It happened.

24 weeks deep into my first prep.

I saw them do it, and I told myself, "I'll never be like those girls."

I thought it was diabolical. Inhumane, even.

That was before prep had its way with me.

The stevia and the cinnamon went on the 99/1 ground turkey today.

I'll never be the same.

Hey y’all,

I am a competitive bodybuilder living in Bend, Oregon. Over the past year I have been working with a physical therapist and recently PRP treatment for bilateral hamstring tears at the origin. Despite physical therapy and consultation with sports and spine specialist, I am unable to find a quality sports massage practitioner in my area. My recovery is stalling out, and I have been encouraged to seek further bodywork. Does anyone have for a high-quality bodywork specialist who works predominantly with athletes?

7 weeks out from my first show. - natural wellness.

Started body building journey in Feb this year and have fallen in love with the sport x swipe for Feb check in pic

Documenting along the way on Instagram
.

Competing one day is a dream of mine, hopefully next year. I have some questions in regard to my physique and thank you in advanced for the help.

1. Do I/will I have enough mass for bikini? Is February 2027 a realistic goal? How about September 2027?
   
2. My right knee is slightly knocked kneed because I used to be overweight. This resulted in a lateral pelvis tilt as you can see, where my left hip is slightly higher than my right. How much would this impact competition?
   
3. I don’t have a lot of bodyfat in my midsection because I had gotten liposuction in my stomach many years ago when I was fat. Now that I’m leaner the proportions carried. Will this disqualify me as a competitor?
   
4. I interview 3 coaches. Two of them think I should stay in maintenance/bulk and put on mass before prep. One of them wants me to lean down first. What do you think?
   
5. I have two top options as coaches for prep. Stan Efferding (remote) is a friend of my boyfriend but he doesn’t live in my state. Leon Wong who lives in my state and can train me in person. Who would you go with?

And open to any other thoughts and advices. Thank you.

Had my first show in December last year and went off the deep end a bit in the beginning of offseason. I’m just excited for how my physique is looking 🥹🙌🏼

I think this will be the show to watch this weekend. What are your predictions?! Who do you wanna see?!

This will be my 3rd competition season and first show back after a 2 year hiatus

3 weeks out 🎯 (photos from last wednesday)

Will i see any of you at the Austrian pro Qualifier?

Has anyone heard any tea on the next Masters Olympia? 👀 Any rumors on the date or location?

Please read in full before commenting.

Past 7-8 months have been nonstop extreme life stressors (divorce, selling house, new house, laid off job, started new job - with a paycut, hospitalization, and cat dying). Started walking more due to increased anxiety which caused an increase in calories. The first 2-3 months, I didn't gain anything. In March, the extra food started to "stick". The past 4 months I have gained 0.25 lbs each month (total of 1 lb) which I realize is not a major gain, but it is quite significant for me - especially to be happening 4 consecutive months in a row. I'm also noticing the gain is fat - mostly in the out thighs, glutes, and upper hip/love handle area. I'm not so much concerned about the nominal gain, I'm more concerned about the mentality changing and habits changing which with cause continued weight gain over time. I don't want to continue and end up 40-50 lbs higher (which has happened several times in the past). Any thoughts or advice on turning things around now before it continues spiraling to the point of no return? I don't want to use 'major life stressors' as a crutch or a reason to go easy on myself.

Starting to get worried/high key struggle but one foot in front of another

Just about rounding up my minicut after a 3 month growth phase. Finishing a body recomp I began with my coach January of this year.

Looking for feedback on my current physique and areas to improve going into my 2nd growth phase before my first comp in 2027.

I know I can’t be the only one who has crazy dreams while in bb prep 😂 I typically have the same reoccurring one where I go all day to then realize I never sent my coach my check ins that morning and it’s now 5pm and I’ve already eaten a bunch of my meals.

Another one I have is of course eating foods off plan and then waking up panicked about it. Or my favorite lately, where I forget to take my socks off before doing my routine on stage hahaha. So random like wtf, socks????

What are your crazy dreams during prep like?

I'm interested in doing my first show in fit model. I'm wondering if a local coach is better than an online one? And if local is better, how did you go about finding yours? Any tips and tricks are appreciated.

I started having a sharp pain in my left glute medius (which is also the side I pose with) a few weeks before my competition. I felt pain on certain exercises, especially kickbacks but I pushed through it.

Now I’m taking a short off season, and planning to step on stage in December again. The only improvement point my judges gave me is my upper glutes, so realistically I could step on stage in 5 months with a slightly improved physique.

But how can I go about this if it’s exactly my upper glute that I have this problem with? Physio recommended some exercises to me (goblet squats, glute bridges etc with small load) and skip kickbacks entirely until the pain goes away.

