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Bikinis After Babies is the one and only podcast where real moms talk about their bodybuilding contest experiences. We are sharing the inside scoop, the nitty-gritty, the hardships and the victories as we navigate the rigors of competition prep while juggling family and careers. We’ll be joined by IFBB bikini pros who share their incredible stories of managing many responsibilities as athletes while defying stereotypes as women who compete in bikinis after babies!
Whether you’re a new mom thinking about stepping on stage for the first time, or a mom looking for inspo and insight on how to manage contest prep as a busy mom, this podcast offers helpful tips and inspiring stories for moms with big goals!!
Make sure to rate, subscribe, and leave us reviews on how much this podcast has helped you
Ready to embark on your fitness journey? We would love to help you reach any fitness goal from getting the baby weight off to crushing your competition goals! Click on this link to schedule a discovery call with one of our team members and learn how Momshell Method Fitness can provide you with the tools you need to be successful from customized nutrition plans, training programs, as well as motivation, accountability and support on your fitness journey! → Coaching by Momshell Method Fitness
Contact your hosts:
Mandy Rochon
Instagram: @ mandyrochonfitness
Facebook: @ Mandy Rochon
Gillian Hughes
Instagram: @ stl_momshell
Facebook: Gillian Hughes
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Mandy (00:00)
Hello everyone and welcome to Bikinis After Babies. I am excited for another episode just like every week, but this episode is even a little more emotional for me personally. I am of course one of your hosts, Mandy Rashaun, here with your other beautiful blonde host.
Gillian (00:18)
Hello everybody and hello Mandy. I'm Jillian Hughes and I'm so excited for today's episode. Thank you for tuning in. Today we are going to be talking about all things peak week because our girl Mandy is now inside of peak week from her first show of the 2024 season and we are so excited. I cannot wait to see you up on that stage this weekend. So tell us how you're feeling.
Mandy (00:21)
you
Yeah.
I am so excited. I'm just so in my feelings. It's crazy. So leading up to peak week, I will say like over this last weekend, I was like, I don't know. I wanna say emotional. And when I say emotional, I mean like a little bit of everything. I almost like wanna compare it to like a pregnancy, right? You're like happy one minute and then all of a sudden you're kind of snippy and then you're a little sleepy. So I think...
It's just the excitement, it's the nerves. Rather you're nervous because it's your first time or you're nervous because you're trying to go for your pro card or you're nervous because you're like, you put all your effort and like me, like I wanna win an overall, I wanna come, like win my classes, like I put my all into this, right? And so like, I'm just excited. I'm so, so excited. And on top of that, so many people have like reached out to me and have just been like,
Good luck girl, and just all the nice things from my gym friends to my family. So I'm just like, I get a little teary eyed.
Gillian (01:49)
I know, I know we've had some like really good little chats over text. Like we pretty much like check in on each other every single morning. Like you're one of the first people I text when I wake up and you know, like Friday was like your last like really big heavy leg day. I'm like, how's your last Friday workout going? And you know, just, it's like when you're.
Mandy (01:56)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (02:08)
you've been working at this for so long and then the show days right around the corner, it's like normal to have all the feels and I feel like you've picked like a really big exciting show for your first one. Like this is a there's a lot of hype around this show. Everyone's talking about it. And so does that like wig you out at all or does that make you more excited?
Mandy (02:27)
So it makes me more excited, but what's so funny about it is I didn't even mean to do that. So I will say, the way I kind of pick my shows is it might be, I think everybody's kind of different. Of course I always give myself time, like time 100%. Like I usually try to pick a show that's like 20 plus weeks out. Like even if I might be ready, it doesn't matter. I like that time. It gives me planning. It gives my mind, you know, a moment. It's just, I like it. So.
Back in like the fall of last year, I would say like July, August, September, like kind of going into fall. I was like, I wanna show for after I turned 35, so after March 1st, I wanna show that doesn't affect my kid's school. So spring break worked out great. I always like to pick shows that my family can kind of have fun at. So always try to pick like a fun location or family oriented place.
So I've usually always traveled to my show so I'm like, oh this worked out like Florida and then the icing on the cake is we have a timeshare right down the street from the venue and so I'm like this this couldn't be more perfect and so I like when they first announced Oh March 30th is you know this show I Was like, oh how great like I'll just do this show and that is like it I told my coach and we're like, oh, yeah, that's perfect and I made that decision back in September
And then after I told more people and I talked to you and I was like, oh, this is like, this is a really big show.
Gillian (04:04)
I think that's smart though. I mean, you're like on the path to getting your pro card. So I think it's important to do shows where you're going to have some really good competition because you could go to a show that is smaller and, um, you know, just doesn't have as big of a lineup. And I think like it's hard if you're a brand new competitor to know it, like your coach can tell you which one, but like generally if there is a pro bikini show attached to it, it's going to have a panel of judges that are.
IFBB judges, which is great to get feedback from, but you're going to get a lot of competitors. Yeah. So I think it's a really smart move. And also just like you have to travel anyways. So why wouldn't you want to go somewhere that's like, you know, sunny and beautiful, right. And have a little vacay.
Mandy (04:35)
Yeah, that was another reason.
Yeah, to match it with my kid's spring break was like, all of it just worked so well. And yeah, that was another reason was because Sandy is gonna be the judge there and I've never been able to be in front of her. So to have that chance to like step in front of her and get her feedback, like I'm actually more, I'm just not more, but just as excited to like go on stage and do my best and bring my best as to like wait to be like, what do you think? What do you, whoa.
Gillian (05:02)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Mandy (05:15)
How could I improve, right? Is to hear that from her, to hear her voice. Like when I practice posing, I use 20, 23 is Olympia and it's her telling the girls exactly what to do. And so to be able to be there in person and just to experience that, like I'm just so excited.
Gillian (05:36)
Yeah, she's the queen. I remember the first time I stepped out on stage in front of Sandy and Tyler and Attila, it was the first year that she was judging. So this was like 2021. And I was feeling, oh my God, there they are. They're the judges that sit at the women's divisions at all the national shows and choose the pro.
Mandy (05:52)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (05:58)
card winners. And so I remember just being like, oh my gosh, like it was more nerve wracking than I thought, just because it mattered so much. Like I've gone to shows and like the whole panel is just like a bunch of old guys. And I'm like, here we go. You know, it's just okay. Right. But this is so different because I was just like, oh, like I want them to like me and I want them to pick. And when you see them smile at you, you're just like, yes, you know, it feels really good.
Mandy (06:11)
Hahaha!
They smiled.
Gillian (06:23)
So that's cool. I'm so excited. I'm gonna get the live stream and I'm gonna tune in. I met a photo shoot that day, so I hope you don't mind everybody there will be like watching it too. But I just, I'm really excited too. I wish I was coming. I just love the whole experience. And I feel like, I don't know. I remember like when you first started this prep, like feels like it was yesterday, but also a long time ago. So it's cool to like have watched your, just so many things evolve. I think like the biggest thing though.
Mandy (06:31)
Ha ha.
It does.
Gillian (06:50)
is not just your physique, because your physique looks phenomenal, but just your mindset the whole way. It's been awesome for me. I feel like I'm more focused this year because I've had you as such a great example of somebody who's, you know, putting in the work and going through ups and downs of just life and, you know, things that kind of happen. And, and yeah, it's been it's been great for me and I'm really proud of you. So I'm excited.
