Sixteen to twenty-four weeks out
Contest prep
The full prep, written backwards from your show: training, food targets, weekly check-ins, fortnightly posing and a peak week that is mostly about sleeping well.
A good prep is boring. You lose a little each week, you train hard, you practise your posing, you sleep, and on show day you look like the best version of the person who started, not a stranger.
We start with a consultation and a starting point: your weight, measurements, photographs in the posing studio, your training history and what your days are actually like. Before the prep begins we ask you to see your GP for a routine blood test, and we ask again after the show.
From there the prep is written backwards from your show date. Food targets are set as a modest deficit and adjusted from your weekly check-in, aiming for roughly half to one per cent of bodyweight a week. Training stays heavy; cardio is added slowly and never becomes the whole plan.
Every fortnight you pose in the studio with Owen or Carys, weekly from eight weeks out. Peak week is mostly unremarkable: normal water, normal salt, small changes to food, sleep and practice. We do not manipulate water and we do not use diuretics. If someone suggests either, the answer is no.
What is included
- A free half-hour consultation and a starting assessment
- A training plan and food targets, adjusted weekly
- A weekly check-in read and answered within a day
- Posing in the studio every fortnight, weekly from eight weeks out
- A peak week and show-day plan, and a coach backstage at local shows
What it costs
£160 a month, sixteen weeks minimum, posing included. Every price is on the services page; the countdown planner shows where any show date falls.
Questions about contest prep
How long is a prep?
Sixteen weeks at the least, and most people are better with twenty to twenty-four. If you are starting from further away we will say so, and suggest an off-season first.
Do I need to weigh my food?
For most of the prep, yes, at least for a while. We teach you to do it quickly. If weighing food is a problem for you, tell us; we will talk about whether prep is the right thing right now.
Which federation should I enter?
A drug-tested one. We will talk you through the tested federations that run shows in South Wales and the West, their testing (urine, and in some cases polygraph) and their categories.
Start with a free half-hour. No sales, no scale.
Come in or call for thirty minutes: your training, your history, the show you have in mind if you have one, and an honest answer about whether it is the right time. If it is not, we will say so and say what would change it.