing routine.

The 12-Week “Cutting” Process

The client starts counting calories and tracking macronutrients twelve weeks before a competition, as well as cutting out processed foods, “junk foods” that are high in calories but have no nutritional value, and simple sugars (a limited amount of fruit sugars is allowed).

If the individual only eats three square meals a day, it is recommended that they ease into the habit of eating six small meals a day instead. Each of these meals should include quality sources of lean protein, fats and carbohydrates. Furthermore, it is also important for them to consume approximately a gallon of water each day. According to the Ultimate Bodybuilding Guide, if an individual is serious about weightlifting, they can expect to lose one pound of muscle for every three pounds of body fat. However, if they have enough time to diet, this will help prevent any muscle loss associated with crash dieting in order to lose a significant amount of body fat.

When transitioning to a contest prep diet, women should drop 500 to 750 calories from their regular or bulking diet, according to Chantal Vella and Len Kravitz of the University of New Mexico. This is because women tend to have lower resting metabolic rates than men, which means a female competitor’s calorie intake must be low enough to allow for fat loss, but not so low that hard-earned muscle gets sacrificed.

If you're not losing fat consistently, you may have to reduce your calorie intake even further. On the other hand, if you're losing weight along with muscle mass and strength, that's a sign that you should slightly increase your calorie intake.

This text is discussing how much protein figure athletes and bodybuilders should consume. Figure athletes should consume around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily, whereas bodybuilders should aim for 1.2-1.4 grams. Mitchell also recommends cutting down on starchy carbs and eating more eggs and red meat, saving the majority of carbs for immediate post-workout.

The average woman carries around 25-30% body fat, but this percentage increases with age, reaching 30-35% in older women.

Having a body fat percentage that is as low as that of a figure model or bodybuilder is extremely difficult and goes against what our bodies are naturally inclined to do. This is because the amount of training and the limited food intake required to achieve these results is very stressful. Therefore, it is crucial that whoever is training someone to try to reach these levels understands how to properly deal with this type of negative energy balance.

The Fat Loss Game

The client's diet should always be the first thing to be changed before increasing cardio, and the changes should be done slowly and gradually. Once the cardio sessions reach 45-60 minutes, another session should be added if necessary. The only times when cardio should be increased are if the client either stops losing fat for at least 2 weeks without changing anything else, or if she has been consistently dropping calories by 100-200 for 1-2 weeks and still has not seen a reduction in % body fat.

The Role of Macronutrients

Protein helps to preserve muscle when the body is in a hypocaloric state. Starting four weeks before competition day, protein intake should be increased by 40% in order to maintain muscle mass. If normal consumption is 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day, many bodybuilder competitors increase to 1.4 grams while keeping 20-30 grams of fat in their diet. Figure athletes can remain at a daily intake of 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.

There are many options for carbohydrate cycling. The most efficient and least depriving option is to have higher carbohydrate intake on some days and very restricted intake on other days.

such a cycle can be an effective means of staving off a fat-loss plateau for a short time period by taking advantage of insulin to stave off or prevent a catabolic state without fat storage while maintaining productive workouts with minimum strength loss.

Refeeding

A refeed, which is a plan to increase carbs and decrease dietary fat, is done in order to boost the actions of the hormone leptin. leptin is effective in burning fat, so clients can refeed once to twice per week, depending on body type and personal preference. The best time to do a refeed is the night before a very heavy workout.

Always lean on your client's knowledge of her own body to decide how often she can have a surge of calories and carbohydrates without stalling fat loss. much is determined by one’s body type. If a client claims to be overly sensitive to carbohydrates and tend to store fat easily, suggest she keep this number equal in grams to her protein intake. Thin-framed athletes with a fast metabolism, often referred to as hard-gainers, may choose to add more carbs to the diet.

Attaining the % Body Fat Loss

If you want to minimize muscle loss while preparing for a competition, you should adjust your diet so that you lose 0.5 to 1% of your body fat per week. For example, if you weigh 110 pounds, you should aim to lose 0.55 to 1.1 pounds per week.

In the later stages of contest prep, it may be beneficial to reduce your caloric intake slightly, to about 0.5% of your body weight per week. This will help minimize muscle loss, which becomes a greater risk as you get closer to competition. Studies of natural bodybuilders have shown that those who averaged a rate of loss of 0.5% of their body weight per week retained more muscle during contest prep than those who were trying to lose 1.0% or more per week.

Dieting at a slower rate will allow a competitor to consume more calories, which will lead to better performance in the gym. By maintaining training intensity and volume, the competitor will retain more muscle mass.

Understanding Sodium/Hydration Cycling

The science behind such manipulation has to do with how cells pump up-regulation continues even after sodium has been depleted. This helps the body's ability to get rid of subcutaneous water without it happening too quickly or unsustainable, which could ruin an athlete's peak on game day.

At four weeks before a competition, have your client start avoiding all condiments and seasonings except for those that are salt-free (such as fresh/dried herbs or Mrs. Dash seasonings). The following week, eggs and dairy also need to be removed from the meal plan, as both of these food groups tend to have higher sodium levels. Sodium cycling should start at 14 days before the show and continue until the final day(s).

When sodium intake is significantly reduced or stopped altogether for a period of time, the body will continue to expel it through urine. This is because the body was overloaded with sodium in the days prior and is now trying to achieve equilibrium again. The process usually happens quickly and without any harmful side effects.

Similarly to sodium manipulation, if a competition is to be held on a Saturday, peak consumption of water begins on the Friday 8 days prior, with gradual decreases on Thursday and Friday of competition week. By discontinuing all drinking at least 8-10 hours prior to stepping on stage, the body will continue excreting water.

Starting Prep 6 months early

In January of this year, my weight fluctuated between 110-115lbs, which was still great! I think that is the ideal weight for my frame.

I was thinking that I should do another bikini show. I thought I could bring a better physique than I had in my last show. On my last show day, I had too much food and water in my stomach to keep my waist tight, and I wanted another chance.

I originally planned to do a show in March in Utah, and I figured that 8 weeks would be an appropriate amount of time to get ready.

that I was probably consuming According to my new calculations, I was actually eating 1800-1900 calories! I started to weigh and measure my food more accurately to find out that I was actually consuming 1800-1900 calories, instead of the 1500 calories that I had believed.

I started seeing results once I accurately tracked my daily calorie intake.

This coach, who I had hired to support me, told me I couldn't compete in an upcoming show just 4 weeks before it was supposed to happen. I was surprised and disappointed. I had already put in 4 weeks of work leading up to the show.

I decided to sign up for an out of town competition without a coach.

From March to June, I didn't have anyone to check in with, ask questions, show my progress pictures to, or help with posing and logistics on show day. However, I didn't think it mattered too much because I'm an amateur and not an elite IFBB competitor.

I was happy that I decided to go by myself! It was a big relief not having to spend money on a coach and not feeling the pressure to perform well.

My friend told me she was doing a show in Sacramento and I should join her. I signed up and got a hotel. Spending money motivated me to give it my all.

My Bikini prep diet

I largely eat the same foods over the past 2 years, with some more flexibility at certain points. I like the food on my plan and see no need to change it.

For my height and weight, I’ve been staying between 1400-1500 calories, 125 g carbs, 150 g protein, and 30 g fat. My meals consistently looked like this:

• Egg whites and oatmeal with fruit
• Chicken on a green salad or with a side of sweet potatoes
• Protein ice cream, shake, or protein bar
• Ground Turkey, rice, and veggies