Mandy (06:55)
Nothing.
See, like I'm gonna get in my emotions again. Like this has been me since like 5 a .m. of like, this is, but it's like, I know exactly what you're talking about because like in this sport, I feel like whenever, if you've rather you've been in it for a while or you're just starting in it, like it is, I wanna say a lonely sport. Like at first, if you're trying to learn it, you're trying to figure everything out, it is very, you know, you're kind of in your own world, your own head, you're doing your own thing and it's.
Gillian (07:17)
Hehehehe
Woo! Yeah.
Mandy (07:41)
it's sometimes hard to find people to relate to. Like you can talk, you know, workout talk, nutrition talk, gym talk, like you can, you know, talk fitness and you can talk about, you know, lifestyle changes, but to be able to have somebody like you in my corner to where we talk all the time and we like on whatever platform it may be, but to be able to be like, rather ranting or like cheering each other on or checking on each other or like the same thing, like the mindset, having somebody to be able to like,
Gillian (08:00)
Yeah.
Mandy (08:09)
you know, always have a relatively positive mindset, you know, not negativity ever comes in, but like life comes in, right? Like, of course we're gonna get mad, of course we're gonna get frustrated and pissed off at stuff. Like I said the other day, like I was, or over the weekend, I got mad at my computer and was about to throw my computer. Like, you're gonna get mad. But to be able to have somebody in your corner that you can like talk to and, and,
Gillian (08:29)
Yeah.
Mandy (08:34)
vent to and rely on and just be able to share the experience, just like you're going through your prep right now, right? And we have like the same mental fortitude to be able to be like, stay on plan, grind, you know, intensity and be able to like say, you know, good morning.
Gillian (08:51)
or like even sharing like little things like every time there's a show, like it's so great because you and I are watching and I'm like, oh my God, did you see this girl? Oh my God, did you see this girl? You know, like we're like such fans of the sport too. And then just like little dumb stuff, like suit stuff or like, oh, I changed this transition or like, you know, it's so, it's so nice. I would really recommend to anybody like having a like a prep bestie because it's great. Like, cause you can't really expect your family to care that much. Like.
Mandy (09:05)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (09:17)
For them, it's like watching paint dry and they've got other things to worry about. They don't understand the process. Like my husband thinks it's cool and everything, but I'm not gonna be like, oh, I'm eating this many carbs today and I have to do this. And like, he's gonna be like, okay, like he cares, but like not to the degree that like, you know, he, you know, isn't, isn't, it's not like I'm gonna text him a play by play, but you know, I've got you to be like, okay, now we're doing this and James set this or whatever it may be. And it's just, it's so great. I don't feel like it's lonely, but.
Mandy (09:30)
Heheheheh
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (09:46)
I think that's probably how I've survived because, um, you know, I, I just, I think you've got to be really self -sufficient to do well in this sport. You can't really rely on, you know, somebody to meet you to go train and somebody to pose with you. Like, you know, of course you have, you know, trainers and you have posing coaches and stuff, but like, you've got to be pretty independent and have a pretty good schedule and you can choose to like, you know, be bitchy at the gym or you can be friendly like me and make gym friends, you know? So I feel like people are always like, Hey, you know, what's going on? You know, but, um,
Mandy (10:04)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Gillian (10:16)
So yeah, so I don't know, I think, you know, I'm going on a million tangents. Like, is it my peak week or your peak week? Oh my God. Like squirrel. Maybe it feels like my peak week.
Mandy (10:22)
No, it's, but like, but like you've been there with me through all of it though. Like so it, yeah, like it's like, it's like when, as I keep relating back to pregnancy, it's like when the husband is like going through everything with like the wife, right? It's still this like, so it may not technically be your peak week, but it's like, you've been there with me through all of it since the start of it. There you go. Peak week by proxy. And then I will feel the same way for your peak week.
Gillian (10:34)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, it's like Pequick by Proxy or something.
No, that makes sense. Yeah, well, you're still going to be prepping because I think, yeah, I mean, that you're planning on going all the way through. Yeah.
Mandy (10:53)
Yeah, but I'll still be prepping, but I'll still be excited just like you're in prep, you know, just still, it's still so exciting. But this is a perfect segue into exactly what we wanted to talk about today as like I'm in the, you know, thick of it, right? We wanted to talk about, you know, different things that go on in peak week, you know, different tips that can, you know, help during peak week and misconceptions that happen during peak week. Yeah.
Gillian (11:01)
I know, so exciting.
Yeah.
The do's and don'ts kind of like certainly we are not going to be giving you like peak week to do's. But I think just like a general, like a lot of new competitors will ask, what can I expect during peak week? Or like they've heard some crazy things and we'd like to kind of dispel some of those rumors of, you know, what is and isn't a good idea during peak week. And then, you know, I've I'm a bikini dinosaur so I can share.
Mandy (11:30)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
I'm almost jealous that you have that term by the way because I love dinosaurs But I'm like but when I said that the other day like when we were talking like you're just like this bikini dinosaur It's like I literally picture like a dinosaur with like a bikini on it
Gillian (11:47)
He needs dinosaurs.
And I'm like, oh my God, I just got that. When you sent me that the other day, I was like, what is she talking about? Oh, my God, that was that text message the other morning you sent me. And I was like, why is this a diet? Because I have the bikini dinosaur. OK, this is your first time tuning in to bikinis after babies. A, where have you been? B, I've been competing for 100 years. And so we've coined the term bikini dinosaur, which I guess is more of a title than.
Mandy (12:07)
Mm -hmm.
Hahaha.
You've been competing before the internet. You've been competing when you had to find out in magazines at the store. And I've been...
Gillian (12:24)
I know. Yeah. Literally before social media, if you can imagine life before social media, like literally there's a flyer at the gym and I was like, that sounds fun. Let me rip off the phone number and sign up. That's how I did my first show. Oh, my God. God, I remember some. OK, this is one story. I do remember not having any idea how to pose and like, I don't think there was YouTube.
Mandy (12:40)
Oh my god.
Mm -hmm, I don't know.
Gillian (12:50)
I don't think there was because they're like, I think we had dial up Internet. I don't know how I learned how to pose, but I remember there was like a trainer at the gym and he was a bodybuilder and he said that he would help me pose. And I just remember walking around this fitness studio and he just sat in like a chair and was just like just watching me. And I was like, this is not what I signed up for. I don't remember how I learned. I think I just I don't know. It's a long time ago.
Mandy (13:16)
I'm like trying to, I see, I started competing in 2016, so there was plenty by then. There is plenty of information. There still wasn't as.
Gillian (13:23)
Yeah, Bikini had already been around like at that point by like seven years. Like I competed when there was like, and Bikini when I started was like not the, um, NPC and IFV didn't have Bikini yet. So I did like Fitness America, which I think is still around. Um, but I lived in Florida at the time and they had Fitness America. It was like at a high school. Um, and then they had like Fitness Universe, which was like the big one. And I went into that one too. Um, it was kind of like WBFF with like the costumes and stuff. Um,
Mandy (13:27)
Yeah, a little bit.
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Okay.
Gillian (13:52)
And then when I did NPC, they just had figure and fitness. And at that point, I was like, I'm not doing any more backflips. And then I realized too how hard fitness was, you know, just on your body when you're like in prep and you've got to be like stage lean. And then you also have to do like a tumbling pass. I was like, no, thanks. So and then that was then in 2009 is when they first came out with bikini. Anyways, sorry, totally just went right off topic. So.
