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You’ve been preparing for months for your competition….what happens if you’re not ready? How do you know if you’re ready? These are common concerns competitors have as they embark on their journey towards a competition and in today’s episode, hosts Mandy and Gillian share their insight pertaining to the mindset and head games we can experience as bikini bodybuilders. The process of preparing for a competition is challenging, yet deeply rewarding and we hope that in today’s episode you will find comfort in knowing that how you’re feeling is common and how to set up your prep with appropriate timelines and realistic expectations so that you can be successful and crush your goals!!
About Momshell Method Fitness:
Ready to embark on your fitness journey? We would love to help you reach any fitness goal from losing the baby weight to crushing your competition goals!
Follow 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 with customized nutrition and training plans for busy moms → http://bit.ly/loseweightgetsexy
Contact your hosts:
Mandy Rochon
Facebook: Mandy Rochon
Gillian Hughes, IFBB Bikini Pro
Facebook: Gillian Hughes
Mandy’s Posing Sessions
1:1 In Person (KC Posing Studio) → https://bit.ly/inpersonposingwithmandy
1:1 Virtual Posing → https://bit.ly/virtualposingwithmandy
Posing with Gillian Hughes, IFBB Bikini Pro
1:1 In Person (St Louis Posing Studio) → https://bit.ly/stlposingwithgillianifbbpro
1:1 Virtual Posing → https://bit.ly/virtualposingwithgillianifbbpro
Nuethyx Formulations Supplements →
(Use code “Momshell” to save 10% off your order)
Toxic Angelz Bikinis → https://toxicangelzbikinis.com
(Use code “GILLIAN” or code “MANDY” to save 15% off your order)
MISAJO Sports —> https://shopsiham.com/collections/workout
(Use code “GILLIAN10” to save 10% off your order)
Squeeze Me Skinny Waist Trainers → https://www.squeezmeskinny.com
(Use code “MOMSHELL” to save 10% off your order)
The Shoe Fairy competition heels → https://www.shoefairyofficial.com
(Use code “momshell” to save 15% off your order)
Labwork and Personalized Recommendations: Practitioner Depot: https://bit.ly/practitionerdepotxmomshell (Use code “momshell” to save 5% off your order)
Our Amazon storefront- fitness outfits, more supplements, beauty items and competition needs → https://amzn.to/46GL1nd
Creators and Guests
Host
What is Bikinis After Babies?
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 a review to let us know how much this podcast has helped you 💕
About Momshell Method Fitness:
Ready to embark on your fitness journey? We would love to help you reach any fitness goal from losing the baby weight to crushing your competition goals!
Follow 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 with customized nutrition and training plans for busy moms → http://bit.ly/loseweightgetsexy
Mandys Posing Sessions
1:1 In Person (KC Posing Studio) → https://bit.ly/inpersonposingwithmandy
1:1 Virtual Posing → https://bit.ly/virtualposingwithmandy
Posing with Gillian Hughes, IFBB Bikini Pro
1:1 In Person (St Louis Posing Studio) → https://bit.ly/stlposingwithgillianifbbpro
1:1 Virtual Posing → https://bit.ly/virtualposingwithgillianifbbpro
Contact your hosts:
Mandy Rochon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandyrochonfitness/
Facebook: Mandy Rochon
Gillian Hughes, IFBB Bikini Pro
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gillianhughes_momshell/
Facebook: Gillian Hughes
Momshell Method Fitness Supplements → https://www.momshell-method-fitness.myshopify.com
(Use code “BAB” to save 15% off your order)
Toxic Angelz Bikinis → https://toxicangelzbikinis.com
(Use code “GILLIAN” or code “MANDY” to save 15% off your order)
Squeeze Me Skinny Waist Trainers → https://www.squeezmeskinny.com
(Use code “MOMSHELL” to save 10% off your order)
The Shoe Fairy competition heels → https://www.shoefairyofficial.com
(Use code “momshell” to save 15% off your order)
Labwork and Personalized Recommendations: Practitioner Depot: https://bit.ly/practitionerdepotxmomshell (Use code “momshell” to save 5% off your order)
Our Amazon storefront- fitness outfits, more supplements, beauty items and competition needs → https://amzn.to/3zySJ4C
Mandy (00:00)
Hello everyone and welcome back to Bikinis After Babies. Thank you so much for joining us today. I am one of your hosts, Mandy Rochon here with your other amazing, beautiful, blonde, two weeks out host.
Gillian (00:14)
The podcast host formerly known as Gillian Dietface, Gillian Hughes. Well, I was telling Mandy that I feel like it's a really good thing that we're recording today and like capturing the feels because like earlier this week I was like, well, like it really like full good mood, high spirits, like feeling really good. And I was like, this is weird, like to be feeling this way. But I think it was just sort of like the come down of all my travel is kind of done and the next.
Mandy (00:18)
Hehehehe.
Gillian (00:44)
trip that I'm going on is my show. So I guess feeling like the release of that we had a team show over the weekend. And then this morning, I mean, I just I'd slept terrible. I have like a phantom period going on right now. So all the symptoms and just like bloated and even check in today. Wednesday is my check in day. I was like, I'm doing it tomorrow just because I felt I knew it was going to mess with me way too much.
Mandy (00:59)
Ooh.
Hahaha!
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (01:11)
And I usually check in Wednesday or sometimes Thursday, but typically Wednesday and all week I'd been so excited to check in. And then I woke up this morning and I was just like, not today. And yeah, so anyways, it's just a day.
Mandy (01:24)
I know, I check in every Monday and it does. It feels like sometimes I get so excited, like I can't wait to check in, I can't wait to check in. And the last few check -ins have been a little rough and they've just been different. They've been kind of all over the place, but it's like you said, it's because there's been so much going on, so much travel, so much different sleep, packing food, you know, just so much, a whole bunch of different things going on.
Gillian (01:46)
Mm -hmm.
