Bikini Contest Prep | Last 2 Weeks Out Recap

I can’t believe we’ve made it to the final week of the competition!  Some days it felt so very far away, and now it will be show time on Saturday!  The contest is the NPC Branch Warren Classic in Houston at NRG Stadium.  Two weeks ago, I wasn’t feeling ready at all because I still hadn’t gotten my posing routine down and I felt like my stomach still looked too bulky, but I think it’s finally all coming together now!  The next week will be lots of preparation and I’m just hoping to stay positive, keep to my diet and exercise, and get lots of rest!  

To keep me going on my cardio, I downloaded a bunch of new music onto my iPod and it’s seriously helped so much.  If you need a little push to get you through those workouts, get your favorite music to help you along. 

2 WEEKS OUT 
I missed taking a picture at exactly 2 weeks out, but the one below is technically taken at 1 1/2 weeks out.  I darkened the brightness of the photo so I could see what I might look like once I get my spray tan.  

WORKOUTS 

My 2-weeks out workout recap is below:


Monday:  Cardio (45 minutes- run neighborhood)

Tuesday: Train Legs + Cardio (20 minutes on treadmill)

Wednesday: Train Arms & Back + Cardio (30 minutes on treadmill)

Thursday:  Train Chest & Shoulders + Cardio (45 minutes on treadmill)

Friday: 0

Saturday: Cardio (45 minutes run neighborhood)

Sunday:   Cardio (50 minutes run neighborhood)

It’s funny the things you realize when you run your neighborhood.  The smells!  Saturday afternoons and evenings are when people barbecue, Sunday evenings you’ll smell fresh laundry, and never run on Thursday nights (at least in my neighborhood) – it’s trash day and those stinky trashcans are awful to run past!
FOOD
I’m following the same Meal Plan, but I had been eating lean burgers for a couple meals each day.  I felt like I wasn’t digesting those meals that well and I’d been bloated, so for the last week, I’m just eating fish and chicken instead of beef.  

I need to talk to my trainer to see if he’ll change my food or sodium for the last week, but so far he hasn’t mentioned it.  
  
FINAL WEEK PREPARATIONS/SCHEDULE 
I finally registered for the contest.  I’ll be competing in two divisions: Novice (people who haven’t won a show before) and Masters (age 35-44, I’m 40).  You can compete beyond age 44 also, and there are sometimes a few competitors in their 70s!  Amazing! 
My son still has swimming lessons this week, so I’ll be making time for that each day!  And I have to practice posing each day.  I’m feeling more confident about this part, but it’s still not easy.  
I ordered a RED BIKINI with lots of crystals, but it’s still not here yet. :/ If it doesn’t arrive in time, I’ll just wear my aqua suit from last year.  
It’s gonna be a busy week!
MONDAY:  Cardio (45 minutes).

I’ll start taking Duirex, a diuretic to help get rid of excess water to make you look leaner and not bloated.  You can read the reviews about the product here.  I’ve never taken a diuretic before, so I’m curious to see what it will do (if anything) and will be drinking lots of water with it.

Start exfoliating daily in preparation for spray tan.  My friend Jessica, who happens to be competing with me this year (her first time!) owns a mobile spray tanning company, Beautifully Bronzed, and she also does makeup professionally for weddings, etc.  If you’re in Houston, definitely check her out for a quickie tan or beautiful makeup application.  You’ll love it!  She gave me an exfoliating mitt and exfoliator, cleanser, and body butter to help prepare my skin for the tanning spray.

Get Mani/Pedi (I’m thinking something like pale pink).

Practice posing.

TUESDAY: Train + Cardio (45 minutes).

Hair color appointment – fresh blond to cover those roots! I plan to curl my (new short hair) with a curling wand for the contest.

Practice posing.

WEDNESDAY: Train + Cardio (45 minutes) 

Practice posing.
THURSDAY:  Train + Cardio (45 minutes)

Measure body fat.  I’m curious what I’ll be competing at. 



Pack for show.  Make sure I have: competition suit (and backup just in case), heels, jewelry, makeup, curling iron, brush/comb, hairspray, mirror, snacks/food/water, iPhone and charger, camera, tickets to venue, NPC card, schedule.  To the show I’ll wear loose black pants and a lightweight hoodie.  I’m bringing a towel or maybe even a yoga mat to sit on since there was so much waiting around and no chairs last year.

Practice posing.

FRIDAY: Rest day (no exercise)

8:00 a.m.  Spray Tan –   I go to Jessica‘s house to get my tan.  She’s about to get very up close and personal with me because you have to spray tan completely naked to get everywhere!  She will do one coat, we’ll wait for it to dry, then she’ll do a second coat right afterwards.  This will save time and avoid me having to come back the next day for another coat.  I need to be finished in time to get James to swim lessons!  I’m going to look ridiculous being all super dark, but oh well!  If I end up needing a third coat of tan (doubtful), I can go back that night.

Buy foundation and practice makeup application.  Of course I’m a little nervous about matching my face to my tanned skin, but I’m pretty good with makeup, so I think it will be okay.  I’ll wear false eyelashes that I already picked up at Target.

Practice posing.

6-8 p.m.  Check-ins at Venue – They will measure us so they can divide us into height classes and we should get a general schedule of events regarding the order of going on stage.  

9:30 p.m.  Bedtime!  I ordered cheap black sheets/pillowcases so I don’t stain our sheets.  This stuff rubs off, so don’t wear it with good clothes or on your nice sheets.  You might also want to use saran wrap to wrap your toilet so you don’t stain the seat! 😉 
SATURDAY: 

6:00 a.m.  Wake up, eat breakfast, get ready for show.