Mandy (14:02)
Mm -hmm.
It's nuts.
Mm -hmm.
That was good, it was a good - for - for anybody new - yeah, exactly, for anybody new they got a little history lesson, you know? Bikini hasn't been around for -
Gillian (14:21)
Bikini dinosaur, yeah.
Yeah, but I think that's where like sometimes people do talk about like even the way peak weeks were done like five years ago and so much has changed. Like five, six years ago, I don't know that there was as much awareness about metabolic fatigue and hormone issues. I think they existed, but I just don't know if people weren't talking about it as much. And now there's so much more awareness. There's functional health coaches. There's...
Mandy (14:35)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (14:53)
Just all kinds of different things and we just know more about the human body, which is a great thing. But you do sort of still get a mix of like, you know, you'll see somebody backstage and you're like, Oh, their coach obviously is stuck in the old days, right? Because things have just evolved.
Mandy (14:53)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah, and I hate that sometimes. Like, I hate that, and I'm just gonna speak from like the bikini side of it, obviously, but man, like when I'm backstage and I hear, like I do hear some things or see some things, or I would say even like leading up to peak week, like three weeks before leading up to it, it's just some of the things that are said and seen. I'm just like, and again, like.
It is never our place to like correct or to do anything. Whatever your, exactly, whatever your coach does or your coach wants you to do or coach, but this, and this is kind of like a big tip, especially you like, like just never feel like there is a dumb question. If you get your plan, if you get your peak week protocol, your peak week, you know, regimen, whatever terminology is used, like I got mine.
Gillian (15:30)
Right, follow your coach. Yes.
Yeah.
Mandy (15:56)
I got mine this weekend and it doesn't matter how long I've been doing this, it doesn't matter how many shows, I can, I bet you all the questions I still ask my coach and I still ask her this morning and I asked her over the weekend and she answered them fully, 100 % and I understood all of it and I understood the why of all of it. If you go and ask your coach something that you wanna know the answer to or why you're doing it, why you're changing this and it doesn't make sense to you.
you wanna be able to ask your coach that and it's never dumb. They should never make you feel dumb. They should be able to answer you, explain it, and at least like give you some backing as to what they are doing and why.
Gillian (16:35)
Yeah, it's your body and and also like sometimes you'll see things on there and it can be like nerve wracking. Like we just talked with this before we jumped on. But, you know, typically in at least my last couple years of competing with coaches that I've worked with, generally leading into the show, we're starting to scale back the cardio.
Mandy (16:36)
And if they can't, it's a red flag.
Gillian (16:56)
which can be for some people kind of nerve wracking. If you have been used to doing a lot of cardio in your prep, especially like towards that last fat loss phase, and then all of a sudden your coach is asking you to reduce that cardio, which is by design, you might just need a little reassurance. Like, hey, is that like, okay? I don't think, if you first let you coach that talks to you terribly when you ask questions, run the other way, but.
Most coaches are happy to explain like the reasoning behind it. And then it gives you like a sense of confidence of like, OK, like this is all going to help my body come in looking less inflamed, you know, nice and full and all these things. Right. So but I feel like we should take a step back for like perhaps our brand new like girls that are listening that are maybe like, oh, what's this competing thing or whatnot to explain like what exactly is peak week? So how would you define what a peak week is?
Mandy (17:22)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
So I would define peak week as the very last 10 to seven days before your show. And this is very important because doesn't matter how long you've been training, if you have been in prep for 12 weeks, 10 weeks, 25 weeks, this is an important time because your body is very inflamed. Anytime that we lift weights and we're lifting heavy, we're doing cardio or dropping calories, our body is extremely inflamed. And this is a time where you wanna take a look at your physique. The scale does not.
matter right now. Like emphasize this with an underline, bold print. The scale doesn't matter. The scale is data collection, sure. But what matters is what your physique looks like and this is why check -in photos are so important. So during this time your coach may or may not ask for multiple photos. They wanna see how you look as like a start to peak week. So that might be like 10 or seven days out, you know? And they wanna see, okay, let's like...
like you said, dial back the cardio, let's not push so intensely when weightlifting, let's focus on circulation, let's drop some things that possibly might be inflaming your gut, things that you wanna think of, maybe some vegetables, maybe some additives you've been having in your food, let's try to be very simple during this time, and then go from there. And that's kind of where, that's what I would describe peak week as, and you check in more, and then that's where you kind of gracefully glide into show day.
Gillian (19:15)
Yeah, that's how it should be. Like it is like that last phase. Like you said, checking in more often, but to peak your physique, you know. And I think we don't wait for miracles on this week. Like if you are not ready, then a peak week is not going to really change much. But, you know, a lot of times athletes will kind of like flatten out a little bit towards the end, like because your body is like.
Mandy (19:24)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (19:44)
left with just basically the carbs that you're giving it and then any leftover body fat that you have. And so it's normal for our muscles to sort of utilize everything that we've got. And we started kind of we don't have that like pop to our muscles. So that's kind of what that peak week is, is like bringing out that physique. But but man, it has definitely changed. And I will say, too, like you're listening to a show centered around like the women's divisions, specifically bikini and wellness.
Mandy (20:09)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (20:11)
And we may have some bigger girlies that are listening to us and it's different by division. So if your husband is a competitor and he's a bodybuilder, he's not doing what we're talking about. It's very different because in men's bodybuilding, there's a different criteria that they're looking for. They're looking for a different level of dryness. And so a lot of those bodybuilders will utilize some substances that are over the counter or not.
Mandy (20:21)
Oh yeah.
Gillian (20:38)
to dry out and you don't want to be playing around with that stuff to see if it can make your physique look better as a woman. And furthermore, if your coach doesn't treat you like a bikini competitor and he treats you like a female bodybuilder, it's not gonna be the right look for bikini. Because we don't wanna have the same level of conditioning and dryness.
Mandy (20:39)
Hehehehe.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (21:01)
that a bodybuilder would have because we have completely different criteria. But I have seen that. I'm sure you've seen it too at shows where you watch the girls that are, you know, 105 pounds soaking wet and they're following a protocol for like a, you know, middleweight bodybuilder. And it's like, what, who's, what are you doing? You know, poor thing. Give that girl some water. So.
Mandy (21:06)
Oh yeah.
Yeah. And this is one of those things where you've learned like this journey is just that. It is a never ending journey. Like there's always, you're always gonna be learning something. And cause like you said, you look back at when you started and you're, you know, back then that type of peak week and that peak week protocol and how that was handled. And now look at it. It's about rest, recovery, peaking. And when we talk about peaking, again, this is gonna be specifically follow your coach, do what your coach says, you know, do everything they say.
Gillian (21:35)
Yeah.
Mandy (21:48)
But peeking also is gonna utilize carbs. And so this is kind of where you do different carb loading. This is where every coach is gonna have a different style of this and the same with the water. Obviously we've all kind of learned you don't cut water. Is that still around? Do some coaches still follow that? Yes, they do. See it every show. But if you're knowledgeable, you don't need to cut water. So this is a time, like you said, the...
Gillian (22:07)
Yeah, probably.
