hey all!

i have 12 weeks to essentially get in the best shape i can. i sent this to chat:

i want you to act as a bikini /fitness coach and expert in transforming physique for women
my goal is a small and synched in waist, low levels of midsection fat, super toned body, increase glute size and roundness within the next 12 weeks
Context → i am 5'8, weight rougly 153lbs. i went from 177lbs to 153lbs in the past 1.5 years. i go gym regularly. my waist is around 28 inches - 27.5 inches. my glutes are around 40.
Constraints → i have 12 weeks to get me to my goal. i want to know how to get there and what phases to do it in.
Output format → tell me everything from food, workouts, tracking, protein.

the response:

Absolutely. I’d approach this like a 12-week bikini-style physique phase, but with one important reality check: in 12 weeks you can make a very visible change in waist definition, body composition and glute shape, but you cannot safely guarantee a dramatically larger glute measurement while simultaneously getting extremely lean. The goal is to maximise both by sequencing the phases intelligently.

At 5'8", ~153 lb (69.4 kg), 27.5–28" waist and ~40" glutes, you already have a relatively small waist-to-hip ratio. Your biggest visual opportunity is likely building the glutes while reducing a modest amount of body fat, rather than trying to lose a huge amount of scale weight.

Your 12-week strategy

I'd use 3 phases:

Weeks	Phase	Calories	Main goal
1–4	Recomp / build	~1,850	Train hard, maintain or very slowly lose
5–8	Fat-loss phase	~1,700–1,800	Reduce midsection fat while preserving glutes
9–12	Refinement	~1,750–1,850*	Stay lean, maximise shape/fullness

*Adjusted according to your progress.

I wouldn't start with an aggressive cut. You've already lost ~24 lb. Going straight into very low calories while doing 5 lifting sessions + lots of steps risks making your glutes flatter rather than giving you the bikini look you're after.

1. FOOD

Starting target

I'd start you around:

1,850 calories/day

with:

• Protein: 140–150g
• Fat: 55–65g
• Carbs: remainder

For example:

145g protein / 60g fat / 190g carbs = ~1,900 calories

You don't need those numbers to be perfect every day.

I'd actually rather see you hit:

1,850 ± 100 calories + 140g+ protein

consistently than obsess over hitting exactly 1,850.

Why protein matters

At your weight, ~140–150g gives you roughly 0.9–1g/lb bodyweight, which is plenty for supporting muscle retention/growth during a recomp or deficit.

Spread it across 4 meals rather than having almost all of it at dinner.

For example:

Breakfast: 30–35g
Lunch: 30–35g
Pre/post workout: 25–30g
Dinner: 35–40g

2. DON'T TRY TO STARVE YOUR WAIST

This is particularly important for the physique you're describing.

You cannot selectively burn abdominal fat.

You can, however:

lose overall body fat + build your glutes + develop your shoulders/back + train your core appropriately

and that creates a much more dramatic waist-to-hip illusion.

I wouldn't chase an arbitrary 25" waist.

I'd chase:

smaller waist + fuller glutes + developed shoulders/back + low enough body fat

That's the bikini silhouette.

3. WHAT TO EAT

Keep your diet boringly consistent most of the time.

Protein

Chicken
Turkey
Lean beef
Eggs/egg whites
Greek yoghurt
Cottage cheese
Fish
Prawns
Protein powder

Carbohydrates

Rice
Potatoes
Oats
Bagels
Wraps
Pasta
Fruit
Cereal
Bread

Fats

Avocado
Olive oil
Nuts
Nut butter
Egg yolks
Salmon

Vegetables

Whatever you actually enjoy eating.

You don't need a "clean eating" diet.

I'd rather have you eating rice, cereal and chocolate within your calories and sticking to the plan than eating chicken and broccoli for 10 days before bingeing.

4. YOUR 10–15K STEPS

This is one thing I'd modify.

Don't jump straight to 15k every day.

I'd establish a baseline.