Mandy (01:49)
and whether it be like exciting or nerve wracking or it's a type of stress and our body is gonna like react to it. So I was like, I was kinda like you like Monday after the show, the show in here in Kansas City was absolutely fantastic. And it was amazing. It was so loud.
Gillian (02:03)
Yeah, it was a great show. It was so good. Yeah, I think I was on a high from it. It was way, way bigger and more exciting than than I expected it because it was the first year they had it. We had four athletes competing and you were expediting and.
you know, there was, I ran into a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time and, it was a great venue and, you know, and the crowd was just, you know, awesome. And like the format was nice too, like, because they expected like smaller numbers, which they didn't get, they got more people than they thought. They started a little bit later. So we had like a super chill morning getting everybody ready and we didn't start to like 11 AM. So like normally we're like starting to hear a makeup at three and, that didn't happen. So it was, it was just really fun and just coming home and everybody was.
Mandy (02:20)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (02:49)
you know, just happy. And so, yeah, I mean, it was a sort of like the exhaustion, but also like, you know, good vibes to which can kind of wear you out. It's a lot of energy, you know, at this stage of the game. Yeah.
Mandy (02:58)
It was so much, it was so much energy. Like the, it was standing room for prejudging. It was so loud and so crazy. And it was so much fun. Like just to be in the environment, the turnout was absolutely fantastic. I mean, of course we have an idea on like numbers going in, but then you have, you know, you never know what the crowd is going to be like. You never know the reaction. And it was, it was like wall to wall standing room and finals was just insane. It was so much positive energy. And like you said, coming,
Gillian (03:05)
Yeah.
No.
Yeah, it was a great show.
Mandy (03:28)
Yeah, coming off that Monday, I felt really good because going into that show, I actually carb loaded because I was recovering from some digestion issues last week. And so I was eating carbs going through there and I knew, you know, we're, you know, we're two weeks out or, you know, three weeks out, two and a half. And I knew I was like, okay, I'm going to start dipping down here soon. So I, Monday I felt great. Tuesday I was getting a little sleepy. Today, today is Wednesday. I'm a little tired. A little, a little worn out.
So, but it's getting that time and it's it's just like you said the traveling is getting close to an end I have one more show i'm gonna go to south, dakota this friday Yeah, friday i'm gonna go to sioux falls and expedite that show and then the weekend after that I have to go to st louis because my son got invited to play in state cup i'm Ecstatic for him to watch that Right and then right into peak week and then to omaha, so I still got a
Gillian (04:19)
Yeah, that'll be so fun.
Yeah, it's wild. Like, you know, you've already done a show this season. And so how are you feeling about this next one?
Mandy (04:28)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
I feel so different. I feel completely different. I feel that saying, you know, what is it? You shake the dust off your heels, you get that first show jitters out. Exactly, yeah, you know what I'm talking about. I did that already. So going into this show is just, it's still exciting. I have so many different things like.
Gillian (04:47)
Yeah. I can't wait for that feeling. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Mandy (05:02)
I wanna try to do a few things different. I wanna wear my hair different. I'm gonna change some posing, change some transitioning up. And I want to, it's more experimental. Also, because the show is two and a half hours, almost three hours away, I know a lot of competitors. I know figure competitors, I know some of the vendors. So this will be the first show I've ever been to where I know a lot of people there. So it's exciting. So I...
Gillian (05:05)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Yeah. Yeah.
Mandy (05:31)
It's different, but what about you? How are you feeling? You're about to have to hop on a plane to go to DC.
Gillian (05:38)
Yeah, I leave like two weeks tomorrow. So I feel more prepared than ever for a show. I think sort of today, just sort of waking up with those like period symptoms, which I should have explained what a phantom period is.
You can have all the symptoms of a cycle on a period, but not actually have your bleed. And so, which is a positive thing because you want to have your cycle when you're in prep. It's a sign that your hormones are doing their job, but, and it's great timing because it's not going to happen on show week. Like we just talked about on last week's episode, but I just feel it messes with your head because you just feel a little bloated and I'm a little bit watery. And then the scale jumped up a little bit and I just got a little bit in my head, but prior to this, I had been feeling really
Mandy (06:15)
Yeah.
Gillian (06:27)
good. I've never spent this much time on posing because just you know in working with my coach who's very detailed looking at my photos from my last show and just you know I don't know that there's any way I could have beat the girl who won the pro card she was damn good but you know my gosh I forgot I had it was
Mandy (06:32)
Hmm.
That reel you posted was amazing. I got in my feels reading it.
Gillian (06:55)
And I have a lot of those too, like, because I'm getting that little thing in my throat where I'm going to cry. Like I keep getting that feeling, the emotions of it all. And I think that's just because it's been a long, it's been a long journey. It's been, you know, that was two summers ago. There was a show that happened in between then and now that I hardly speak about that was a bad experience and it was a learning experience. But, you know, I pushed through and did a show last March and it was just not, you know, I'm not.
Mandy (06:59)
Mm.
Gillian (07:21)
not proud of the photos and not proud of my physique. You know, I'm sure if you listen and you've seen the photos, I mean, it.
I didn't look embarrassed myself, but you know, I had some gut issues that I was trying to just ignore and my waistline wasn't tight. It was very watery. I lost some muscle because of, you know, health issues or whatever. So anyway, so it feels like it's been two years since I've competed and, but yeah, just kind of like looking like almost like, reverse engineering the process and like analyzing everything and just, I should have had my leg turned like this. And why did I do that with my hand? You know, because I've learned so much, like posing is like, you can never be like, okay, I'm done.
Mandy (07:40)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Gillian (07:58)
done. I know everything about posing. You'll just always be learning and I'm working with a posing coach that we did a lot of sessions together and then now I'm in her academy. So I send over two videos every week walking front pose back pose walk to the back walk to the front side transitions everything and then she gives feedback and and she's like so awesome because she'll give me really great feedback about my shape and how things are coming along because she's been working with me since I was like 20 pounds heavier.