Mandy (22:17)
You know, there is no Hail Mary. You already did all the work. You already did all the progress process. This is where, you know, you worry about peaking your physique and just going into show day, doing your check -ins and being there. And it is different than what it was 10 years ago. So if you are with a bodybuilder coach and they don't stay educated in the bikini division and they're very educated in the bodybuilding division, it's just, you just want to be, you want to make sure that you do your research on your coach. Even if.
Gillian (22:46)
And there's a lot of great coaches that coach every division. And I think that takes a lot of talent, like it really does. But you have to, you treat every athlete differently and you treat every division differently. And we have five girls on our team prepping for the competition that's local in the next five weeks. And every one of them is gonna have a different peak week protocol. So you also can't compare what you're doing to what your friend's doing. And just to go back to the water thing.
Mandy (22:50)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (23:15)
The thing that people don't really understand, and I will tell you that I, you know, competing 20 years ago, everybody cut water. I mean, that was we all took this stuff called expel, which I don't know if it even worked, but yeah, yeah. And the problem is that if you pull too much water from your body and it starts to pull from the muscles, then you're going to look flat. You're not. You're going to look flabby, honestly.
Mandy (23:24)
Yep. Mm -hmm. Yep. Or Dandelion Root or some type of, yeah.
You're gonna look sickly skinny.
Gillian (23:45)
Yeah, yeah. So so it's it's not and you also can feel terrible. And then, you know, your carbohydrates aren't going to do what they need to do. Carbohydrate, right. And if you don't have any water, what do you expect is going to happen? Like they're not you can't just like, please go to my muscles. Like if there's no water to push it through. So like just to kind of like explain the science briefly. And I think it's, you know, just it's more common knowledge now that, you know, bikini competitors are not completely.
Mandy (24:04)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (24:15)
pulling water, but I still, I do still see it, you know? And I mean, sometimes the coach is like, let's just get you on stage as tiny as possible. And they're not focused on conditioning or trying to win the overall. It's not going to win a show, but you can drop a lot of water and just look really skinny. I guess maybe that's what I don't know. But.
Mandy (24:19)
Oh, I see it every show.
Mm -hmm. Well, and sometimes I will say, especially nowadays, there are so many weight loss transformations that want to go on stage. And if this is just like your bucket list, like that's amazing and that's awesome. And I see that a lot too. And then you don't need to do like deep dive research into a whole bunch of stuff. Like if you are just doing a weight loss transformation and you want to step on stage and you want to have fun with it, then like, you know, make sure you're in good health and don't hurt your hormones by any means, but like.
Gillian (24:36)
Yeah.
Mandy (24:57)
that you don't need to take it so like extreme, you know? But that goes.
Gillian (25:01)
Well, it's also like, if you don't have the level of conditioning, then nothing in a peak week is really going to work. Right. Like, you know, if I were to be called for like a photo shoot right now and I tried to do a peak week, I wouldn't look like I was competing next Saturday. I'm 10 weeks out. Right. Like you have to like have that level of conditioning for like the decrease in cardio and the increase in carbs to kind of work, to pull you together for that day. It doesn't work unless you're at that spot in your prep, too. So because I'll have some nice people will be like,
Mandy (25:07)
Yeah.
Gillian (25:30)
I looked so good during peak week. Can I like do that for a couple of weeks to get me ready for my vacation? I'm like, nope, it's not gonna work. It's not gonna do anything.
Mandy (25:37)
So that and also what I see, and actually this happens to me, this has happened to me plenty of times, people will look better after their show because you can miss your peak. And this isn't, I hate to say it, but it's not like a, it doesn't have to be a huge deal. You can miss it by so low of margin. So when I say that, I mean, when you're doing, when you're utilizing water, you have good conditioning, you do your carb load, carb cycling, whatever verbiage you wanna use, and then you go to your show,
Gillian (25:46)
Yeah.
Mandy (26:06)
you're happy, everything's great, your show's great, you have a great time. And then let's say it's Monday or Tuesday and you had a few good, like you had pancakes, right? You had a burger all of a sudden come Monday, like your stomach might be a little upset, but you look like a beast. And that's because you just, it is, it is a good look. And if your belly feels good, then it's a great feeling. But this is something to also kind of remember because it shows that like, okay, the
Gillian (26:25)
Yeah, it's a good look. Yeah, and you feel good. Yeah.
Mandy (26:36)
the amount of carbs that you utilized prior to your show, you may have undershot. That's okay. Like you learn next time, like, hey, let's shoot for maybe a little bit more grams and carbs leading into peak week at this time, you know? And that's kind of knowledge you just learn from experience. So sometimes after the show, you look like a beast. And that's just, you know, that's carbohydrates.
Gillian (26:59)
That's exactly it. And that's why I also say to like, you know, you can hear all that we're talking about and start to like think about, you know, these things, but like always check with your coach. And if there's something in your peak week that you're thinking you're going to skip, don't do it. But talk to your coach about it too. Cause I can think of cases where somebody was just like, Oh, I'm not going to eat on show day. I want my stomach to be really tight. Well, that's like the worst thing that you can do. Like there was a reason for every piece of what we're talking about. So, um,
Mandy (27:08)
Mm. Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Gillian (27:26)
It's just important to trust your coach, talk about the process, make sure that you understand that steps can't be skipped. You can't just like eat a couple of carrots and go on stage. It's not, you know, because I'd also show days long, like depending on what show you do and whatnot. Sometimes they will do like all of the pro bikini judging before they even start the amateur show. And then that doesn't start till 11. And then it might not be one or two until you go on stage on bikini. So, you know, you can't.
Mandy (27:38)
Yeah.
and you might have had your makeup done at 5 a .m. Like you could have a really... Show days are long.
Gillian (27:56)
Yeah, you can't fast all day. You have to eat food, but they are. That's the one thing I will say I'm not ready for yet is the long show days. But I'm going into this year with a new attitude about show day. And, you know, I think what I definitely last season I needed a break because I was just like dreading going backstage, you know, but now I can't wait to be back there again, you know. But anyways, OK, so.
Mandy (28:12)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (28:23)
as far as we've kind of gone through like the do's and don'ts. What would you give people, what advice would you give about staying organized with everything that you have to do for Pequick and all the things that you need and like how to just stay, how to be prepared?
Mandy (28:39)
how to be prepared for peak week or just like just being organized. Well, just being organized in general. So, whether you're traveling or you're doing a show in town, like there's a lot of like things you wanna check off. And it's always good to have like going into peak week. I would say just be going into your show month. Like if you're, you know, three weeks out from your show, usually this is where more nerves and more nerves as you get closer. But you wanna make sure that you have like, are your reservations done? Is your registration for your show done?
Gillian (28:41)
Peek we can show to you.
Mandy (29:08)
I like to keep like a task list or a checklist. Any emails, like if I already registered for my show, I have my MPC card obviously, registration, you know, I did my tan, my makeup. I have all of that, all the confirmation starred and like set aside in like a separate email. I have a document that says like the address to where I'm going, like the flight stuff like that. And I will say it is a little extra that I do this, but.
Again, you're so excited and you're so nervous and you will start doubting yourself, even not in like a bad way, but you're just like, oh my God, did I do that? Right? Cause you're so excited. I like to keep everything on a docu - or not docu -side, Google doc. And it tells me like, this is what time this is, this is the lineup.
Gillian (29:43)
Oh yeah.