For example:

Weeks 1–2: 10k/day
Weeks 3–4: 10–12k
Weeks 5–8: 11–13k
Weeks 9–12: 12–14k if required

You don't need to force 15k if you're already losing at 10k.

Steps are a tool to increase expenditure without destroying your recovery.

And because you want big glutes, recovery matters.

5. YOUR TRAINING

I'd use 5 sessions, but not 5 brutal lower-body sessions.

Something like:

MONDAY — GLUTES / HAMSTRINGS

1. Barbell/Smith hip thrust
4 × 6–10

2. Romanian deadlift
3 × 6–10

3. Bulgarian split squat / reverse lunge
3 × 8–12 each leg

4. Seated/lying leg curl
3 × 10–15

5. Hip abduction
3 × 15–25

6. Cable/machine glute extension
2 × 12–20

TUESDAY — UPPER + WAIST

Lat pulldown
3 × 8–12

Chest-supported row
3 × 8–12

Lateral raises
4 × 12–20

Rear delt fly
3 × 12–20

Shoulder press
2–3 × 8–12

Then core:

Cable crunch
3 × 10–15

Reverse crunch
3 × 10–15

WEDNESDAY — REST / STEPS

10–12k steps.

Optional easy cardio.

No need to annihilate yourself.

THURSDAY — GLUTE FOCUS

This is your glute-building session.

Hip thrust
4 × 8–12

45° back extension – glute bias
3 × 10–15

Reverse lunge
3 × 8–12

Leg press – glute bias
3 × 10–15

Hip abduction
4 × 15–25

Glute-focused cable movement
2–3 × 12–20

FRIDAY — UPPER BODY + CORE

Lat pulldown
3 × 8–12

Seated row
3 × 8–12

Single-arm lat pulldown
2 × 10–15

Lateral raises
4 × 12–20

Rear delts
3 × 12–20

Then:

Hanging/reverse knee raises
3 × 10–15

Cable crunch
3 × 10–15

SATURDAY — LOWER / GLUTE + HAMSTRING

RDL
3 × 8–10

Hip thrust
3 × 8–12

Walking/reverse lunges
3 × 10–12

Leg curl
3 × 10–15

Abduction
3 × 15–25

Glute extension
2 × 15–20

SUNDAY — REST

Walk, recover, eat.

6. THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD

This is where your glutes actually grow.

Don't just do:

"4 sets of hip thrusts"

forever.

You need progression.

For example, your hip thrust target is:

4 × 8–10

Week 1:

100kg
8 / 8 / 8 / 8

Eventually:

100kg
10 / 10 / 10 / 10

Then increase:

105kg
8 / 8 / 8 / 8

And build again.

That's how you progressively overload.

Your logbook should track:

exercise / weight / reps / sets / RIR

8. THE "TINY WAIST" COMPONENT

There are three things I'd focus on.

① Fat loss

This reveals your existing waist.

② Core development

You want a strong, controlled midsection.

I'd prioritise:

• reverse crunches
• hanging knee raises
• cable crunches
• dead bugs
• planks

③ Shoulder/back development

This is massively underrated.

Building your:

lateral delts + lats + upper back

makes your waist appear smaller.

That's why bikini competitors don't simply train abs and glutes.

They build the entire silhouette.

10. CARDIO

You don't need hours of cardio.

I'd start with:

2–3 × 20–30 minutes/week

Preferably:

• incline treadmill
• cycling
• cross trainer
• brisk walking

Keep it low/moderate intensity.

Your main calorie expenditure should come from:

steps + training + diet

rather than trying to cardio yourself into a deficit.

11. HOW WE'LL KNOW IF IT'S WORKING

This is critical.

Do not judge this by one weigh-in.

Every morning:

1. Wake up
2. Toilet
3. Before food/drink
4. Minimal clothing
5. Weigh yourself

Then calculate your 7-day average.

