First Check-In to Pro Card: Lauren’s Year-Long Bikini Prep
The Starting Point: From Fit to Stage-Ready
When Lauren first reached out to me just over a year ago, she already had a solid fitness foundation. She was coaching strength classes, yoga instructor, and lifting on her own. Her goal? To take her love of movement and finally step on stage as a bikini competitor.
My role wasn’t to overhaul her as an athlete—it was to elevate her. And that’s where true coaching lies: knowing how to take someone who’s already good and help them become great.
“Since I had already been in the gym for a few years and had a fitness background, this was HUGE. I realized I had been going through the motions while training, but not truly connecting. Angela helped me learn my body in a more successful way.” – Lauren
Before we ever started cutting, we focused on building her foundation. That meant reversing years of under-eating, raising her calories to find her true maintenance, fine tuning her technique and what she felt or didn’t feel under load, improving range of motion and mobility and teaching her how to consistently track macros with precision. For someone who had never eaten that much before, it was a massive mindset shift—but Lauren leaned in and trusted the process fully.
When you commit to a bodybuilding prep, your training should already be consistent. The real commitment is to the diet. So instead of rushing into a deficit, I taught Lauren how to live the process of prep—without being in a cut. We practiced executing the habits she’d need to succeed long before we ever pulled the trigger on fat loss.
By the time her cut officially started, she wasn’t learning anymore—she was executing like a pro.
“It was really hard for me to grasp at first—to eat more calories than I ever had and still see progress. But it completely shifted how I view food and nourishment. I finally learned to fuel my body.” – Lauren
Programming, Posing & the Power of In-Person
Lauren doesn’t live in Minnesota full-time—so our strategy blended remote and in-person work. And while I love the flexibility of virtual coaching (shared iPhone albums, weekly FaceTimes, real-time video feedback), I’ll die on this hill: there’s no substitute for in-person coaching when it comes to technique, cueing and correcting in real time.
When Lauren came to Minnesota to visit family, we maximized our time. We didn’t run her through full workouts—she knows how to train. We focused on how she trained.
We refined her understanding of compound movements like barbell squat, bench press, deadlift, RDLs, and hip thrusts. We worked on mind-muscle connection, mechanics, mobility, and getting the most out of every rep and learning how to move the bar around her body—not her body around the bar, something most coaches miss.
"Shifting from machines and cables to intentional barbell lifts made me feel stronger—mentally and physically. It took time to retrain my brain and body but it was a game changer for muscle growth. The mobility work and using new tools for stretching was a learning curve, but now it’s something I truly value.” – Lauren
We tailored her program for the bikini division with full-body training and targeted hypertrophy for glutes, delts, and symmetry. Mobility work was a core part of the plan—because poor mobility doesn’t just limit strength, it kills stage presentation.
As a bodybuilding judge, I see it all the time: scapular winging, asymmetry in shoulders, overcompensations due to tight hips or weak glutes. When you’re stage lean, these imbalances are no longer subtle—they’re highlighted. And if you’re not mobile, your posing and your symmetry suffers. Period.
Prep Begins: Strategic & Sustainable
We officially began her cut 22 weeks out. Because we spent nearly 6 months building her metabolism and strength, the start of the cut was easier to navigate and her body responded immediately.
Lauren came in with a naturally high activity level—teaching, lifting, walking daily—so we didn’t add unnecessary cardio. We worked with her lifestyle, not against it, and only made changes when we needed to. Nothing was reactive. Everything was planned.
She never missed a check-in. Weekly FaceTimes gave us space to discuss nutrition, posing, mindset, and tweaks in real time. Between calls, she uploaded videos and progress photos. We made micro-adjustments as needed, not just weekly.
“It felt grounding. A few years ago, I had an online coach who wasn’t attentive at all. Working with Angela was completely different—she was personally invested in my progress and goals, which made this prep feel truly tailored to me. Staying connected to a coach who listens, supports your thoughts and doubts, and celebrates your progress was a total game-changer.” – Lauren
Lauren also traveled multiple times during prep—including an international trip to Japan. And she didn’t skip a beat. She packed her food scale, brought protein, trained when she could, and kept her movement consistent. I adjusted her macros and expectations to support her lifestyle, not stress her out. Travel adds a whole new layer to prep—it removes you from your usual structure, which adds complexity to my role as a coach. But with strong communication and trust, we made it work.
