Bodybuilding Bikini Competition Prep Phase 3- 12 Weeks Out!

12 WEEKS OUT: CUTTING/POSING

I don’t have measurements for this new picture, just my body fat which was now down around 13-15%:)) I stayed around 135lbs for a few weeks here as well.

So as you can see, I got my suit and shoesss!! The biggest transition here is diet. Depending on how you have been eating, you should really start cutting out all sugars and begin transitioning to more complex carbs (sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal) and whole foods. You don’t want to lower your calories too much but you can begin by lessening them a little more each week. I began lessening my fat intake slightly at this time as well. My intake here was around 1600-1800 cal/day with a 50/30/20 ratio profile. I began to play with carb cycling about now which is basically a way to “trick” your body into using up stored fat for energy instead of relying on carbohydrates. You manipulate them based on your training schedule, so on your intense heavy leg days your carb intake will be higher than on say just an upper body lifting day. I tried to cycle with this pattern LOW/HIGH/LOW/MOD/HIGH/LOW/NO for MON/TUES/WED/THURS/FRI/SAT/SUN. Sunday is my rest day so I stick with green leafy vegetables only for carbs. I also switched up our training program for the next four weeks by keeping a heavy lift or two with low reps first followed by higher reps of 8-12 for accessory exercises. I kept my cardio pretty much where it was, just making sure I got in at least 2 or 3 good sweat sessions a week.

Now is when you should really start practicing your posing. I was so blessed to found a an amazing couple who hold free classes every other week at a gym in the next town, so that’s where I begun. Big thanks to Dan and Carla Summers!! Holy crap, posing is hard. I really had no idea how difficult it was to make all the right muscles pop in a way that still looks somewhat sexy. After my first day I was so sore all over the next day! The most important thing to remember about posing is that each person is unique. Everyone has something different they want to look to accentuate, whether that be your legs, abs or shoulders, find the poses that work best for YOUR body. At first I was very caught up on making my pose “perfect” watching a ton of different videos and trying to emulate them (which is a great place to start) but then I began adding in some of my own personality and slightly altering the pose to make it work for me. Again, I can’t stress enough the importance of practicing. When you’re brushing your teeth, hit your pose, as you’re getting dressed in the morning, hit it a few times, and at LEAST once a week at this point be spending an hour or so going through all the turns. This is where a coach or training partner really comes in handy. I also suggest filming yourself and taking pictures so you can see where you need to improve and can look back on it.