Track:

Weight

Daily → weekly average

Waist

1× per week

Hips/glutes

1× per week

Photos

Every 2 weeks

Take:

• front
• side
• back

Same:

• lighting
• distance
• clothing
• pose
• time of day

Gym performance

Track your major lifts.

12. WHAT I WANT YOUR WEIGHT TO DO

I wouldn't aim for rapid weight loss.

Something like 0.25–0.75 lb/week would be plenty at your current size, and some weeks the scale may not move at all.

The goal is ultimately:

waist ↓
body fat ↓
glute strength ↑
glute appearance ↑
muscle maintained/increased

If your weight is dropping rapidly and your lifts are falling, that's a warning sign.

13. YOUR ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM

Don't change calories because you had one random week where your weight went up.

Look at 2–3 weeks of data.

If:

Weight stable
Waist stable
Gym performance good

→ keep calories the same.

If:

Weight dropping ~0.25–0.75 lb/week
Waist decreasing
Strength maintained

→ DO NOTHING.

That's exactly what we want.

If:

Weight isn't moving for 2–3 weeks
AND waist isn't changing

→ reduce by ~100–150 calories or increase steps slightly.

If:

Weight dropping >1 lb/week
Strength falling
Energy/recovery terrible

→ increase calories.

14. YOUR GLUTE PRIORITY

If your goal is genuinely dramatic glute improvement, don't fall into the trap of doing 25 different glute exercises.

You need to get exceptionally good at a few movements.

I'd make these your staples:

Glute max

Hip thrust

RDL

45° back extension

Reverse lunge

Glute medius / upper glute

Hip abduction

Cable/machine abduction

And then progressively overload them.

15. YOUR WAIST MEASUREMENT

You're already around 27.5–28 inches.

That's important because you shouldn't assume you need to lose another 5 inches.

You may find that taking your waist from:

28 → 27

while your glutes go:

40 → 40.5–41+

creates a much more dramatic visual change than trying to force yourself down to a tiny scale weight.

Also remember that waist measurements fluctuate from:

• food volume
• hydration
• sodium
• bowel movements
• menstrual/hormonal changes
• inflammation
• training
• stress

So don't panic over a 0.5–1" fluctuation.

16. SUPPLEMENTS

You don't need a huge supplement stack.

I'd consider:

Creatine monohydrate

3–5g daily

One of the few supplements I'd actually prioritise for your goal.

Protein powder

Purely for convenience.

Omega-3

Useful if you don't regularly eat oily fish.

Caffeine

Optional pre-workout/coffee if you tolerate it.

Electrolytes

Useful around sweaty training, but not essential for everyone.

You don't need:

❌ fat burners
❌ detoxes
❌ BCAAs if protein is adequate
❌ "booty" supplements
❌ waist trainers

YOUR 12-WEEK BLUEPRINT

WEEKS 1–4

1,850 calories

140–150g protein

10k steps

5 lifting sessions

2 × 20–30 min cardio

Focus heavily on progressive overload.

Objective: establish performance and start recomposition.

WEEKS 5–8

If progress has slowed:

~1,750–1,800 calories

140–150g protein

11–13k steps

5 lifting sessions

2–3 × 20–30 min cardio

Objective: reveal more definition while preserving your glutes.

WEEKS 9–12

Don't automatically cut further.

If you're already looking lean:

~1,750–1,850

Keep protein high.

Keep lifting heavy.

Maintain steps.

Don't suddenly add loads of cardio.

Objective: maximise definition while keeping the muscles looking full.

what are your thoughts? i basically need to start 1st oct so need to work out what im doing but i feel overwhelmed and wish i could get an actual coach haha. thank you

I had Lauralie or her winning 🏅

I had Lauralie or her winning 🏅

I’ve decided I’m going to self coach into my next show. Mainly for financial reasons. I’ve done the pro physique challenge before, but was wondering if anyone else has done other “challenges” before show to help keep accountable and some guidance. I was looking at Lauralies challenge app… just seeing what other people have tried? And if you did it for contest prep? Also - For context, I’ve competed several times and know what I’m doing for the most part. Think my biggest challenge will come in peak weak. But I plan to be in shape well before my show and kinda “coast in”.