I do the same thing. I print it out. I like paper. I like have a folder and I print it out. I do. I know. I know. I just like I don't think about I told you I lost that note that I've had on my phone for like seven years. I've had this little prep. I can't get it back either. So I used to keep I still do. I keep a journal of like preps and weights and just, you know, I.
Mandy (29:59)
I, you do like paper. That's why you're a dinosaur, man. You do like paper.
That's scarring.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (30:21)
my weigh -ins for my check -in, whatever. Anyways, managed to delete the one that goes back from like 2018. So anyways, I I print everything out, cause then I can look at it. Cause I mean, and think about like, I also travel for cheerleading. So there's those trips too, and then business trips. So if I stick everything in like a folder on my computer, and then let's say I can't get to my email or something, I don't I just like it printed and I can look at it. And then I tick it off, like travel, hotel, tan, makeup.
registration and PC cards, you know, especially if you're doing like this season, I'm doing three to four shows. So I could easily register for one, not the other and forget, you know, something.
Mandy (30:54)
Yeah, but that's like...
Mm -hmm, but I'm like that with my food as peak week. So like when I got my like exactly like what I'm supposed to eat, how am I supposed to eat, all that stuff, I create a notepad. Like in my like Apple phone, I have like notes and I create like a peak week. Like this is my menu. I turn it all into check checks. And then I'm like, this is like my food, Monday, Tuesday. This is my food Wednesday. This is my food Thursday. And I use check, check, check, check, check because.
Gillian (31:14)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (31:22)
I am excited, I know I am, and I will second guess. Did I eat this? Did I eat this much? Am I sure? I have it all prepped in my fridge, but I'll second guess it. And so again, yeah, just like the Google Doc, I keep the address, the lineup, where am I going? What am I doing? The flights. I have it all already organized on my phone. I even double checked last night or the night before, oh, where's my tan? Where's my tan and my makeup? Even though I know I already, yeah.
Gillian (31:48)
Have a schedule, yeah.
Mandy (31:50)
Like, so be prepared for that. We heavily underestimate like our nerves, good nerves and bad nerves. And so like, you will just be so excited, but so nervous that you just start like almost, not, I can't think of the word for it, but like hyperventilating. Like you'll be like, I'm so excited. So there's also the bad side to that, which is another thing I wanted to talk about. The bad side to that is you get a short fuse and,
Gillian (32:10)
Yeah.
Mandy (32:20)
It's kind of, when I say a short fuse, I almost mean with everything. For example, I got mad at my computer Saturday. I'm a very chill person. I usually don't care at all. I usually don't give a shit. I'm like, whatever, I'll go do something else. No, I wanted to destroy my computer with a baseball bat. Like I was losing my mind and my husband was like, oh shit, like I gotta fix this. But so when this happens, like this is gonna happen. That was just like an easy example because,
Gillian (32:35)
Hehehehehe
Mandy (32:49)
They know, so that's what I wanted to talk about is communication. And your family is gonna think you look great. They're gonna say all these kind things to you. They're gonna be very supportive. If they're not very supportive, then you're gonna wanna isolate away from them as best as you can. Just do your chill time, but communicate with your friends and family this time. Let them know, like, hey, I'm a little sleepier because your energy will be low. You might take extra naps. You might go to bed a little earlier.
you might be a little snippier. I have a 14 year old son and he knows, like he knows, he knows like if he slightly talks back to me, I get this like tone in my voice where I'm like, really, why are we doing this? And he's like, oh, okay, I'm sorry. No, like I'll just go do it. Like he knows because he knows like this week, like I'm excited, I'm nervous, you know, my calories dropped, I'm about to carbs load later, like, you know, all this, like I'm just excited.
So communicate with your friends and family, like this time, and just let them know, like, I'm just a little sensitive right now.
Gillian (33:55)
Yeah, I think so too. And then I think like, you know, just talking to your significant other about where you'll need help. Like, you know, please don't, you know, work until midnight the night before I'm flying out the next morning because I can't handle it. I have, you know, I've worked so hard and I just want to feel like, you know, I have your support, but, but you might be fine. So I think it's just important to like communicate what that looks like. But I think also if it is your first prep and it's the first.
Mandy (34:03)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (34:25)
that your family has kind of gone through, like just going, hey, like, I don't want to plan a whole lot a couple of weeks before. I mean, things still come up, like it's Easter, like it's not like anybody's going to cancel Easter because you're doing a show, but just like, hey, this year could it kind of look like this? Like, could we, you know, maybe scale it back a little bit, or if we're going to, you know, meet friends for something like, hey, like I want to be home and be in bed. Like, I don't think it's fair and reasonable for your family to make those.
Mandy (34:31)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (34:51)
like adjustments the entire prep, but certainly in that last phase, I'm sure as much as you show up for them, if they are just understanding of like, hey, this is the home stretch now. Like, you know, I'm going to be at the soccer game, but I'm not going to come to the team party afterwards. Or, you know, you can still find ways to show up. And I think that that's that's reasonable. But you also have to communicate instead of just sitting there and being crabby or like, oh, now I'm tired because I didn't get my rest because I had to do this and this and you guys didn't help me like, well.
Mandy (34:55)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (35:19)
ask for help first and then you don't have to go there because you don't want to go through fight or flight. The last thing you want to do is have some big blow up or like some dramatic situation on show day because it will it will ruin your physique. Like it really will because you'll bloat, you'll hold water, you're to have a headache. It's just it's hard. Like your body releases. Yeah. If you don't sleep great that week, you know, you'll end up just with a bloated belly. Like it's amazing the physical response our body has when we have.
Mandy (35:30)
Stressful. Mm -hmm.
Your sleep will mess up. Inflammation.
Gillian (35:49)
one of those situations. So as much as you can do to keep things calm, and that's why I print everything because it helps to just kind of keep me calm. And I like have everything organized and sorted in baggies. And like, I'm very systematic about how I even set up my room just because it makes me feel less stressed. And there's a lot of things we can't control. We don't know how we're going to place. Everybody wants to know how you think you're going to do, how to do, how to go, even after prejudging. Did you win? I don't know. Okay. I don't know. I can't control that, but.
Mandy (36:04)
Yeah.
Right.
Gillian (36:18)
I know everywhere I'm supposed to be, what time of tan is, I'm organized. I don't know where my fricking, you know, I know where all my stuff is. I'm not looking for something, you know, because you always see that basket case girl backstage and you just think, Oh, please stay away from me. Or she's just like chaotic, right? Can't find her fricking peanut butter, lost a shoe, earrings broken. I'm just like, I never want to be that person. I just think it's so stressful. And so I think the more you can just kind of prepare for the unexpected, like.
Mandy (36:26)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Gillian (36:47)
have an extra pair of earrings. You know, I don't know if it's feasible for people to have an extra suit, but I have a sewing kit in my bag just in case. I do have an extra pair of shoes. Just, you know, just cause things happen, right? That's it's life. But I mean, we could probably do a whole other episode on show day things. But one thing we didn't touch on not to jump all over the place, but food during Pequick. Is it smart?
Mandy (36:51)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah. I know.
Gillian (37:15)
to introduce foods that you haven't had in 10, 12, 20 weeks during peak week. Oh yeah, I'm going there.