Mandy (08:02)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (08:28)
And just, you know, watching my posing getting better so that I feel good about. But yeah, I can't lie when I woke up this morning and just felt that way on check in day. I was like, and then I'm having a bit of a suit debacle. I have to send my bottoms back because they are the wrong cut for my new shape. And so that I'm trying to not let myself get stressed out about that. I'm sure it's going to be fine. We have a holiday in the middle of this two weeks that delays the mail. And I'm like.
Mandy (08:37)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Gillian (08:57)
like, what if they don't get here in time? So that's just there's always there's always something. But yeah, and I just genuinely feel like a bag of shit. But that's prep. You know, it is.
Mandy (09:03)
Mm -hmm.
It is, it is. I actually, I did a photo shoot Sunday morning and coming from that photo shoot, so I had digestion issues last week and it was like a, it was something I had never dealt with before. Everything just decided to run right through me and it took, it was really bad. I was so, I got so dehydrated on Wednesday. Yeah, Wednesday and I freaked out. I didn't know what to do. I felt like, I felt horrible. I felt crappy. I felt like,
Gillian (09:21)
Yeah.
Mandy (09:39)
I felt like my uterus was a bowling ball. Like I just didn't feel good. Yeah, I just didn't feel great and I couldn't figure out why. And I think we did, I tried to add a new supplement and it had magnesium in it. I was already taking a magnesium supplement. So I was taking too much magnesium is what was happening. And so we switched that, we took, we'd stop that.
Gillian (09:41)
no.
Yeah.
Mandy (10:05)
And then I reached out to my coach immediately. So I do wanna make that clear. Like I, when something's not going right with my body, I actually don't go to a doctor. Like I won't. It has to be something like a flu or a cold where I need like something of that nature. But like if something's going on with my body, like I will go to my coach, I will go to my chiropractor, I will go to my massage therapist. But anyway, so I went to my coach and she was like, completely agree, let's remove that supplement.
Gillian (10:19)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Mandy (10:35)
She changed some, she wanted me to start eating some bananas, carbs, different things. So, but anyways, leading up to the weekend, I got better. I got better every day and it was nice. It was great. But Sunday I still was sore. My, my abdominal area was very tender, but I had a photo shoot and it was funny because I had to tell myself, I'm like, Mandy, even though you feel like you look like shit, you know, this is prep.
Gillian (10:52)
Yeah.
Mandy (11:05)
you know you don't look like shit. Like you have to realize like it's all in my head and it's fine. And the photographer I shot with, like he's a good friend of mine. So like we had a lot of fun and it was fun. But so this brings us to the topic today actually. So after that photo shoot, my 14 year old son has been going to the gym and it has finally come time for him to get a gym membership. So I had to go to the gym that he's been going to and sign him up with a membership and it's a corporate gym.
Gillian (11:05)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (11:34)
Again, I just got done with the photo shoot. I was very shiny and in a tank top and you could tell like, you know, I'm muscular. So like the girls, the sales girls at the desk were like, you work out. I'm like, yeah, I'm signing my kid up. Like I just need to get him a membership. And they're like, we just started prep. And I was like, that's awesome. Like great for you. And, and they started telling me about like their prep and they had just started working with a coach. And I was like, well, when are you going to go? Like, when's your show? Like what show do you have in mind?
And they're like, no, we're not gonna step on stage anytime soon. We just started. And I've noticed this year, this trend where girls think that they need this crazy amount of time. And I'm talking like a year or two years to step on stage for the first time. And of course I just listened to them, but I've heard this a few times. And so I thought today would be a great topic to talk about when you know.
Gillian (12:24)
you
Mandy (12:31)
how to get ready for a stage or when when is a good time to step on stage.
Gillian (12:36)
And how do you know if you're really ready? And what if you're not ready?
Mandy (12:37)
How do you know?
Gillian (12:41)
Cause that was sort of how I wanted to take it too of like, you know, what if, what if you're not? So yeah, I love this topic because, I get it a lot too. You know, I do all of our sales calls for mom, shell method fitness, and I'll have somebody who's maybe seen one of our competitors and been like, you know, we kind of gradually talk about prep and everything. And we get to where I'm like, do you have a show in mind or do you, you know, have a timeframe of, you know, and this might be somebody who, you know, has never competed before, but you know, obviously they're in.
Mandy (12:41)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (13:10)
interested in the gym, they didn't just wake up and decide, I'm going to do a bodybuilding competition having never worked out, right? So, and they usually will be like, I'm sure I won't be ready for a year or more. So.
Mandy (13:22)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (13:24)
I mean, I do hear it a lot as well, which I feel like in a lot of ways, I think that shows the athleticism and the impressiveness of the physiques in our division, because I will tell you, there was a time there where people talked about bikini competitions like they were like Hawaiian Tropic and you could just like, you know, train for four weeks and then just jump on stage like, you know, she looks pretty good. She could probably compete in four weeks, like talking about like some girl who just started working out, which I found to be really freaky.
Mandy (13:44)
Yeah.
Gillian (13:53)
and insulting because of how hard we work. I mean, we are training like bodybuilders. We just don't have the amount of muscle as somebody in women's physique, in figure, in men's divisions. It doesn't mean that we work less hard than they do. Like.
Mandy (13:55)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (14:11)
but there's just everyone's structure is going to be different. So I think in some ways it shows that people understand that our sport is competitive. It takes a lot of work to get there. But also I don't take a client and like, you know, say, yeah, sure. But you know, we're not going to compete for two years. Like I think it's really hard to keep somebody focused when they're like set show date is that far away. So.
Mandy (14:33)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (14:37)
So yeah, what is your advice then if somebody is, you know, in the gym and they've got some body fat, you know, like, let's say they're sort of like, you know, sitting around maybe like 25, 30 percent body fat, which is like pretty normal for like, you know, a lot of women that you would describe as active and healthy and fit, not overweight in any way. But what would your advice be?