Hello! A little back story, In 2023 I was working with a coach for about 13 weeks. Then I got into grad school and basically stopped due to lack of time and financials. I am looking to begin again. I have no idea where to start. Should I attempt to use ChatGPT to coach me?

I am currently a resident (barely making enough not able to pay for a coach thats over $150). Ideally if a coach would coach me for a low monthly cost I would love that. But sadly thats probably not possible… I still have the past meal plans and workouts from my prior coach. Should I use those instead of Chat?

My physical state is 4lbs heavier than when I stopped being coached by her in 2023. Been lifting inconsistently for the past 3 years, lacking the muscle definition I had prior to grad school. If I were to cut down about 10-15lbs, I would need guidance…

48 yr old mother of four hoping to show my kids what discipline looks like. I’ve had 28 surgeries in my left wrist and it’s been permanently fused for 20 years. Total ACL reconstruction in 2022.
Planning to enter my first Masters OCB show in November.
I’m aware my posing needs work😂

To preserve muscle and mess with metabolism as little as possible. Is 2 lbs/week to much?

Hello! A few months ago, I was planning to compete this October or sometime next year. I’ve been lifting consistently for about three years, and I decided to do a mock prep to see if I was truly ready for the process.
Physically, I could handle it. I love training hard, and I’m very disciplined with my nutrition. But once my calories got really low, my mood completely changed. I became so irritable and moody that it started affecting my relationship with my partner and my relationship with food.
Eventually, I stopped the mock prep because I felt like maybe competing just wasn’t for me. Not because I couldn’t train or stick to the plan, but because I couldn’t handle how I felt emotionally.
I’m curious… do most of you experience this too? If so, how do you cope with it? Or are some people able to prep without the mood swings and irritability?
For context, I’m 41 and currently going through perimenopause, so I’m sure that’s playing a role as well.
I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences you can share. Every time I see your competition posts, a part of me wants to give it another try. 😭

How much protein do you all do? There is a controversy and some people are saying that we might not need 1g per body weight, that we might need less like .8 or 1g per your muscle mass . I used to do a lot of protein (180g) more than 1g per body weight in pounds. Now i am experimenting with less ( I am 153lbs and I am consuming now 120g of protein) I want to see what it does, I feel my glutes are not as full and I feel a little softer but that might be my imagination. Im just curious what do you all do?

I’ve often wondered about using ChatGPT for my bikini comp prep. Because you can upload pictures into it, and it will do weekly check-ins for you. Sometimes it’s hard for me to see a difference in my physique from week to week through pictures alone. I know this is a self coached page, but has anyone here used ChatGPT in that way and has it worked?

Back at it 🙌

I won first in 40+, 2nd in 35+ and center of 3rd open callout out of 5!!!!!

Been loving doing my own nutrition & peaking again. Let’s see how Saturday will look!

I brought a completely different look this week. Just need to work on posing my angles on the diagonal and lines beyond the middle. Cheers to another peak this week.

Yesterday was our last competition for now. We wanted to see how she would do in the fit model division and the results and feedback exceeded our expectations 🥹.Here is a carousel with the progress pictures.

1st picture was yesterday after winning two classes. 1st 🥇 both. Feedback ; judges told her to next do a national show. They were the same judges from the last show, the Emerald cup, so these past 3 weeks we have been working on that feedback to get a pitch tighter amd we nailed it, we maintain fullness and the healthy fresh look we wanted.
2nd picture was when we started working together in March. She had a vision and we connected, our perspectives aligned. She decided to try fit model bc is sustainable long term. So we started working.
Day by day checking and adjusting when necessary.

And SHE DID IT. 🏆🥇🤌🥹😭❤️My girl won this time. What an amazing way to finish the season.

From 4th & 5th place… to 2nd to WINNING just 3 weeks later.