That said, I don’t usually recommend significant travel during a first-time prep. In Lauren’s case, it’s part of her lifestyle, so we planned accordingly. If you're thinking about stepping on stage, take a close look at your calendar. Do you have weddings, holidays, or events where you don’t want to be in a cut? While you can navigate prep around life—it takes experience, discipline, and clarity. Prep is not about perfection, but it does require a plan. So before you commit, ask yourself: Will it be hard to prep through the holidays? Are you ready to say no to things you usually say yes to? That kind of foresight is just as important as training and macros.
Hormones & Biofeedback: The Internal Game
Before Lauren ever entered a calorie deficit, we ran a full hormone panel. This is non-negotiable for my competitors—especially women. I’ve lived through the aftermath of shows where no one talked to me about hormones, adrenal fatigue, or metabolic function. I had to learn the hard way. So now, as a coach, I refuse to let my athletes walk into a prep blindly.
Competing is a physiological stressor. It’s not just hard on your mind—it directly impacts your hormones, recovery, digestion, sleep, and mood. If you begin prep with suppressed hormone function—low estrogen, low progesterone, high cortisol, or under-functioning thyroid—you’re setting yourself up for a harder cut, unpredictable progress, and potentially long-term health issues.
Lauren was already training intensely and moving a ton. We needed to be sure her internal health could handle the demands of a prep phase. So we looked at the full picture—not just sex hormones, but thyroid, cortisol, DHEA-S, insulin sensitivity, inflammation markers, and more.
Whether you want to compete once or become a seasoned athlete, the real goal should be to leave every prep healthier and stronger than the last. Most competitors ignore their hormones until they lose their period or stop sleeping. But the smartest competitors—the ones who last—build a solid internal foundation first.
After the show, Lauren entered her reverse diet, where we’ve slowly increased food, pulled back on volume and cardio, and focused on recovery. Once her body stabilizes, we’ll re-test her hormones to see how her system is responding.
Because reverse dieting isn’t just about adding calories. It’s about reversing internal chaos. It’s about restoring sleep, reducing cortisol, bringing back a regular cycle if needed, and giving your body permission to thrive again.
As women, our hormones naturally shift as we age. If we want to stay in this sport long-term—and feel good doing it—we can’t just chase fat loss. We have to protect the foundation that holds it all together.
“Prep is a stressor. If cortisol stays high, everything suffers—fat loss, recovery, mood, sleep. You can’t just reverse diet calories without reversing internal chaos too.” – Coach Angela
Peak Week: Personalization Over Templates
Lauren flew into Minnesota a full week before show day—a strategic move we planned months in advance. It gave us time to train in person, fine-tune her posing, monitor how travel impacted her physique, and feed her into the show rather than crash-load at the last minute.
Because Lauren lives in a warm, humid climate, flying into cooler, drier Minnesota had a noticeable effect on her fullness, water retention, and overall stress response. And this is where real coaching matters. No cookie-cutter protocols. No blindly following a template someone downloaded off the internet.
We didn’t just start peak week on Monday and hope for the best.
We started prepping for peak week weeks before show day by running trial carb loads. This allowed me to learn how her body responded to different types of carbs, quantities, and timing—so we weren’t guessing. Because we had her lean early, we had room to experiment and refine without pressure.
✔ Lauren had her custom peak week plan in hand before she even boarded her flight.
✔ She shipped groceries to her family’s house ahead of time so she’d have access to the right foods.
✔ She followed a DIY ProTan protocol (with me on-site helping touch it up—yep, I was literally brushing it on the back of her arms the morning of).
✔ We tapered her steps for better recovery.
✔ We increased her carbs gradually, not all at once.
✔ We kept water and sodium consistent and adjusted based on visuals, digestion, and mood.
“We didn’t just follow a peak week template. Angela adjusted everything to how I was looking, how I was feeling, and the fact that I had just traveled.” – Lauren
Lauren sent check-in photos every single day of peak week—including a few days where we trialed afternoon check-ins, since we knew her show would be held later in the day. This helped us dial in not just her look, but the timing of her final meals, water, and pump-up protocol.