Mandy (37:19)
Okay, I so wondered if you were gonna bring this up because everybody has a different, okay, so, okay, everybody has a different opinion about this and I actually am happy you brought this up because, okay, if you, like, with my prep, this is the very first prep I've had for when this much muscle, because I took my long off season of lifted really heavy, you know, I've grown quite a bit. I was able to introduce new foods from the beginning of February up until last week or, yeah, last week or the week prior.
I had a refeed meal once a week. I had it and I was introducing technically new foods to my physique and we geared it every week. Every week I did my check -in we checked in on that new food. Okay, that was not peak week. That was using that food to lift heavy, to push, you know, push as much as we can. So now that it is time for peak week, like you said, do you introduce new foods? No. Just no.
Gillian (38:16)
The basics.
Mandy (38:17)
No, you keep it so simple. You keep it so simple and so tight because just kind of like you were explaining, like this is a very sensitive time. Like even the, even being stressed out over a situation, a fight, forgetting something, losing something is going to mess with your digestion. Why on earth would you go and eat a burger and fries on your most sensitive time of your prep when you don't know what's going to happen? Like,
Gillian (38:45)
Yeah, that's a bad idea.
Mandy (38:47)
Why? Do you need carbs? Is that, like your coach is telling you you need carbs? Absolutely. So you use simple carbs. Like just the whole time.
Gillian (38:55)
eat carbs that you've been eating the whole time. Like if you've been eating sweet potatoes and rice and rice cakes and oatmeal, stick to those things. Just eat more of them. You do not need to like go and have a big pretzel bun and a fricking huge burger like the night before the show. I still can't believe when people maybe it's like young chicks that can get away with it. But like when I see people like doing that, like I had a burger last night. I'm like, well, that's playing with fire.
Mandy (39:21)
Oh, I know people that got drunk the night before. I should say, I don't know any females that have ever done that the night before, but I've known men that have gotten drunk the night before. And they just say that it helps them with their nerves better. So, and here's another thing to consider if you're listening to this, especially as a new competitor, because you will see it. You will 100 % see somebody that is eating burgers or donuts or something pre -show on peak week or even day of show. So here's the deal though.
Gillian (39:29)
That's terrible.
Come on. That's terrible.
Oh.
Mandy (39:49)
How many times, because I know you've been to a lot of them, I've been to a lot of them, how many times have you been to a show and they do a re -judging because someone looks like shit? Yeah, so if you're a new competitor, in the morning when you do pre -judging, they do pre -judging, they do comparisons, they do call -outs, okay, then you have the break in between and then you have finals. Well, if during finals, let's say the person that was in first decided to go smash a burger and fries and now their waistline is bloated and they look like shit on stage.
Gillian (39:58)
Yup.
Mandy (40:17)
Well, when you go do finals, the judges are gonna see they look like shit. And let's say you were in second and you kept it really tight. Well, they're gonna do a re -judging and they're gonna move all you guys around again. They're gonna re -look at you and they're gonna re -score. And then that girl that decided to smash a burger all the time. And it like blows my mind that people are still doing this. It does, it does.
Gillian (40:32)
It happens all the time.
Well, and also like, and I, I, I've been on judging panels. Um, and I judge shows. So there's a couple of times where it, there's just an error. Like they, when you get the score, so you score and you know, there's, let's say there's, there's usually like the head judges in the center and then you've got two to three on either side. So they throw out the high and the low score and then the judge in the center doesn't score. So then you have the rest of those.
Mandy (40:43)
That's right, I forget you're a judge, you've been a judge.
Mmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (41:08)
Everybody writes it down and then they send it down the table to the scorekeeper. It's very easy for there to be little mistakes. These are human beings, right? So at finals and everybody's coming out and you go, Oh, number 141 is in first place. And you go, no, no, that person is really fifth place. There's no way to fix it without re -judging the class or maybe they overlooked somebody. And, you know, it's like, we didn't really, you know, that went too fast. We, you know, we really had somebody kind of over on the side that we should bring in. I've done, I've been in.
Mandy (41:30)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (41:38)
many shows myself where the class has been rejudged and you're so stressed too because you're just like, oh my God, am I losing my place? Am I going up? So between the morning show and the night show, you've got to keep it really tight. Also, if you do win your class, you get judged again in the overall. So, I mean, I feel like you're going to eat later. So why would you mess it up during the day? But I see people come back. They've showered off their tan, which I think is really disrespectful. Like just stick it out. Or you've seen where somebody just didn't even come back for finals, too. I mean, that's just to me, that's just rude, you know, but.
Mandy (41:43)
Cause you don't know if you're in it.
Mm -hmm.
Oh, I don't think I've ever seen that.
Oh, I've seen that in that, yeah. Yeah. That's completely bad sportsmanship. Don't ever do that. It's actually against NPC regulation too.
Gillian (42:07)
But yeah, I think in general, like you just totally in your peak week. Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. But I think just in general, during peak week, like, you know, I think sometimes people are like, oh, well, this, you know, this could help. It's going to hurt more than it's going to help by throwing in something brand new, because what if you react poorly to it? And for women like our waistline is so delicate.
And you know, we just we don't want to have, you know, something that all of a sudden causes a little bit of distension or water retention around our waist. And it completely changes our physique. Or you feel it like I wouldn't feel sexy after eating a big burger and fries like I wouldn't want to wear next to nothing on stage. It would affect me mentally. Like I would go out there and be like, you know, like you don't you want to put on pajamas. You don't want to put on a bikini. So I think you just it's just better to just hang on until after the show's over. And then you can have all those things.
Mandy (42:32)
Mm -hmm.
No.
Right?
Huh?
Gillian (43:00)
and just stick to foods you know, like don't even change the way you prep your food because I've seen this before too, where somebody was always cooking their chicken in broth in a crock pot. And then during peak week, they decided to bake it with no seasoning. And then they were really, really flat. And I'm probably freaking people out who don't know what I'm talking about, but you know what I mean. Now you have way less sodium in your body and they thought, oh, this is going to help me. And all they did was their body got used to so much sodium. Now we have none. And...
Mandy (43:20)
Yeah. Mm -hmm.
Gillian (43:30)
We're not sure what's going on with the physique and we've literally, you know, just changed something that was constant the whole time. So if you've always prepped your chicken that way, stay with it, like stay consistent with your water, your sodium, everything. That's kind of why I do think it's smart to track in my fitness pal and pay attention to sodium because sodium is your friend. The biggest thing is you don't want to change it. You don't want to cut it during peak week thinking it will help you. Yeah.
Mandy (43:43)
everything.
Mm -hmm.
This is kind of like water too. Like, cause back in the day, cause back in the day, I mean, look, like I'm pretty sure bikini competitors kept Mrs. Dash salt free seasoning, like on the shelf. Like, because no salt, no salt, no salt. And then it's like, we did, it is salt, like the sodium, sodium, potassium and like water, we need all of this. Like our muscles need all of it. And it's like, yeah.
Gillian (44:05)
Everything. Yes. No salt. Yeah. You didn't want to have salt. And salt is our friend. Like we're backstage like, like pouring in our mouths.
Yeah, that's how you get that nice full look is by, you know, having all of that. That's why people are eating pickles backstage often because of the sodium. And you'll see girls ripping open packets of salt and eating it. And I mean, to somebody who doesn't understand bodybuilding, like, oh, isn't that going to bloat them? Well, no, it's that's exactly what we need to push the carbs and the water into the muscle and to make you have that nice full look. So, yeah, that's a huge misconception. But I have seen that before. And I always tell my clients like, don't change.