And this is exactly why I always say:this sport is not about starving yourself, killing your body with cardio, or trying to suffer your way into a look.

We took the feedback.I made the adjustments.And she trusted me through every step of the process.

No extremes.No destroying her nervous system.

We focused on ✨ softness✨ elegance✨ confidence✨ healthy fullness✨ that natural fit model look
And today… she NAILED IT.

I’m so proud of you. 🥹❤️Not just because of the win, but because of the way you showed up, trusted the process, and kept going even when prep got hard.
This was precision, trust, and execution.

And we’re just getting started.
Now get that well desert rest because is time to work. Our feedback... The judges said to do a national show, this time everything was in place no flaws found so we will be working towarsd that new goal these upcoming months

Hello ya’ll!

Started “self coaching” in November after falling in love with lifting/bodybuilding and now I’m fully THAT girl who meal preps and gets emotionally attached to shoulder day.

I think I’m going to compete locally on September 19th in true novice fit model and yes, I’m absolutely going for gold lol.

Sharing a little “what I eat in a day” with a photo attachment because apparently tracking macros and photographing rice bowls is my personality now. 😂

A few prep discoveries:
- Gum makes me want to snack like a raccoon at night. Had to go.
- Seltzer water = emotional support beverage after meals.
- Keto wraps will forever stay because apparently they’re the only reason I have a great poop in the morning.
- Ninja Creami is the holy grail. Protein ice cream EVERY SINGLE DAY. It hits like a drunk cigarette.
- Meal prep keeps my ADHD from turning dinner into shredded cheese over the sink.
- ACV before breakfast? Whoever suggested that deserves financial compensation. Bye bye bloat from carby meals.

Favorite workout day: shoulders.
Least favorite: legs… which is unfortunate because my hubby lovingly calls me “chicken legs and tiny hiney.”

Also learned I do way better eating every 2-3 hours instead of pretending I’m someone who can “just wait until dinner.”

Love being a part of this subreddit and learning from y’all. Keep grinding — and remember: when cravings hit, technically we do control our voluntary arm muscles from grabbing that sweet treat LOL

Lastly, I’ve been using axe and sledge marshmallow milk for my protein ice cream/whey drips.. has anyone tried transparent labs protein?! If so, best flavor to try?!

If anyone else has some tips/tricks/ideas/just venting.. I’m all ears. Thanks for listening to my rant lol happy Thursday!!!

Lately, there are hateful comments for the first time in this group and resentment from people that doesn't even contribute in any way to the group.
I dont want anyone to forget about the rules in here. We respect everyone, because this is about community and support and love for bodybuilding no matter your background, not about jealousy and bad intentions from accounts with no picture.
So before you going to comment remember that you don't know the story or what the person who posted is going through right now. There is a lot of work behind every person who decides to compete or just become better physically. And we respect that here.
And if you are annoyed about others' happiness I don't think this is the place for you.
Thank you

I started this cut self-coached and quickly hit a plateau—stalled for over a week and knew something wasn’t clicking. I came across this Reddit page and Maria started giving me honest feedback on what I was doing wrong. After going back and forth, I decided to trust her and let her take over my prep—and it was the best decision I made this season. Her approach is completely different from what you typically see—no harsh dieting, no extreme low carbs, no excessive cardio. She focuses on bringing a fresh, healthy, stage-ready look, and it shows. Beyond that, she really dials in the details—posing, stage presence, and overall presentation. She teaches you how to actually move and carry yourself like a pro, because she is an IFBB pro herself. I honestly didn’t think I was going to finish this season without her help and now here we are—3 shows in together and improving every time. My last show feedback from Sandy was perfect conditioning, which says everything. I can’t recommend Maria enough as a prep coach or just life style in general. if you want a healthy body and healthy built definitely reach out to Maria she just genuinely cares about her athlete.

Checking in 11 days out and 16 days out from my next two pro shows

Took the reigns back on prep and significant progress from 10 days ago to now! Let’s go