Most competitors mess up peak week because they:
• Wait too long to get lean and try to “fix it” with water manipulation or cutting sodium
• Carb load all in one day with unfamiliar foods or timing
• Drop water or sodium drastically, leading to flatness or cramping
• Don’t test digestion or timing of meals under stage-like conditions
• Don’t adjust their approach for climate, travel, or stress load
• Wing it on their tan, hair, makeup, or packing—and scramble last minute
None of that happened here.
I provided Lauren with a show day checklist, a travel plan, a stage-day timeline, a DIY ProTan PDF, and daily feedback from me with tweaks as needed. By show day, her look was polished, full, confident, and composed. She knew exactly what to do and when—because we practiced, prepared, and personalized everything.
Peak week should be the cherry on top of a solid prep—not a last-ditch effort to pull things together. And for Lauren, it was exactly that. A calm, confident, dialed-in finale to the year of hard work we put in.
Peak week is not the time to wing it—it’s the time to execute.
A longtime friend and past competitor once told me something right before one of my own shows that’s stuck with me ever since:
“The 5 P’s: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.”
It’s simple, but it’s everything. That mindset helped me earn my Pro Card years ago—and now, it shapes how I coach my athletes to the stage. My job isn’t just to hand over a plan. It’s to ensure every client feels prepared, confident, and ready—not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and logistically. Lauren’s success wasn’t luck. It was a result of consistency, communication, and preparation done right.
Show Day: DIY Tan, Pro Card, and Presence
Lauren’s show day started long before she stepped backstage. With my DIY ProTan Application Guide, she took charge of her own base tan at home—something I now walk all of my clients through to reduce stress and cost. A flawless tan matters—it’s your stage lighting insurance policy.
Her sister —also one of my clients—handled hair and makeup. (Fun fact: Lauren’s sister also did my show glam in 2024 and is officially part of my glam team for future competitors!) Between her DIY prep, family support, and attention to detail, Lauren showed up prepared. No scrambling. No guessing. Just executing.
We had already mapped out show-day logistics ahead of time:
✔ Meal timing and sodium/carb strategy
✔ Pump-up exercises and equipment packed
✔ Bikini, shoes, jewelry, robe, backstage bag organized
✔ Timing of hair, makeup, tan touch-ups and glaze
✔ Posing flow and transitions practiced
She walked into the venue polished, full, and confident—and it showed. The judges feedback came back as:
✔ “Great conditioning”
✔ “Gorgeous front pose and presentation”
✔ “Needs more quad size, improved back pose openness”
From a coaching lens, I’d like to see her bring up not only her quads, but also her glutes, adductors, hamstrings, and lats to better balance her already strong upper body development Her upper body is already strong, and with more lower body fullness, she’ll be even more competitive at the pro level.
We also built a strong foundation in her posing routine—but now that the first-show nerves are behind her, we’ll refine even more. First-time competitors often default to practicing poses, but the real edge comes in smoothing out transitions and mastering presentation. Now that Lauren’s had that first experience, we’ll level that up in the improvement season.
“I was absolutely terrified… but after the first round, I started to feel more confident. Countless times during prep I said this was a one-and-done, but when I won—I thought, ‘I want to do this again.’” – Lauren
Show day is where everything comes together—but only if the work’s been done ahead of time. From her tan to her timing, Lauren treated the day with professionalism and presence. The win wasn’t just earned on stage. It was built in the days, weeks, and months leading up to it.
Reverse Diet & Improvement Season: The Real Work Begins
After her win, Lauren took a few well-earned days to relax and enjoy time with family—but we didn’t stay in celebration mode for long. The transition out of a show is just as important as the prep leading into it. Within the week, we began her reverse diet, a strategic phase that allows the body to recover from the demands of prep while preserving lean tissue and keeping metabolic function strong.
Stage weight was 114 lbs (down from a starting point around 140). For long-term health, hormonal balance, and sustainable muscle growth, we aim to keep her within 10–15% of stage weight during the improvement season. That means slowly increasing her calories, reducing cardio, and monitoring biofeedback markers like sleep, recovery, mood, and hunger.
Why this matters: Coming out of a prep too fast—without a reverse diet—can wreak havoc on the body. Rapid weight gain, hormone crashes, and poor digestion are common consequences for competitors who abandon structure after show day. That’s not how we do things.
