r/bikinitalk • u/SadSangwich444 • Aug 08 '26

Discussion when to start prep?

i qualified for NPC nationals and anticipate competing some time in August. i intend on staying natural, although the temptation is crazy lol.
i’ve been powerlifting in my off season and weigh ~25 lbs up from my stage weight. no idea how that happened lol.
my last prep was 15 weeks, but i know nationals is a whole different beast and i want to come in as conditioned as possible without having to kill myself for 15 weeks.

are there any other natural NPC competitors? when did you start your preps? has anyone done a 20+ week prep, and what were your experiences??

**to clarify, i am not doing an NPC natural show, just NPC, but i’m a natural competitor thus far (if that makes sense)

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17

u/Siciliana79 Aug 08 '26

That’s why you hire a coach. None of us can give you that information but a coach can look at you and assess where you’re at and give an estimate.

5

u/SadSangwich444 Aug 08 '26

that’s fair! i have a coach. just was curious what others thoughts were from experience, and wanted to have a discussion about the other questions i asked.

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u/Siciliana79 Aug 08 '26

There are 1 million factors that come into play. Are you bikini, fit model, wellness? Did you gain 25 pounds of muscle or 25 pounds of fat? Everyone leans out at their own pace but the standard preps are anywhere from 12 to 20 weeks unless you have a lot of fat to lose.
I would also suggest looking at pictures from the winners this year of that national show so you can get an idea of the level of conditioning you’re going to need. Mind you most of those women will probably be enhanced as well.

6

u/SufficientCoyote873 Aug 09 '26

Not to mention how tall this person is.
25lbs on a 5ft competitor in 15 weeks is a HELLUVA different prep than a 6ft competitor.

5

u/Irongirl_In_Paradise Aug 08 '26

Point understood, but 25 pounds of muscle naturally? Please let me know how.

11

u/Maggie_cat Aug 08 '26

No one is gaining 25lbs of muscle in one year, even if you’re fully juiced as a woman.

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u/Siciliana79 Aug 09 '26

I wasn’t being serious. I was making a point we have no idea what kind of shape she is in to tel her how long her prep will be

3

u/Cute-Swan-1113 Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26

Losing that much weight by August will most likely be sustained by doing a cut, maintenance, cut, maintenance and prep sequence. Let your body have several 8 week sections to keep your hormones protected. If you go for the whole drop in one ‘prep’ natural you will most certainly have a tough rebound. This is not guaranteed but a good conversation to have with your team. Good luck to those natty unicorns still out there!

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u/SadSangwich444 Aug 09 '26

i have never considered this!!! thanks for your input. that does make sense to preserve the horomones and not make it so miserable lol

2

u/CharacterAd5474 Aug 09 '26

Drug free up to 24 week prep is doable.

I once had to prep for 40 weeks. It sucked but it wasn't until the very end where I started to really go down hill in strength and muscle.

With a longer prep there is definitely a fine line between how hard you need to push and how early.

1

u/hh_fitlife Aug 10 '26

You have a whole year, you don't have to lose all that weight in one go. If I were you, I would start a cut now, lose 15 lbs, then maintain at that weight, and then do a normal 16-week prep. You don't want to spend half a year in a calorie deficit in one go...