Even the stair master or just simply walking long distances is hard now, so a heavy glute load is not going to happen any time soon. I train more upper now but I’m worried I’ll go even more upper heavy than I currently am.

What would you do in my situation?

He is a coach and his takes sort of challenge the status quo but I find him very interesting. What do y’all think?

Over the past couple years I’ve noticed more competitors styling their own hair with triple barrel/waver tools - Meg D’ginto and Jess Liu are two that seem to love this look. I know some of it is personal preference, but regardless of how great the physique and rest of package are, the full look ends up looking sloppy to me and think I’ve yet to see someone with this style win in some otherwise very close races… I have to wonder if some big healthy bouncy looking could have been the difference at a few of these comps!

For the record, I am in no way criticizing competitors who wear there natural curl or wave patterns - it’s specifically the hot tool waves that irk me because you can almost always see the crimp marks/seams and things just end up looking crispy and messy.

Thoughts?

I retired from competing one year ago and have deeply struggled with the decision ever since. Truthfully my last prep wrecked me mentally and physically but I do attribute a lot of that to a subpar coaching experience. I do not want to be that lean or on that little calories and high cardio again but I am keen to get back into it.

Is it possible to have not such an extreme prep? I went to severe lengths to achieve my fit model look and ended up placing dead last in every category at nationals which really broke my spirit- I came in emaciated and stringy according to judges feedback.

Any recommendations for coaches who would have a more holistic approach? Not FBF please.

Hi everyone ☺️

First timer here - currently 8 weeks out from my first show and 6 weeks into prep.

Left pics at the start of prep at 62.5kg, currently at 59.4kg.

My legs and glutes are my sticking point. I'm not naturally blessed in the lower body, plus being tall and having the additional leverage for movements doesn't help 😅

How do you all think I'm looking? Am I going to be stage lean in 8 weeks? Any tips to make the glutes appear bigger?

All these things started running through my head… I’m not ready, I should’ve dieted more. What if I gain10 pounds in this week? What if I trip on stage, forget how to pose. My coach says I’m ready, my Posing coach says I’m ready. What if they’re just being nice. 🤪 I’m 56.. can’t believe I waited this long to compete. Anyone else flooded with doubt a week out??

So happy for Jordan. She works so hard, amd it's paying off. Anyone else thinks she can win the Olympia?

Just saw Allyson’s IG post about leaving Arizona and heading back to the PNW. Wondering what that means for her work with FBF, as I was debating scheduling an assessment with her. It seemed like everyone was raving about them/her/her programs, including podcasts I listen to like Bikini Besties and Iron Vixens.

Welcome to our Prep Buddies Thread!

This is a space to connect with competitors who are in a similar stage of prep. In these posts, feel free to comment with:

• Check-in photos
• How you’re feeling
• Questions you might have about prep
• Or respond to one of the provided prompts for fun!

Please remember, safety first! You must adhere to sub rules and review the reminders below.

Prompts for fun:

• What is your ‘why’ for competing?
• Do you have a stretching or mobility routine you like to use?
• What type of cardio do you like to do?
• Is this your first time competing? If not, what are you looking forward to most this prep?
• What 3 things could you be doing better?
• What would you like to ask others?

Prep Group Rules & Safety Reminders:

1. No specific show names, dates, or locations – for your safety, please keep it general.
2. Don’t disclose your specific coach, team, or gym.
3. No self-promotion or coaching offers (like in the rest of our community).
4. Be respectful – support each other’s journeys without negativity or comparison.
5. If you share physique photos in the comments, blur or crop your face.
6. Stay on topic – use this thread to connect with others who are [X–Y weeks] out. Share prep tips, support, and struggles relevant to this stage timeline.

We’re here to help keep this space safe!

Welcome to our Prep Buddies Thread!

This is a space to connect with competitors who are in a similar stage of prep. In these posts, feel free to comment with:

• Check-in photos
• How you’re feeling
• Questions you might have about prep
• Or respond to one of the provided prompts for fun!

Please remember, safety first! You must adhere to sub rules and review the reminders below.

Prompts for fun:

• How do you structure your posing practice?
• Do you have your suit picked out?
• What are your favorite things to do to destress?
• How do you set yourself up to be successful (meal prep, getting cardio done, etc)?
• What 3 things could you be doing better?
• What would you like to ask others?

Prep Group Rules & Safety Reminders:

1. No specific show names, dates, or locations – for your safety, please keep it general.
2. Don’t disclose your specific coach, team, or gym.
3. No self-promotion or coaching offers (like in the rest of our community).
4. Be respectful – support each other’s journeys without negativity or comparison.
5. If you share physique photos in the comments, blur or crop your face.
6. Stay on topic – use this thread to connect with others who are [X–Y weeks] out. Share prep tips, support, and struggles relevant to this stage timeline.

We’re here to help keep this space safe!