If you are prepping for the first time you will have no doubt seen many competitors post on Instagram about their prep and experiences. This is fantastic to gain an insight as to how prep runs but what it may do is cause some confusion when you are start dieting as how I prep people might be different to what you are seeing. Therefore the purpose of this article is to explain in detail how I set up and manage a prep. It will also cover the ins and outs of high days, check ins and what we do leading up to the show itself.

For those of you who’ve just competed you will no doubt be finding the post show phase incredibly hard. After dedicating your life to prep for the last 5-6 months and following a strict meal plan/training regime it can be incredibly difficult to not feel lost and to adhere to your calories. Post show can be a whole new experience for first timers and one that can sometimes make or break your love for the sport and relationship with food. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explain the post show phases and discuss some strategies that’ll set you up for success.

If you’re in your first season you may not be aware that some federations will offer you free, or in some cases paid, feedback. This would be comments from the judges on what they thought your strong points were and what they feel you can improve on to do better next time around. This feedback is often given via email upon request or is given via an Instagram message once you’ve submitted photos to the relevant person/page. As helpful as this can be to some of those athletes that are coaching themselves it isn’t always needed for those who have a coach. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explain whether you should get judges feedback and the pros/cons.

If you’re on prep and are roughly about two weeks out or so, you’ll no doubt be ready. It’s at this point you’ll have finished the fat loss phase of prep and will begin the ‘reverse’. If you’ve competed multiple times before you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about however if you’re competing for the first time you might be unsure of what that means. Therefore the purpose of this article is to explain the reverse dieting process going into a show , give reasoning to why it’s necessary to bring the best look to stage and discuss the challenges you might face.

If you’re competing for the first time, you’ll no doubt be experiencing all the things I pointed out in “The untold truths at six weeks out” article. Up to that point, prep may have been a breeze, but now, a little closer to your show, you might be thinking to yourself ‘how am I going to make it through these last four weeks?’ Let me first point out that you are not alone in your thoughts. Every competitor who is going through this for the first time will be feeling the same. You may question whether you can do this and whether you should just pull out. You may also experience occasions when you feel low and audibly say ‘f**k this’.

If you’re going through prep for the first time, you will experience a roller-coaster of emotions and feelings that you didn’t know were part of it when you started dieting. It is around the six-week out marker that you are going to notice how much of a struggle it is and it’s at this point, if you aren’t aware of what’s coming, you might want to pull out or struggle with adherence. Therefore the purpose of this article is to explain how you may feel around the six week out marker if you are prepping for the first time. The aim is not to scare you away, but instead to allow you to prepare for what’s coming and how to ensure you make it to show day.

Men’s physique is undoubtedly the most popular male class in amateur bodybuilding shows in the United Kingdom, and perhaps worldwide. It’s increase in popularity has also coincided with a reduction in open bodybuilding numbers. This is due to the men’s physique look being more favourable and easier to attain. Men’s physique can often be seen as the first step into competitive bodybuilding shows which can often lead to athletes who don’t suit the criteria jumping on stage. This often leads them not placing, then being put off doing another show. If they were to simply wait some time and compete in the class they are suited too they would have more than likely have been more successful.

Men’s physique is undoubtedly the most popular male class in amateur bodybuilding shows in the United Kingdom, and perhaps worldwide. It’s increase in popularity has also coincided with a reduction in open bodybuilding numbers. This is due to the men’s physique look being more favourable and easier to attain. Men’s physique can often be seen as the first step into competitive bodybuilding shows which can often lead to athletes who don’t suit the criteria jumping on stage. This often leads them not placing, then being put off doing another show. If they were to simply wait some time and compete in the class they are suited too they would have more than likely have been more successful

The wellness category is still relatively new to the bodybuilding scene. It emerged onto the IFBB/NPC scene around 2020 however there were a couple of federations who offered it the year or two prior to its debut.Although it has been around for a few years I do feel that the category is still largely mis understood. Many still have this notion that wellness girls are simply big, soft bikini girls when in reality, that is not the case! Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explain the wellness criteria and discuss how you would move up from bikini.

Classic bodybuilding and classic physique have become increasingly popular in recent years. In the U.K you can go to any regional qualifier and see 12-14 guys in each different height class. This increase in popularity has coincides with significant decrease in number of competitors in the open bodybuilding class.I do feel that there are a lot of people out there that don’t know what the classic criteria is and what the judges are looking for. Many seeing it as the in-between mens physique and open bodybuilding classes when in reality, that is not the case.

In the early days of my career I remember not really being sure on what the judges were looking for in the bikini criteria. I would often get my bikini girls really lean, most of the time too lean and they would grab a 3rd or at times they did not place. This often left me feeling frustrated and confused but in hindsight it was because I didn’t really understand the bikini criteria. As time progressed, I understood what the judges were looking for and from that the girls started picking up class wins and overalls. I feel there are a lot of coaches out there and first-time competitors that might be in the same boat I was all those years ago.

If you have never competed before you might be aware of the term ‘figure girl’ and think that it is simply one class. Well, if you were only discussing the IFBB/NPC federation you would correct. However, what you might not be aware of is that for most other federations here within the United Kingdom the figure class is split into three different categories: toned, athletic and trained. What the judges are looking for across the three different categories has similarities but also has some key difference that you should be aware of.

Have you competed in bikini, but the whole time on stage you never really felt like yourself? Have you done well but thought that you would have much more fun competing in the figure category? Do you want to know how you would go about it? Not to worry, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with women over the years on exactly that and coached many who’ve made the step up that have gone on to win shows and overalls. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explain the process behind moving up from competing in the bikini class to figure.

The start of the bodybuilding season is only eight or so week away. With the season running from the end of March until the middle of November there are a plethora of different shows and federations for first timers to compete in. The questions you might be asking yourself is which one is the right one for you. Therefore the purpose of this article is cover the things you need to consider when picking your shows and to run through the different options that different federations offer.

You’d be amazed at how many shows I go to where coaches and athletes don’t know how a show is judged. What that can sometimes lead to is a lack of understanding as to why an athlete has been awarded a certain place. This can often lead to the coach telling their athlete that the “judges got it wrong”, when in fact that wasn’t the case. Once you understand how athletes are scored, it really does simplify results and make you recognise the right calls being made.

A list of ALL the bodybuilding shows in the UK in 2024, including federations, dates, and locations. Please note that these are subject to change. That being said please refer to the federation’s website for final confirmation as they might change dates without notice. If any federations cannot see their shows on the calendar or which to make a change please contact us and we will update accordingly.

Now that the 2024 show calendar is out you might be looking to compete with a couple different federations that have but have seen that they have shows on the same weekend. You might even feel disappointed that you can only do one of them. My question to you is, why can't you do both? Therefore, the aim of this article is to discuss how you can manage doing two shows in one weekend and the considerations you have to take into account.

Steroid use within the female bodybuilding community has recently become more openly discussed than it ever was before. Anavar and Primobolan (Primo) are two steroids that are often used by female athletes during their competition prep, as well as during their off-season. However, many female competitors tend to take these without really knowing how they work, nor being aware of the potential side effects they can cause.

Over the past two to three years, the use of “fem test” within the female bodybuilding community has rapidly increased. Its popularity has resulted from the industry becoming more educated on the safe use of performance enhancing drugs for female bodybuilding competitors.

It’s no secret, prep is hard. If you haven’t ever dieted to extremely low levels or body fat, it will be the hardest physical and mental challenge you will ever done. The reality is that for every one person you see on stage, there will probably be a few who didn’t quite make it, and that is nothing to be ashamed about.