Mandy (44:28)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (44:48)
anything. If you've been putting salt on your food, keep it as much like don't think that you're going to like make one little adjustment like that and it's going to help your body. Like just always just check, check with your coach. Like even if you've kept coffee creamer in the whole time, hey, can I keep that this week or does that need to go like anything that you're putting in your mouth? You've got to clear that gum, anything.
Mandy (44:49)
Okay.
Mm -hmm.
I did that the other day, yeah. Yeah. Everything and it's so important because I even did that the other day. Like I used the no sugar added Heinz ketchup and I used that like on and off. I don't use it every meal, but I use it, right? And so of course like I have a list.
not even really a list, but just things like kind of remove, be mindful, whatever, stuff like that, right? And then, so of course I asked them like, hey, can I still keep using this? And it's like, can I still keep using this? In fact, Erin brought home like this new spicy salsa and I read the ingredients and I'm like, it probably could work, but do you think I ate it? No, no, I sucked. No, I, nope, I stuck to the same old like salsa I was using. And, and it's just, you keep everything the same.
Gillian (45:45)
Not at this point. Yeah, not this close to the show.
Mandy (45:54)
and like you touched on it, it's, this is just like, you're almost there. You're right there. Like don't change anything, mess with anything. Like Saturday, most shows are on Saturday. Saturday is your show day. And then like Sunday, you can wake up and I've, you know, the first thing I told Erin I wanted to do when I was done, I want an almond milk latte from Starbucks. Yeah, not date, not date. I probably won't eat anything. I don't know what I'll do after the show. It will be probably pretty late.
Gillian (46:17)
That's what you want?
No, like that's what you want on Sunday.
Mandy (46:24)
Well, okay, well, that's the one, yeah, on Sunday morning, because like the show is so late and I have like the time share, so I'll have all my own food at like my, like, cause we'll have a kitchen. So I'll have all my own food there. So I probably won't do opera. I'm okay, I'm regularly like after shows, I am worn out. Like I have never been one of those people who, okay, so for any of the new competitors out there, I'll talk, we'll talk about this for a second.
Gillian (46:29)
Yeah.
Yeah, me too.
Mandy (46:51)
So usually after a show, just depending on how late the show runs, like some shows can get out pretty early. Some shows can run until two, three in the morning. Like every show is gonna be different. It is what it is. So some girls, I don't think this is a great idea, but to each is their own. It is what it is. Some girls will just get dressed up right over their tan and they will just go balls to the wall and they will just go out. They'll go drink, they'll eat. They, I never could. I tried. Like my very first show,
Gillian (47:13)
Oh, I admire those people. I used to be one of those people.
Oh, really?
Mandy (47:21)
was out in LA and I even did it with like a team and it was like a whole big like I had a, I was surrounded by like a bunch of people. And even after the show I was like, like I don't understand how you guys go out to even like dinner. Like I'm just wiped, that's me. So I usually just go straight back to the hotel. I will say after one show I will sometimes go out with Erin and like Carson and quiet but I can't get dressed up. Like I have a picture if you look back it cracks me up because.
It was a show that got done early. I want to say like nine and I literally threw a hoodie on. I washed my body. I threw a hoodie on, left my makeup, put joggers on and went and grabbed like a steak. I think I think it was like a burger and fries actually but like like every girl is gonna be different how you handle this. So this show I'm gonna predict it's gonna get out pretty late. This will also I will have my own kitchen and I'll have kids with me. So I'll probably just go home and like bask in the show.
Gillian (48:03)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (48:21)
excitement, eat some whatever is at the where I'm staying and just go to sleep I guess. Yeah call it a day.
Gillian (48:29)
call it a day. Yeah, I think the next day I usually like well and I'm like, I'm pretty particular about like what I want to have and there was a restaurant here in St. Louis that has like the most amazing burger and steak front or not steak fries, truffle fries. So I just wherever I am, I'm like nothing's going to compare to that. So I almost like save it for like when I get home and I just, you know, after the show, I'm kind of like, I don't know. I'm just like.
Mandy (48:41)
Mm.
Okay.
Right?
Gillian (48:56)
I want to just collect my thoughts and I want to get my hair extensions out and I want to take my earrings off and just take a shower and then just kind of, it depends what time it is. Like there's been times where I get out of my, of that place and it's like, you know, 1130 midnight, you stick around to ask the head judges for their feedback and you get some photos and stuff. And it's like, Oh my God, I just want to go to bed, you know? So.
Mandy (49:02)
Right?
Right? Yeah. And that's another thing going back to communication. Cause when I was, when I first started competing and I did like, you know, my first like one, two, three shows, all of my friends and family immediately, like they would be like, let's go to dinner, let's go to dinner, let's go to dinner. Like the next day or the next week. And it's like, I learned now, obviously, like when at first I was like, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And you learn very quickly. Like you can easily upset your stomach if you don't go into a reverse properly. Now,
Do I have some stuff planned for when I come back, kind of like you said? Yeah, but do I have grace periods between that? Yes, yes I do, because if you, it is.
Gillian (49:53)
It's a short window because you've got to. It depends on what your strategy is. This is probably a topic for another show. But like if you are going to be competing again in the next couple of weeks, you got to reel that in by at least Monday. And if it's going into your offseason, you really need to reel it in and then plan out your cheats and refeeds and all that stuff, because you've just prepped for 15, 16, 20, 24 weeks. You can't just.
Mandy (50:00)
That's true.
Gillian (50:22)
go eat whatever you want. You know, you have to like gradually, you know, add these things in, but everybody's going to want to take you out and you're going to want to go and do those things. You just have to be really careful about it and plan things out appropriately, follow your verse from your coach. And if you're going to be competing again in a couple of weeks, then you know, you really can't go too crazy because there's still work to do. They're generally not going to tell you to get fatter. So you have to like either stay where you're at, you know, typically that's, you know, you've either got a little bit more conditioning to do or.
Mandy (50:28)
Mm -hmm.
Oh yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (50:53)
little things with posing, there's not a ton that you can change in two to four weeks, but you know, you'd also can't, you don't want to be like taking a week to burn off everything that you ate because you went crazy like for four days after the show, you know.
Mandy (50:55)
Yeah.
Yeah, and it is about communicating with your coach because like I told Sam last week like exactly I think I'm a little I will say my feeling going into the show is so different because I had so many refeed meals that like my cravings for it like I haven't even been able to think of anything because I've kind of enjoyed, you know, just refeed and flexibility But at the same time like I did earn that by like spending a year plus offseason almost right so but
Gillian (51:20)
Yeah.
Yep.
Mandy (51:35)
I also have friends that are like, I wanna do this, this, and this. And they know now, it's like, I have to spread that out. But I've also communicated with Sam, there is stuff I wanna do the weekend coming back that's going on that my husband has planned for me that it's important to me. And it's like, let's plan it out, let's strategize. Mm -hmm.
Gillian (51:57)
Right, right. I mean, if you think about where you were before you started prepping for your show and the person that you were and, you know, generally people aren't just like sitting on the couch eating Doritos going, I think I'd like to be a bodybuilder. Most of the time people come into this having had been the person that went to the gym, drank the water, took vitamins, lifted weights, ate salads, prepped their food. You're still that person. So just think about that when you're out of prep.