Mandy (14:49)
Yeah.
So if you're already active in the gym and you have the idea of wanting to do a competition, the first thing you do is reach out to a competition coach, which we've gone over that before and we can go over that on a different podcast. But once you find a coach that you like working with and you feel comfortable with, you need to communicate with them and say, I wanna do a competition. This is my physique. You go over all of the numbers and information. But honestly, I feel like if you have...
let's say 20 pounds to lose. Like in your guesstimating, of course, you never really know until you get like leaner and leaner and leaner. And that's also the tricky thing is you don't really know until you put yourself through the process. Because let's say you have 20, 25 pounds that you wanna knock off with, you know, looking at your height and looking at like the class you wanna do, you know, bikini. And so I would say, you know, give yourself time, you know, pick a show that's like 30 weeks out and then start prepping for the show.
Give yourself a lot of time. Don't pick something that's gonna be crammed into like, 12 weeks and you've never done a show and you just wanna jump in. So give yourself time, work with your coach, and then as you go through like those 30 weeks and you get closer and closer, you allow your body to transform, to change. Because yeah, you've been going to the gym for a while now and yeah, you've been eating healthier and that's great, but it takes a little bit more discipline when you decide to do a prep.
You know, you need to get used to prepping your food. You need to get used to like having a very structured gym regimen and get used to checking in every week. Most coaches will have you check in every week. Maybe some will do every two weeks, but when you do your check -ins, you want to allow yourself time to have your body change and transform. So I, I'd like to shoot for like 30, 25 weeks now. That's if you're a new competitor too. If you're a season, if you're, we're going to speak just on a new competitor.
Gillian (16:30)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Mandy (16:54)
basis because if you're a season competitor, that might be a little different. You might have more lean muscle tissue. You might've already done an off season. There's a whole bunch of other things, but if you're a brand new competitor, you know, you need to trust the process of your coach, communicate with the process with your coach and your coach needs to communicate with you as well. So that's kind of where I would see. I, even with lifestyle clients, to lose weight does not need to take this astronomical amount of time. It,
It just takes commitment. And that's really where I see across the board is if you wanna do a show and you need to lean out, which means you need to lose body fat, when you're on that journey week after week after week, prepping your food in the gym, training, your body's gonna transform, that's consistency, that's discipline, that's weight loss. And that also crosses over to a lifestyle client. If you want to lose weight and get ready for the summer and feel great in a bikini,
Gillian (17:48)
Hmm.
Mandy (17:52)
You can do that. It's consistency. It's discipline. It's, it's what you do every week for X amount of weeks to get you to your goal. So, mm hmm.
Gillian (18:01)
Yeah. Yeah, I think that's so like about like six, six months then sort of for somebody. I think it yeah, I think it starts with like where they're starting. Like if somebody, you know, you take I start with photos, you know, like and I might be on the phone with somebody and just like, hey, text me like a recent photo of yourself, a progress photo of yourself, because I think that's.
Mandy (18:06)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Gillian (18:23)
Well, that's what you're being judged on. The judges are not asking you to submit your body fat percentage or what your weight is or anything like that. So I take a look at their physique. And that's a helpful way to decide how long. But I would never really have somebody shoot for a show that's outside of like eight months to a year, because I just think it's hard for people to stay motivated, stay excited. I think it's different if you've done a couple shows and then you go, OK, here's my feedback. I really need to build.
and I'm going to do a year to two year improvement season. I think that's different. But for like your first competition, it's almost like you kind of got to get out there and see where you're at. And then sometimes we need to lose body fat to be able to see what's underneath. But I can typically look at someone's structure and go, OK, like it looks like they're need to build their upper body a little bit. And, you know, these are the areas that they hold on to body fat. And then I can sort of like almost like devise like.
Mandy (18:56)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (19:20)
Like not like an off season build, but almost like a re -comp. So maybe they would be working on building some muscle while simultaneously losing body fat at a slow rate because you can't lose body fat at a rapid rate and like retain muscle. So, and then just we're working on habits, you know, we might get some heels and do some like intro posing. but like, that's not like the cutting phase really, but like initially they did come to me for weight loss. So I'm, I'm working on leaning them out.
Mandy (19:24)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (19:50)
But I think that is for a first time competitor to have sort of like a goal in sight, like, you know, okay, if it's, you know, it's April, I'm going to shoot for November, you know, then they kind of can see. But if you're kind of like, well, we'll just know when we're ready. It's like, tacos. Okay, sure. Because I don't know when my show is. So, you know, whatever. And then you don't get anywhere really. So, you know, I think it's just different for everybody.
Mandy (20:11)
Yeah, well.
And also that's another thing to start further away from a show. Like you said, if you take, let's say you started prep right now in April and you are aiming for November, well, let's, and this is a brand new client, let's see if we can give you a high amount of calories. Let's see if we can start you really high and really healthy and clean food with low cardio. And let's see what the next two weeks happens. Cause what if, what if you have a client and you do that, you have really low cardio. Let's say you're eating over 2000 calories and then you check in with your, you check in and then.
Gillian (20:30)
Yeah.
Mandy (20:44)
you're dropping weight. well, you dropped weight again. You dropped weight again. Well, then that means we can coast, you know, the next so many weeks with very high calories. You just don't. And to be able to have the ability to start that high with calories and low with cardio and have, you know, 30 weeks, you could see you could do so much with that because you can feel so good. You can have so much energy. You can lift so much heavier.
Gillian (20:50)
Yeah, because you don't know what their metabolism is going to be like. You don't know. Yeah.
Yum.
Mandy (21:14)
push yourself more, get better sleep, and then just keep going. And then as you slowly reduce the calories, it won't be as hard as a new athlete, because you will have the hunger cravings. You will have those moments. It won't be as hard on them necessarily. Everybody's different going into getting closer to the show. So that's also a really good point of why to start further out.
