Comp Prep Guide

Sophie Brewster explains everything you need to know if you're thinking of becoming a bikini competitor, including how to chose a show, when to compete, how to go about comp prep and tips for show day.

Welcome to my channel, today we're going to talk about getting started as a bikini competitor.

This is a much requested video. People ask me about this all the time. I recently put up a post on my Instagram and this was definitely the most common video request.

So without any further ado, we are going to split this topic into different parts which are: (1) Choosing a show; (2) When should you compete or how long should you wait until you compete; (3) Prepping for the show; and (4) Show Day!

I wanted to quickly run over what it means to compete or what it means to be a bikini competitor. The aim in a bodybuilding competition is to reduce your body fat while maintaining muscle mass as much as possible. Between categories, they might have a different amount of muscle mass they're looking for.

Part 1 - Choosing a show. When you're choosing a show there are five main things that you should consider. The first one is the show type. There are loads of different shows out there.

You will have the main federations that are the most well-known and have the most competitors but you also have the new ones coming along and they're growing quickly.

Some federations are more about the physique on stage, sometimes with no music or other glamorous things.

Whereas other shows are all about the glamour, the modelling, the music, the overall show presention etc.

If you think you like the glamor side of it more than definitely look into those shows and find the ones that represent that for you. This is definitely what got me into competing. I thought it was incredible when I discovered WBFF, I saw how they could combine fitness and beauty so well and that intrigued me.

Next would be choosing a category. Once you've decided on a show you then need to decide which category you are going to enter. There tends to be loads of different categories depending on what show you pick.

Your best way to find out which category would suit you best, is to find people that compete in those categories, go on their Instagram pages and find pictures of them in their off-season and search for the body type that you match up to the most.

Doing this will give you the great ideas of which grade you're going to be best suited for.

Then is the regulations. You have to check if your show has any regulations that you don't necessarily like. Some shows have different regulations for posing so that would be a big one for me.

I think that posing on stage is one of my favorite parts, so if a show has limitations to what I could do or had compulsory poses that I didn't like or I didn't think suited me, that would definitely sway me away from a certain Federations.

Some shows have bikini regulations and shoe regulations etc, so have a look and make sure it's something you definitely want to do and that it suits you.

You also need to consider location. You want to pick a show that's easy enough for you to get to especially if it's your first show.

Next would be the costing. Depending on what Federation you go for, the entry fees will be different. The cost of bikinis will be different depending on the amount of crystals added to your suit. The cost of stage photos will also vary.

Do check on these things and make sure it's something that you can definitely afford to do because you don't want to break the bank doing this. Especially if you're just testing the water and seeing if it's something that you like.

Part 2 - When should you compete. Technically there is no rule to this, honestly it's category dependent or show dependent.

If you're entering a ‘Novice’ bikini category, they don't look for a huge amount of muscle mass, they don't even look for a huge level of leanness.

There's no reason why somebody who hasn't been going to the gym for that long couldn't do a category like this.

Once you start looking into fitness categories, figure or body building categories for women that would be a huge step up. That's when you need to have well-developed muscle density, well-developed proportions. Muscle takes a long time to develop, so your training period would have to be longer.

I went into my first prep on a whim but I was already somebody with a good muscular base. I didn't just walk into a gym for a few days and decided that I was going to do a show.

I used to do a lot of sports as a child. I did love sprinting and gymnastics so I had built up a good muscle base before I even started going to the gym.

My best advice is if you're unsure about this, find yourself a coach.

If you find a coach who's prepped people like you before or even competed in your Federation or category before, then they will be the best person to advise you on how long until you can start your prep or how much more muscular development you need for that category.

General Comp Prep Prep Guide For Beginners Tips and Tricks Federations, Divisions etc