Thanks to Instagram stars like Paige Hathaway and Michelle Lewin the Competitive fitness industry is blowing up! Their commitment to sculpt their bodies are inspiring women around the world to set the goal of one day stepping on the stage as a fitness competitor in the bikini division.
I find that this community still isn't universally understood or accepted. I'm here to reveal some of the thing that go on behind the scenes and hopefully shed light on one peculiar and wonderful sport of bodybuilding.
As a former bikini fitness competitor, I feel I have to share the hilariously strange bodybuilding practices I took part in to earn a Medal, which sits awkwardly on my desk at home.
1 -Your spray tan comes in layers.
Some girls got away with applying just three layers of spray tans, I’m already olive skinned, I still went through the same process. Even though most of us come out looking like and entirely different race, the purpose of these tans are to make the muscles POP.
2 - You pee in a cup for a day.
Yeah…. I really did! To avoid ruining your spray tan, most coaches recommend that you pee in a cup. The metal sanitary boxes, garbage cans and stall floors in every ladies restroom at the show’s venue were filled with used plastic cups and we all knew where those cups had been…
3 - Your suit is literally glued to your butt, boobs and crotch.
This one surprised me. The purpose here is to make sure the necessary body parts remain covered as you move through your poses in a suit that was made to show as much skin as possible.
4 - A “good” suit can cost anywhere from $350-$1,000.
(This is one that i made)
Which is insane! Luckiliy I came from a Fashion design background and I could tell they were being seriously over priced. I made my bikini and added Swarovski Crystal, but it’s not unheard of to spend up to $1,000 on a custom show bikini.
5 - Certain muscles are trained to help you properly display your rear.
The ideal rear pose has you sticking your butt out just enough to make sure it looks its absolute best, while also keeping your back upright enough to make sure the pose is ‘family-friendly’.
6 - You eat zero calorie “food.”
You literally become obsessed with finding the lowest calorie snack and food. Zero calorie food actually exists, although you can usually expect a funky after taste.
7 - You eat 5-6 a day.
The six meals a competitor eats each day might sound like a lot, but when you consider the portion sizes and the fact that competitors work out upwards of two hours per day, six meals can and will definitely leave a competitor hungry between each scheduled mealtime. Veggies are the one item coaches will allow their clients to eat on end. My competitor friends and I would eat bags of veggies at a time to stay full between meals.
8 - You dehydrate yourself.
Sounds bad, but it is only for a day. Most coaches recommend that you take natural diuretics (commonly called water tablets) several days before your show to drop water weight. These tablets work by helping your kidneys push more sodium into your urine. The sodium then takes water from your blood which helps you lose the salt and water that appears as excess weight on your body.
9 - You get oiled up with cooking oil.
When I came back stage from the toilet (using the cup), I could barely see or breathe, I think that the oil spraying was over done. When you see a bodybuilder on stage, you might assume they smell of the coconut tanning oil… that’s because it is.
10 - You eat an insane amount of carbs the final two days.
For the final month, a bikini competitor’s carbs will be restricted as much as possible. This is why all competitors look forward to the glorious day they get to start carb loading. Although it sounds counter intuitive, increasing your carb intake right before your show helps you fill out your muscles to make sure they “pop” on stage.
11 - You go ham on the post-show binge.
All competitors go a little crazy on their first meal after the show has come to an end. I went wild, like a wild animal with its eyes on prey (chocolate filled doughnuts!) everything I ate was AMAZING too good to the point where you’ve eaten so much you can barely breathe. My friends who had been deprived of a cheat meal for several months took their binge to a much higher level, scarfing down Cinnamon Toast Crunch with whole milk, icing and tons of cream cheese, followed by waffles made from doughnuts and stuffed with Reese’s peanut butter cups.
However, before you decide to embark on a competitive fitness journey yourself, I recommend that you do some research, be honest with yourself about why you want to do it and what you hope to get out of it, and take crucial steps to be safe throughout. Other than that, expect these bizarre truths to become a part of your reality. You will make amazing friends, who will become a part of your fitness family.
Thats some real determination you need.
And some sneaky tricks.
Looking forward to more stories.
Thank you! Yes, it its ALOT of hard work you have to put in. I think alot of people assume this 'bikini' category is easy because ' all you need to be is slim with a breast enhancement' haha... but they HAVE muscle on their tiny bodies :)
Thank you for reading:)
nice post, and thanks for sharing a bit of the less "glamorous" side of the business!
It's always interesting to see stories of what people truly must go through to keep up the "illusion" in competitions such as these.
That carb-binge bit was interesting as well, not to mention the cups lining the bathroom floors! lol
Haha! Its honestly a crazy world, before i started getting into it, i assumed it would be soo glamorous. instead you are surrounded by lots of hangry girls, and some very angry girls who have managed to piss away their tan in thee most noticeable areas :')
Very interesting information. I can't believe I already knew about the gluing of suits but the rest is new info, really cool post, thanks for sharing.
How did you know about the gluing thing? I was looking at my friend like she was crazy haha.. but its a fun wonderful world that challenges you to bring the best you :) thanks for reading.
I think it was through something else similar where people are competing in outfits that are nearly not there. I think it would probably be cosplay I knew this information from where depending on outfits they have to do the same thing, literally just glue the outfit to you. I believe a lot of female pop stars do this too with their huge performances where basically they are wearing strips of cloth perfectly placed on spots over their body lol.
Hahaaa you are right, that would make sense!
Awesome personal experience piece. By far the strangest part of the whole contest prep was the issue of peeing in a cup to keep the spray tan from getting messed up.
Upvoted and Resteemed. Shared on Facebook and Twitter.
Haha, thank you! its a weird and wonderful world :)
really interseting post, i must say the only thing i think i have heard of, is the carbloading the last day, to make the muscles pop. fun to know some more now :)
for how long did you practice fitness?
followed you for more posts :)
I started my fitness journey a year and a half ago, and Boy was it a ride! i had literally never touched weights before that. I'm glad you are following, i have followed back :) i have many more stories up my sleeve lol thank you :)
Thanks @loisdove for sharing the behind (no pun intended) scene's of fitness competitions.
I don't miss carb depleting.
Upvoted and following you.
Haha thank you for reading :)
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WOW, thanks for a look inside what you go through for this competition!
Awesome post!! Followed you!!
Followed back! i'm glad you liked it :)
Love this! Very impressive too. I certainly don't have the willpower but it's still so interesting to see the ins and outs of it. Following!
Thank you for reading! It definitely takes ALOT of dedication :)
hey there....notice how you do so much better when your blog is about you! People want you...just a thought. Not that you need any help or ideas from moi.
Your tips are always welcomed, Thank you :)
you are doing awesome I see....congrats
no fair ...you cheated ...you put beautiful woman in swimsuits on you blog :-)
Hahah! .... ;) ;)
Look like wonder women