Gillian (21:40)
And then if you're ready early, you know, that's a that's a good thing because things happen. We can't predict, you know, what's going to happen in your life. And, you know, things you could get sick and then we lose a week or, you know, a little, you know, injured like minor injury, little aches and pains or, you know, unexpected travel or, you know, whatever it might be. So those things we know we lose time.
Mandy (21:42)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (22:05)
But I do find like in that first like three months, we're doing a lot of work on habits and stuff. So it's nice to have that time. But then if you've never been on stage before, it is nice to have the time for posing because that's such a huge piece of it and needing the right amount of time to like get ready to, you know, showcase your physique and know how to walk gracefully and all of that takes time. So I think a first time competitor like at minimum six months to get ready, but more time would be better because.
Mandy (22:09)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (22:34)
Then also like, you know, a lot of girls get started and they might know like two or three people that compete. They get into this and they start following people and they're like, this person, look at her abs and all of her glutes and they're sizing everybody up and analyzing everybody and kind of like, then it starts to get like a little bit intimidating. And so, you know, they can sort of, you know, have fear about not having enough muscle and all these things. But, you know, I also like, I think show selection is important to like.
Mandy (22:59)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (23:02)
I'm not going to put a first time competitor, you know, in a competition where I know that there's going to be it's going to be stacked like right before nationals, you know, at in a in a place where, you know, I know there's going to be a national level judge because a lot of people, that's their strategy is they go to these shows where they know they're going to find national level judges to get in front of. So, you know, I might choose a show that, you know, I know is like less.
Mandy (23:12)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (23:27)
not say less competitive because you still have really competitive athletes everywhere, but just there's not going to be so many people that's not as scary and put them in the true novice class and like any other novice classes just to kind of get out there. And then, you know, and then see where they are. And I've had people that did their first show and, you know, ended up winning the whole thing. Right. And it's it's it happens. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It happens all the time.
Mandy (23:31)
Yeah.
Cleaned house. I've seen that we're like a true novice wins everything and Well, and that's also what's great about the NPC is that we have true novice and so the reassurance of knowing like You're so nervous about getting on stage for the first time. You're anxious. You're scared you you start getting in your head You know, like you said social media all this stuff You start really getting in your head at least like you know that when you go on stage for the very first time
Gillian (23:58)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Mandy (24:17)
It is in a true novice category, as long as you're in the true novice category. And everybody that's on stage with you at that moment has never been on stage before either. And so you are not alone. And I love that we have that reassurance now because they can relate and they can be backstage and get to chatting. Like all the girlies are always so nice to each other backstage. Like they'll be in line and they'll just be like fixing each other's suits.
Gillian (24:27)
Yeah.
Mandy (24:42)
talking about their kids, they'll just be like supporting one another and cheering each other on. So you're never alone. And that's what like, I love about this sport is like, it's so insane to think about how it's so much about our bodies and how we have to take care of ourselves and make ourselves look. But yeah, it's like so selfless too, because like the community, you just wanna give back and help others, especially when you're backstage, everybody sharing rice cakes.
Gillian (24:43)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Hmm.
Yeah, I think everybody really realizes that like once you're there, like the judges decide, you know, who the winner is and it doesn't help to be like, I mean, you're going to, we've talked about this before, but like, you're going to have people that are not very friendly. but like typically, you know, you get to know the people in your class cause you're standing back there like with them. It's like, so, you know, you're going to start to buy. I mean, I've made so many great friends backstage cause you're just sort of like, those are your people for the day. Even if you're there with teammates and stuff, like you're with, you know, other people in your high class and.
Mandy (25:12)
Mm -hmm.
Hehehehe
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (25:37)
Sometimes you see them a couple of times because you're in different classes together. And so it is so cool that like most of us have had that experience. A lot of our athletes that we coach like make friends and I can see that they, you know, stay connected with other athletes that they've met at shows. And I think that's like a beautiful thing you don't expect really from from your show day. Yeah.
Mandy (25:48)
Mm -hmm.
It is. Yeah. And going, you know, going back to show selection because, you know, again, we spoke about this, but you never have to feel pressure to register for a show. You know, pick a few shows or one show that you're thinking about doing. I recommend doing it in your area. Like try to get something close to home, you know, especially for your first time. If you are getting ready for that show, pay attention to whenever that late fee starts.
you know, that cutoff because like you said, what if you do get sick? Okay, you get a cold and it knocks you back a week. Well, what if you get like a cold and then the flu and then something happens and something happens and you're knocked back four weeks and you're not able to keep food down or the opposite, like you just don't know. And so let's say something happens, you're not obligated to those shows by any means unless you've already registered and paid for them. So.
Gillian (26:42)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Mandy (26:52)
If you have those shows in mind, but something happens, well, then you can speak with your coach and you guys can work together and you can pick a show that's further out. There's nothing wrong with that. Cause I've seen where, especially on social media, people will come out the gate and say like, this is the show I'm doing in 20 weeks. That's great. And that's awesome that you want to share your prep journey on social media, but something happens and you have to push it out.
Gillian (27:16)
Yeah.
Mandy (27:20)
It's okay. Like it is totally okay to be like, if you wanna announce it on social media, great, that's your platform. But if you need to push that out for yourself, like you need to have that, you need to swallow that hard pill and like push it out for yourself and you know, just own it. And that's okay. Just like the opposite. What if you are ready early and you're just like coasting through prep and under all of, you know, that fat was like awesome delts and you have like your.
Gillian (27:42)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Mandy (27:49)
glutes popping, well let's hop in a show and see what we do. Well then you hop in a show early. Just pay mind to the registrations because you don't wanna get hit with that late fee, but.