8:00 a.m.  Pre-Judging Starts  

Jessica will apply a body glaze so that the tan shines and looks radiant on stage.  I’ll also apply bikini bite glue to the bottom of my suit so it stays in place.  No wedgies please!!  And I have to mention that Jessica has done SO AWESOME preparing for this contest herself!  Unlike me, she has stayed 100% on point with her diet and her dedication really shows.  She looks absolutely AMAZING!  She trained with my trainer also, but did it online, so he wrote out her diet and workouts and she trained in her garage! Talk about dedication!  You go girl!  I am so proud of you and so thankful for your friendship! 

There’s typically a lot of waiting around, until they get to your class.  Then, when they call your name, you get a total of 10 seconds to do your posing routine.  Man, all that work, three months of strict dieting and exercise comes down to 10 seconds on stage- crazy! 

Afternoon:  After pre-judging, there should be a break where I can go home and chill and rest until the night show. 

6:00 p.m.  Night Show – awards given.  This part of the show takes a long time and it will probably be a late night.  

When it’s all said and done, we’ll celebrate with a glass of CHAMPAGNE!  I’m making sure my hubby brings a chilled bottle and I don’t care if we drink out of plastic cups!  It will just be time to toast to all that hard work and making it to the stage without chickening out! 


SUNDAY: 


Film Workout Video & Eat (My trainer, John Sherman, is filming a workout video for his website at the gym, so I will be one of the people being trained.  I know it’s gonna be killer hard since he’ll want to give an accurate depiction of his training style, but after that . . .  we go out to eat at Houston’s and I already know what I’m having!  The best, juiciest, most flavorful ribs on earth and a side of sweet baked beans and don’t think for a minute I forgot about dessert.  They have the best, fresh homemade fudgey brownie served with cold vanilla ice cream on top! #droooooooollllllll 
Thanks YOU SO VERY MUCH for sticking with me throughout these last 12 weeks as I prepare.  Reading your encouraging and supportive comments here and on my Instagram have given me that extra boost of confidence I needed when I was feeling insecure.  I appreciate you so much!

MORE BIKINI PREP POSTS

If you missed some of my Bikini Prep Posts, you can get caught up here:

And check out my FITNESS tab for all health & fitness related posts.
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keep in touch! 

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

21 Comments

  1. Best of luck to you next weekend! Regardless of how you do, (although I think you could easily win) you look amazing and I applaud your dedication to this. I have watched you more closely this time and read your posts for tips that may prove helpful to me as well. I so identify with the difficulties of doing so while you have a little one at home too. I think as much as I appreciate the dedication to this, I think it's great that you are doing something for yourself. We get so caught up in the busyness of life and we don't pursue the things we want to do and then look back with a tinge of regret that we didn't try. Way to go! Can't wait to see how you do!

    1. Thanks so much Jenny! One reason I choose to compete and a general philosophy I have about life is- the time is going to pass anyway, might as well do something useful with it! I'll be keeping y'all posted! Thanks so much for the encouragement!

    1. Thank you and great question! I train with my trainer for 1 hour, then do 45 minutes of cardio right afterwards. Those are hard days! When you train like that, you have to take a rest day for sure and let good sleep.

  2. So excited for you ! Love all your planning and organization for the event. Wishing you all the best as you prepare and perform this week. Great job!!

  3. You got this girl!!! Best of luck to you!!! You have a super busy week ahead of you…I'll be saying some prayers for you! Enjoy the experience and also the fruits of your labor. You are an inspiration to us all! Every morning I get up @545am before the rest of the crew wakes up and I take time to meditate and pray and then I look at your blog. It gets my day going and I really look forward to it. Thanks for sharing everything with us!!

    1. I love to hear that Vivian. I need to get back in the habit of morning prayer and Bible reading. I used to do that but got away from it, but I remember it's the best way to start my day! My recap will be live next week!

  4. So excited for you. You look amazing! So, I turn 49 on Saturday…ahhhhhh! Regardless, I love that your show is or has been on my birthday these last couple of years. Definitely inspirational. I belong to the No Excuse Mom site on FB and started weight lifting in September after I lost my mom to pancreatic cancer. Trying to get from 126 down to maybe 120ish! I'd be thrilled. Seems my stomach is the hardest for me and I eat pretty lean. Maybe I need a trainer and/or the gym, as I do the majority of my workouts from home. Anyway, I wish you all the best and will be thinking of you. LOVE all of your fitness, décor and fashion advice! I truly don't know what I'd do without you!! xoxo-Michelle

    1. You look sooo young Michelle! I bet no one believes you're 49! Good for you for working out from home. That takes extra discipline but it is so worth it! I'm so sorry to hear you lost your Mom, I can relate since we lost my Dad this year too. It makes me want to stay healthy and strong. Happy belated birthday! I hope this is your best year yet! 🙂 xoxo -M

  5. Hi, I just started reading your blog a few weeks ago. Thank you for being so honest about the amount of time you work out and also about how hard it is to stick to a diet plan! it's great to read a real person being real! Good luck! you look great!!

    1. Yes, it is so hard to stick to such a strict diet, but it really works. I could tell at the contest who had stayed on their diet and who didn't because it shows!

  6. Best of luck Megan. Remember, it's not the place but the fact that you gave it your all and accomplished something YOU wanted to do. Be proud of how far you have come!!!!

  7. You are so inspiring and to see how great of shape you got in but you don't have to be perfect is encouraging. I would LOVE to know your delt routine on how you got that squared off delt musculature.

    1. Hi Molly! Thanks so much! My shoulders look so much more muscular in that pic than I felt like they were- part was maybe the pose?? I did lots of shoulder presses and raises but nothing extra special, just always lifted weights with active rests to burn fat. And lots of cardio and clean eating.

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