Mandy (52:24)
Yes.
Gillian (52:27)
It doesn't mean that, you know, you just you eat everything. You've got to think about your approach to nutrition and your choices beforehand. I think sometimes in prep, it can sort of feel like, oh, another piece of chicken and oh, another cardio session, because it's a lot and it is it's hard. It's supposed to be hard. But don't lose sight of who you were before you started and how important that balance was beforehand. And think about just returning to that person like now. But but now you're stronger.
Mandy (52:36)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (52:56)
more accomplished person because you've done a show. But think about when you first came in, you know, if you were going to boot camp or, you know, you ate, you know, a healthy version of a salad or something, I think about just sort of getting some of that back, but not like, oh, I'm going to go to Chick -fil -A every day for seven days and drink every night and have cake and dessert every night. You weren't doing that beforehand, right? We can just lose sight of that. So sometimes that reflection is really helpful when people are sort of like, I don't know what to do. It's like, well, you wouldn't have gone to the bar every night.
Mandy (52:57)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
bright.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (53:24)
before you even did a competition. So what makes you think that's something you would do now, you know?
Mandy (53:28)
Yeah, absolutely basking your progress in the process of how you've gotten to where you are and where you came from and what you've learned about food and what it can do. Food does not have to be an abusive reward. Like we live in a society and this is what I love to preach to our clients all the time. Like we can get whatever we want when we want. Like that birthday cake is not expiring tomorrow. Like those M &M's, Skittles, what is it? Cookie crumble, like Chick -fil -A.
Gillian (53:32)
Yeah.
Right.
Mandy (53:58)
they're gonna be there tomorrow. And guess what? They're gonna be there next year and they're gonna be there the year after that. And guess what? You can sit on your couch and order them and they'll come to you. Like, we can abuse food so easily. It's disgusting, really it is. But we can also appreciate what food can do for us. And like, just like you said, not lose sight of that and like enjoy like what you've learned through the process and progress of your prep. And, you know, depending on what your strategy is after your prep, then, you know, you take the steps that you need to go from there. Rather you're competing.
Gillian (54:00)
Yeah.
Yeah.
I know.
Yeah.
Mandy (54:27)
a few weeks later and you have to be really responsible or you're going into an off season or you're competing in a few months. Like your strategy is always going to be different, but you don't want to, what is it? Eat like an asshole. That's what I've heard.
Gillian (54:40)
Yeah. Oh, and I'm not saying I haven't struggled because again, in the early days we didn't have as many resources and I didn't have anybody to talk to. And, you know, you would just feel like, you know, you were binging and you just had to get control of it because, you know, real bodybuilders didn't deal with that. And so I went through that in my first few years of competing. And I remember just thinking like, I've never even been to Burger King. Why am I going to Burger King now? Like I had habits like I would.
Mandy (54:43)
Oh yeah.
Gillian (55:06)
buy like a Ben and Jerry's like a pint and I would eat the whole thing. And the old me before I had competed would have just taken, you know, a few bites and then put the thing back. So I just really had to look at like my relationship with food and it wasn't because of competing. Like that wasn't it. It was really just my attitude about sort of scarcity. Like, oh, I have to finish it all now because tomorrow I'm going back on a diet. You know, that was what I had to fix. It wasn't because of bodybuilding. You know, I probably had some of that underlying.
Mandy (55:23)
Mm -hmm.
That's such a, yeah, I had that too.
Gillian (55:33)
extremes going on beforehand. And so if that's what you're going through, there's, I mean, there's so many great resources now and so many people that can help you. But I think just having felt really alone and not really understanding, I was very like ashamed of it. But I think just getting back to that place of like, I had been so in love with fitness before I ever started competing and just trying to get back to that and making choices because I wanted to feel good and not just because I was trying to prep for a show or lose weight or whatever.
Mandy (56:01)
Yeah, yeah, that's true. It's funny, I was just thinking as you were speaking, I was like, you know, that kinda happened to me almost the other day. I was thinking about something, cause I'm going out, obviously in a few weeks, to the movie theaters. That's my big unhealthy thing, by the way. For everybody listening, my big one unhealthy thing is I will murder movie theater popcorn with a good movie, it has to be at a movie theater, with like,
Gillian (56:02)
Yeah.
Mandy (56:29)
M &Ms or something like that. Car. So I don't put it together. I just eat them separately, but I eat them at the same time. I don't know why, that's just how I am. I love the buttery, shitty movie theater popcorn. It's like my, it's my thing. So I was thinking about just that and Aaron's taking me to a movie, whatever. And then I was thinking about getting Andy's ice cream afterwards. And kind of like you said, it's like, why am I gonna get Andy's ice cream when I haven't had Andy's ice cream in forever? When also,
Gillian (56:30)
You put the candy in the popcorn.
Yeah.
Mandy (56:58)
during my refeeds this last prep, I've made some bomb ass ice cream, protein ice cream. And I can literally make the thing I would get at Andy's, which is terrible for you, whatever, protein ice cream with like the fixins and have a huge thing of it. It's like, I can't wait to do that instead of this. And that's just stuff you learn through the process. I was just thinking about that when you're talking. I'm like, I literally had that like same thing happen. Like a few, like a day ago or so.
Gillian (57:04)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Now I'm like thinking about ice cream. I'm not going to able to stop thinking about it. Oh, I didn't I didn't announce it, but I wore this for you today. It's my little donut. It's my Peek Week shirt. I always wear it in Peek Week. I don't know why, but anyway, it fits me and I'm 12 weeks out or 11 weeks out. But I wore it for you today because it's lucky.
Mandy (57:30)
I'm about to go eat my chicken and asparagus.
That's cute.
That's so... Aww. Aww, good vibes. Yes, if you guys are watching on YouTube, you can see the donuts, donuts, donuts. But Gillian we actually almost reached an hour. We like... I know.
Gillian (57:49)
Yep, donut tits for you.
There we go.
how we do it girl but just got lots lots to say all the time so um anyways next time we we meet again on this episode mandy will have some info about her show day and be able to tell us all how it went and i'm so so so excited for next week
Mandy (58:09)
Yeah.
Yeah!
Yeah, because I'll do it for my laptop. So I will actually, we will be doing a podcast, but I will be doing it in, I will be in Florida for my laptop and I will be doing it from there and it will be cool. It will be like, I will give all the information and all the feels of after show. That'll be, that'll be exciting. I know.
Gillian (58:37)
Yay!
Yeah, I can't wait to hear all about it. I'm so excited. This week is going by so fast. I'm so excited. So, Mandy, I love you to bits and I'm so proud of you and you're going to crush it. I'm so excited.
Mandy (58:53)
Thank you Thank you, and I we hope you guys enjoyed this episode this emotional peak week episode if you guys have any cool Yeah I know if you guys have any questions about peak week or like want to know any information from us or questions that we can find answers for you to or yeah find answers for Just always let us know in the comments or you can always DM either one of us at any of our social medias We're always an open book, and we'll share anything, but we definitely appreciate you
Gillian (58:59)
I know that just like got me.
Mandy (59:21)
All of the subscribes and likes and comments, it just, it means so much to both of us.
Gillian (59:26)
Definitely. Thank you so much for listening and wherever you are in the world, I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. Bye.
Mandy (59:32)
Yeah, bye guys.