We’ve pulled Lauren’s training back from five days to four to support recovery while still stimulating growth. Her steps are being scaled down slightly, and we’re increasing food in a controlled, phased approach. The goal is not to stay shredded—but to stay healthy, lean enough, and primed to grow.
From a coaching perspective, this is the phase where most of the real progress happens.
We’re using this time to:
Refine her technique—especially barbell movements like squats, bench and deadlifts
Improve her mind-muscle connection with the glutes, hamstrings, adductors and lats
Understand hip range of motion, foot pressure, and bracing for longevity and strength
Shift her focus from aesthetics only to strength and performance
As a coach and lifter myself, I always say: I want my athletes to have “show muscles and go muscles.” You don’t build a physique that stands out with five-pound dumbbells. It takes precision, progression, and smart programming built on quality movement.
We’ll recheck Lauren’s hormone panel once her calories stabilize and sleep quality improves to ensure cortisol, thyroid markers, and sex hormones are recovering appropriately post-show. Supplements will be adjusted accordingly to support her internal recovery and set the stage for her next growth phase.
Most importantly, we aren’t rushing back to the stage.
As exciting as her pro card win was, Lauren and I both agreed that her next time on stage should be a bigger leap forward—not a lateral move. That means building more size in her lower body, fuller glutes, stronger adductors and hamstrings, and developing the width and detail in her lats to match her already well-shaped delts.
Lauren ended her season on a high note—and we plan to come back even better. That’s what true coaching is about: celebrating wins, learning from the process, and always leveling up.
Strategy, Trust, and a Foundation That Lasts
This wasn’t just about macros. Or lifting. Or posing.
This was about building a foundation that lasts—physically, mentally, and metabolically. It was about taking someone who already had a deep love for movement and helping her channel it into something even greater, with intention and strategy behind every step.
Lauren showed up for every single phase. She trusted the process. She didn’t just follow a plan—she owned it. She asked thoughtful questions, adapted during challenging moments, and communicated every step of the way. I wasn’t here to micromanage—I was here to guide, troubleshoot, and help her sharpen the skills she already had. She did the work.
Right: Start of Lauren’s prep
Left: Few weeks out from her show
"Angela was so helpful in every way. Having her personally invested made this prep truly tailored to me." – Lauren
Her journey to the stage is proof of what’s possible when strategy meets execution—and when athlete and coach are aligned in both communication and vision.
If you’re a woman considering stepping on stage, I encourage you: do your homework. Look for a coach who doesn’t just have a title or a trophy, but someone who can teach, listen, and adapt to you. Not just someone who confirms what you already think—but a coach who steers you when you’re convinced you know what you need, and challenges you to trust them anyway.
Just because someone has competed—or is strong—doesn’t mean they’re a coach. Prep is personal. You deserve guidance that meets your needs, not just a cookie-cutter plan and weekly macros sent in an email.
Whether you work with me or not, my hope is that you find someone who invests in your growth the same way you invest in this process. Coaching done well can elevate not just your physique—but your confidence, your knowledge, and your longevity in the sport.
And that? That’s the real win.
Ready to Compete—or Just Curious About What It Takes? Let’s Talk.
If you’ve been thinking about stepping on stage—or even just want to see what your body is capable of with a more intentional approach—I’d love to connect. Prep is not something you do alone. It’s a collaboration, and the relationship between athlete and coach matters more than most people realize.
When you work with me, you're not just getting weekly macros and a check-in form. You’re getting real-time feedback, in-person coaching when possible, and detailed video assessments when it’s not. We don’t just train—we refine. We focus on movement quality, technique, and mobility so your physique not only looks good on stage but holds up long-term.
I don’t believe in juggling multiple coaches for training, posing, and nutrition. I take an all-in approach. From strength programming to macro adjustments, posing tweaks to peak week execution—I’m in it with you, start to finish.
If you're ready to commit to a season of growth, learning, and showing up fully, I’m here for it.
✔ You can schedule a call to chat through your goals.
✔ Or email me directly at angelanguyencoaching@gmail.com to learn more about how prep coaching works.
✔ Not sure if you’re ready? Check out my blog posts on “Are You Ready to Compete?” and “The True Cost of Bodybuilding Prep.”
Let’s build a foundation that lasts—and a prep that reflects everything you’re capable of.