Gillian (27:59)
Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't leave it to like the very last minute, but like sometimes people will like register like, you know, 16 weeks out because then they feel like, well, I'll definitely do it if I register at 16 weeks out. Like, what if you're, you know, your body might not cooperate like you could have something come up like if you need that to stay accountable and maybe you need to pick a different sport. But, you know, you don't get that money back if you don't show up. So so, yeah, I think like, you know,
Mandy (28:02)
No.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (28:27)
about a month out is like for some, I mean, the show that I'm doing in DC, I think that you can register up until like 72 hours prior online. And then.
Mandy (28:37)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (28:38)
But a lot of promoters, it's usually like, you know, two to four weeks out is like their deadline. So, you know, just make sure like once you kind of got an idea and things are coasting along, talk to your coach and go, OK, like, are we are we in a place now where we can, you know, set a show date? And usually they can because if they've gotten to know your metabolism and they've seen your work ethic and how you're progressing and it's sort of looking like, you know, OK, like we could be, you know, we could be about three months out right now. Like a really good coach should be able to tell based on kind of how you're doing.
and how you're looking, and then sort of toss around some ideas as far as shows. But sort of like shifting gears on this topic a little bit, what do you do if you're not ready? And you have committed to a show, you've been in prep, you're two to four weeks out, and you're not gonna be ready.
Mandy (29:08)
Mm -hmm.
a few things. I was like, I'm going first. Okay, well, a few things. So one, from a financial standpoint, if you aren't gonna be ready for that show and you've already registered for it, contact the promoter immediately and see if you can move your registration.
Gillian (29:34)
Go ahead, you can go first.
Mandy (29:51)
Some promoters won't let you, some will have rules regulation. You might be out that money and you just have to swallow that. Some promoters may allow you to move to a different show. So do that financially first. Communicate with your coach and if you and your coach agree that you are not ready, then you need to figure out why aren't you ready? Like what's, are you not ready because your body is plateauing? Is it?
stagnant to where you're not progressing, you're not losing weight, you're not leaning out enough, like what's going on? Are you not ready because you, you know, didn't do your diet? Well, that's kind of on you. So there's a few different ways to go about that, but I would say if you're not ready, contact the promoter, pick a further out show, see if you need, instead of like two, three weeks, maybe you need eight, 10 weeks. Okay, if it's like a leaning out problem.
But that's something that you and your coach would have to go over. So that's kind of where I would start. What about you? Your turn.
Gillian (30:53)
So there's two ways to answer this question. Are you not ready because your physique is not going to be lean enough or the right condition for stage things have slowed down, things have plateaued, we're not seeing progress? Or do you think you're not ready because you don't have accurate and realistic expectations of how you should look?
because I think the latter happens more often where somebody is comparing themselves to the New York pro or the Olympia or nationals and they are a first time competitor and they're like, well, this is what I'm seeing is winning. I don't look like that. So I shouldn't be getting on stage. There's so many parts to that that I could dive into like a.
Mandy (31:18)
Ooh.
Hmm.
Gillian (31:45)
You'd look way different on stage than you do at home in your house. And at four weeks out, you look way different. All the magic sort of like comes together on that day. And you get up there with the tan, the suit and the lights and the peak week and everything. And you look completely you won't even recognize yourself. So there's that. But also, like, you don't need to look like that. Like you need to look like the best version of you. You're not going to be getting up on stage at your very first competition and competing with the likes of Lorelei Chapados and
Mandy (31:48)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (32:15)
Amy Delgado, you know, Nicole Johnson, you know, all these established IFBB pros like that's for later and you'll get there. You know, if you keep going, you'll get there. But for right now, that doesn't matter. Also, it's really hard to assess your physique by yourself in your house. We're not standing next to anybody. You're in your dark basement. You got no tan. You probably got your hair and a pineapple on top of your head and like, you know, your eyelashes looking like this. Like you're not you're not supposed to look show ready.
Mandy (32:16)
Mm -hmm. Jennifer Dory, yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (32:44)
today. So if you trust your coach and you say, Hey, I just I'm looking, I'm going, I don't know. That coach should say, we're going to be great. Like here's the here's the what I see. Here's what we still need to do. We've got time, you're going to be ready. And you go, okay, you know, you just got to put it in their hands and trust them. But I've seen people wig out, freak out, back out of shows.
Mandy (32:46)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Gillian (33:09)
because they're like, well, I don't look like this and they just they're so in their head about it. So I think that's a huge problem. Like when I first started competing, we didn't have social media. We didn't have great coverage of shows. You used to have to wait like six months for that NPC magazine to come to your house.
Mandy (33:28)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (33:28)
to see your show and like if you were in the top five, you would be in a picture, but if you weren't, your name was there. Like we didn't have all the resources that we have now. So it was kind of nice because you just kind of, I don't know, you were like, mm -hmm.
Mandy (33:35)
Yeah.
Now it's information overload. I like the amount of pictures, like all the pictures that you see on social media, it's nuts. Cause you even look at like, I'll even use myself for example, like the way that I look on social media, the way my pictures look, you never know anybody's backstory for one. You don't know how long have they been training? How long have they been weightlifting? How long have, you know, what have they gone through?
Also, you don't know if their photos are edited. You don't know if the lighting is perfect. And that's just if you're on Instagram and you see somebody has abs that's competing at the same show you're competing at and you don't have abs. And like you said, you wig out, like that's not real. Like you can't do that. And I remember when I was coming up, the only, we had Instagram, we could see pictures, but.
Gillian (34:17)
Yeah.
Mandy (34:27)
There was no live, there was no videos. There was no live coverage like that. The only person that had videos was Dana Lynn Bailey and like she was just incredible. But she did a lot of that herself. There wasn't like coverage of shows. And then obviously it came later. But when you look at pros and when I do posing with a lot of girls, we talk about this because they will flail their arms. They will do a lot of more foot movement than they need to. And it's like, no.
