Maryann is an online training and nutrition client and bikini competitor located in Virginia that contacted me to help her prepare for an upcoming competition. She was a seasoned competitor with five years of competition experience, and had earned her ANBF Bikini Masters Pro Card. When we began working together, she had about 14 weeks to prepare for her upcoming show.
Taking feedback from the judges, Maryann wanted to come in with a fuller look on stage which is a combination of both workouts and eating to support that look. Her last prep had been lower on carbs which can contribute to a flatter look. I created a workout program for Maryann based on these goals, and included weak point training for her hamstrings, glutes and shoulders which are areas the judges look for in bikini competitors.
Maryann’s workouts consisted of a 4 day split with two upper body and two lower body focused days. We focused on lifting as heavy as possible to retain the muscle that she currently had while dieting down. Since the goal was to come in with a stronger and tighter body than her last shows, it was important to keep cardio to a minimum and carbs as high as possible to avoid a flat, stringy look on stage.
Maryann wasn’t too far from stage weight since she keeps her goals in mind year-round, but she was interested in following a macro-based approach to her prep instead of a standard food plan. I worked with Maryann on learning how to fit meals together to meet her macro goals as well as to keep volume higher to avoid hunger that can happen during contest prep.
She initially provided me a list of foods that she enjoyed eating, and I put together a few days of sample meals that met her calorie and macro goals. She used this as a starting point as she learned, and began substituting similar foods as her knowledge grew. As a result she saw steady weight loss, and we didn’t have to add a lot of cardio to keep the scale moving.
When peak week arrived, I provided a detailed plan for Maryann to follow, and she sent me daily weights and progress pictures that week so I could make adjustments if needed. As a result of her hard work, Maryann had a 5th place finish in a very tough Bikini Open Class against ladies quite a bit younger. For those who don’t know – If you are over 35, you can choose to compete in Open which is all ages or in Masters which is 35+.
She did a spot on job in prep and in her stage routine. I was able to have friends in the audience to take a few pics, and I loved the sass and confidence she showed on stage. I’m so proud of her hard work and all that she accomplished with her well deserved placing. Competing isn’t something to take lightly, and your health is the most important factor in the process.
Choose a coach that puts your health first over extreme measures to get you ready. You can read more about me and my journey or see what other clients have to say. If you’re interested in competing or want to work on your own transformation, let me know at adrianne@GrowthStimulusTraining.com and we can talk about your goals.