Gillian (34:33)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Mandy (34:57)
Don't do that. And it's what they see online because that's what the pros are doing and the pros are taking that long and the pros are maybe it's like, you will get there. It will come in time. You will stay diligent. You will keep going on your journey. But right now, what you need to do is hit your front pose really good, hit your back pose really good, go back to your front pose and walk away. And that's as good as it needs to be. And do not let, eat them.
Gillian (35:21)
Yes. And eat the food and go to the gym and just stick with it and listen to your coach. Because the worst thing you can do is just, you know.
look too much into photos and videos and then psych yourself out and make yourself so nervous. Everybody starts somewhere, so you got to start, right? So you've got to get out there, but you just don't know until you get out there. And you could miss out on a great opportunity because you just decided that you thought that you weren't ready. I think it's different if you have competed before and you can assess your physique and go, I'm not where I need to be. But it's very different if you
Mandy (35:33)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (36:00)
You know, if you're being overly critical as an experienced competitor or body dysmorphia, because that happens to all of us that can play a role as well. You want to feel comfortable. So like I have had where somebody is like, I just don't feel comfortable and there's just nothing I can say or do to help them to see how good they look. And I do realize that they just might need more time mentally, even though I know physically we're there, like we're ready, but they're just like, there's just no way. Like I don't feel ready. And for whatever reason in their mind and other
Mandy (36:08)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (36:30)
four to six weeks of prep will make them feel more prepared and more comfortable because you can see it all over somebody's body language when they aren't comfortable. Like their posing looks awkward. They just want to get the hell out of there. They don't look comfortable on stage and it just doesn't showcase the most beautiful physique when you're posing like that. So you've got to feel comfortable and ready. But you know, I don't know that anybody ever feels ready. I think even, you know, I think when you get there, you go, okay, I'm ready. But like, you know,
Mandy (36:42)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (36:58)
I mean, even at this point, I'm two and a half weeks out and I'm just like, yeah, you know, like I feel ready. But but, you know, I I'm just.
Mandy (37:04)
Yeah.
And it's like, look how many shows you've done, look how many years you've done it. It's the same thing with me last week. It's like, you know, I felt horrible. Like you feel not great today. And it's like, we have to step on stage in a bikini in two and a half weeks. And it's like, you know, you just always gotta remember that you're not like alone in your thoughts. You know, like that's another big one is like, if you're on this journey and you're getting ready for a show,
Gillian (37:10)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (37:33)
and you start like, I don't look good, I don't feel good, I don't feel comfortable. It's like the one thing social media is good for is you aren't alone. Like send some DMs, like reach out, like communicate, make a community, you know, reach out into your gym and like find other girls. Like I love my gym in the morning so much because of that. Like it's, you know, you have this camaraderie, whether they're prepping or not, but like you aren't alone.
Gillian (37:42)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Mandy (38:02)
and you aren't the only one that's tired and you're not the only one that may have digestion issues or be really scared and really nervous. Send some DMs and get to talking to some people and realize it will be okay. It will be okay. We're all gonna go on stage and it will be okay.
Gillian (38:18)
Yeah, and I think if you can take anything away from this podcast today, just like know that like emotions are like, you know, they're all over the place in prep. So you could be feeling amazing. And then five minutes later, you feel like a bag of shit. And then like the next hour, you feel great. I mean, and that's just part of it, you know, so.
Mandy (38:33)
I know.
What is that? It's like, I'm alive, I'm dead. I'm alive. What is that from? What is that? my gosh. It is.
Gillian (38:42)
I don't know, but that's accurate. And that's part of it, which you wouldn't know if you've never done this before, but yeah.
Mandy (38:48)
that's from somewhere. And there's a bunch of reels that use it. It's like, I'm alive, I'm dead. I'm alive, I'm dead. It's like...
Gillian (38:53)
Yeah, that's me minute by minute these days, which is like all part of it, which I mean, if you talk to your coach, they're going to tell you like, this is normal, you know. But, you know, I think journaling is great, too, because I've kept so many journals like I had to even look back today and be like, when did I get my period in my prep in 2021? And I'm going through the archives in my phone and I'm like, OK, I actually weighed more than OK, I'm good. Like, fricking it. You have to just kind of make yourself feel better.
Mandy (38:58)
It is.
Mm -hmm.
I have that, but do you know what? I don't... I set goals like all the time and I'll write them down and I have books like you do. I don't journal. It's not for me, but goal setting is for me. Like writing my numbers down, tracking stuff. I love that. And when I accepted my sponsorship with Toxic Angel... what year was it? I had... It was like 2019. I had wrote down become a sponsored athlete. And now, yeah.
Gillian (39:31)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mandy (39:47)
I had like, you know how you divide your goals, like financial goals, fitness goals, stuff like that. And that was like, it was, I can't, of course it's in one of my notebooks, but it was like, it was 2019 or 2020. It was probably 2020 because I remember I started a prep and stopped because of COVID and then started. But yeah, and I like look back at that and I'm like, it's 2024.
Gillian (39:51)
Yeah. Yeah.
I love it. Have you ever heard of Steve Harvey's 100 list?
Mandy (40:17)
No, no I haven't. Yeah, yeah, that's why I was trying to think if I heard of him talk.
Gillian (40:17)
So you know who Steve Harvey is, right?
Yeah, and he's like somewhat religious, but.
Mandy (40:26)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (40:26)
He it's like you can find it on YouTube, but he he says you do not receive because you do not ask. And so his whole idea is write a list of 100 things that you want to achieve, that you want items, just things, anything, 100 things. And at first it kind of starts out with like, I'd like to take my whole family to Paris and like, you know, all these things. But they can be like little tiny things. And the exercise
Mandy (40:36)
Mmm.
Yeah.
Gillian (40:56)
just like helps you to be like grateful because it might be like I want to have an amazing Memorial Day with my family on Monday and then you get to tick it off and then.
Mandy (41:03)
Yeah, because to get to 100, that's like a lot.
Gillian (41:05)
It but it is but and they could be big things. They can be small things like I want to be a sponsored athlete. I want to win a pro card, you know, whatever it might be and along the way while you're working towards these big things, you're ticking off little things like, you know, I hope my daughter makes level three senior team in two weeks, you know, like whatever it might be. And then when it does like I'm like, we did that. we did that. And it helps you to like really see all the wonderful things that are happening because if you just say here's my three goals, I want to be an IFB pro and I want to.
Mandy (41:08)
Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (41:35)
you know, coach a million women to lose 100 pounds and like whatever it might be. Right. Then you missing like all the little things, you know. But also it's OK to like ask for some of these like things to come into your life. Right. So that just made me think about that, because I remember like in high school we did that. And I don't think it was based on Steve Harvey. My gym teacher made us write this list. And I like I think there was like 50 things on it. I folded it up and I stuck it in an envelope and I taped it under a drawer in my dresser. And the last time I went.
Mandy (41:43)
Mm -hmm.
Hmm.
Gillian (42:05)
back to Canada, I opened it and I had accomplished like half of the things on that list. And it's like in my like high school printing on like lined paper that had aged because I'm 100 years old. And this was back in the dinosaur times when we wrote with. We wrote on stones with sticks. No, I'm kidding. But it was like, you know, be in a magazine, be a fitness coach.
Mandy (42:09)
that's cool!
my god.
stop.
Yeah.
Gillian (42:29)
have a boy and a girl, which I think back on high school and I don't remember thinking that, but I did. And I'm like, my God, tick, tick, tick, like all these things. So I think that's such a powerful exercise. So sometimes like some of that, like, you know, hippie, dippy stuff helps you get through prep when you're like in this place of just like, I'm a hot fricking mess and I'm so tired and I don't, I felt really skinny this morning and now I feel like a busted can of biscuits. Like, can I get it? Can I get on stage? You know, where you're a hot freaking mess. I think the sport sort of draws.
Mandy (42:47)
Mm -hmm.
Gillian (42:59)
people that have these big crazy goals anyways. So, you know, it's going to be a journey. But I also think if you don't do big scary things in life, like, are you living like if your life is so comfy? But some people are good with that. Some people are great with the sort of the day to day. And, you know, they they live in the same neighborhood that they grew up in and they're super happy and content. But.
Mandy (43:00)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, if your goals don't scare you then are they?
Gillian (43:25)
You know, a lot of people, they're they're always unsettled unless they're doing something and they're working towards something. So just understand that like this is a big goal and it's going to have its challenges, but it's going to be so worth it. You know, and you might think there's just not even a snowflakes chance in hell that I'm going to be ready in four weeks. And you get up there and you do it and you're like, I don't to think I almost didn't do this because I didn't think that I was ready, you know, so just go for it.
Mandy (43:37)
Yeah.
Yeah, and that's always how you walk away from it too, is you get on that stage and you're scared, you're nervous, you feel like you weren't ready, you feel all these things, but when you're there, man, it's just amazing. And you'll never forget those moments too. That's why people will always ask me how incredible it is to expedite. And I'm like, yeah, it's a lot of work, it's really hard, but being such a positive influence at a moment in time that every athlete is gonna remember, you know, is...
Gillian (44:03)
Yeah.
Mandy (44:17)
It's so meaningful to me, because I'm like, I can help you through this moment in your life that you will always remember and I can make sure, or at least like try to make sure to do the best I can for it to be the best for you, you know? So.
Gillian (44:31)
Yeah, it's cool to be a part of those experiences for sure. You know, you're the last smiling face they see at the top of the stairs before they go out there for the very first time. Like, you know, for like how many people have you been that person? Like, that's like so cool. And so, you know, it's it is so rewarding. You know, this whole experience, obviously, we've made a whole a whole business and a whole podcast out of the thing, you know, and they're, you know, and it's wonderful. So I think like, you know, if anything, hopefully.
Mandy (44:35)
Mm -hmm.
Yeah.
Ha ha ha.
Gillian (44:59)
listening to our stories and listening to this advice today will give you some reassurance about how you're feeling that it's normal. And then if you're not ready, just take more time. But again, you might be ready. You might just be in your head about the whole thing and not really know what you're looking at, right?
Mandy (45:14)
Yeah, and always remember that it's not, it doesn't need to take a year or two. It does not need to take this astronomical amount of time. It just takes it. Yep.
Gillian (45:17)
No, get out there, get out there and give it a go. See what you're looking like, you know, and just, and who knows? Like you could be way closer than you think, but again, you don't know what the judges are looking for because you know, you're just getting started. So get out there and see what they say. And then you've got some to work towards in the gym. Like, okay, I'm going to take, you know, I did, I did two shows and now I'm going to take a year and grow my glutes. And you know, and you learn so much and then you come back and you could be doing it for 97 years like me. And,
Heheheheh
Mandy (45:48)
With that as we wrap up this episode guys also like we mentioned if you need somebody to talk to or if you have questions about anything if you're looking for a coach If you have posing questions, you know, you can con we are here for you Of course, this is our podcast is on youtube spotify apple
Gillian (45:58)
We're here for you. Yes.
Even if you have another coach, we're not gonna steal you from that coach. We just wanna help. So, if you've got questions, don't feel like you can't ask us if you've got another coach. We support other teams in the industry. We just wanna be resources for everybody that's here that is trying to learn and become the best version of themselves. So we're always here for anything.
Mandy (46:07)
Never. Yeah.
Mm -hmm.
absolutely.
Yeah, I've partnered with some coaches and helped some of their women that are just like new to the stage. And so it's like, we're always here. You know, you can comment, you can DM us on our personal pages, you know, message us on Bikini's After Babies podcast on Instagram, comment, you know. And of course, let us know anything that you guys would like to hear from us or from the people that we interview. But I hope you guys, you know, took a lot from this podcast and we'll talk to you next time.
Gillian (46:27)
Yeah, me too.
Bye everybody, have a good day.
Mandy (46:50)
Bye.