How To Get a Bikini Model Fitness Body: Review By Former Bikini Competitor Andjela Tanasic
Acquiring a bikini body that carries a good amount of muscle mass with great muscle definition but still looks feminine and attractive can be achieved with hard work and dedication. Women often shy away from weights for fear of getting “bulky,” but their muscle-building capacity is limited and should be embraced instead of feared. When you have high body fat levels, you usually look bulky. But if you have a high muscle percentage and low body fat, you can look fantastic!
From my experience as a bikini competitor, I can tell you that when it comes to getting your dream body, much more is required than just dialing in your training. Getting into the right mindset to manage all game elements is key. You need mental strength, consistency, and discipline to stick with your program and nutrition.
In this blog, I will provide a guide to help beginners and intermediate trainees on the right track toward getting into the best shape of their lives. Who knows, you might even get in such shape that you decide to join your first bikini competition.
As I mentioned, the following elements play a vital role in building a bikini contest physique:
Good training protocol
Goal oriented nutrition
Mental strength to push through the ups and downs
Consistency
Training protocol
Regarding the training protocol for achieving a bikini body, you want to focus on exercises geared toward strength and hypertrophy. You should have an adequate mix of cardio and weight training to allow your body to preserve and build muscle effectively. It will include a mix of compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, rows mixed with resistance machines, and isolation movements like leg curls, leg extensions, triceps cable extensions, etc.
Within your training protocol, you should aim to get stronger over time and always provide your muscles with the right stimulus by using progressive overload.
Progressive overload means increasing the resistance of your workouts over time, either by adding more reps and sets or increasing weight. This way, you will keep challenging your muscles so they can continue to grow.
You should also ensure adequate training frequency and weekly training volume. You can not expect high levels of results by doing resistance training only 1-2 times per week. You should hit all your muscle groups at least once per week and even more frequently, as studies have shown that higher frequency training has greater benefits for muscle growth. Training the same muscle group twice per week can speed up your progress.
In terms of cardio, you should do it to improve your cardiovascular health and as a tool that will help you increase your daily output, which means burning more calories. That can allow you to get into a caloric deficit and burn fat efficiently and more easily.
Doing steady-state cardio in the initial stages 2-3 times per week for 30-45 minutes should be sufficient. Once you have done that for 4-6 weeks, you can start introducing high-intensity interval training. HIIT should be done in moderation with 4-8 bouts of high-effort work up to 45 seconds, followed by long rest periods so that your body can have a good output during the bouts of intense activity.
3 per week weight training and cardio workout split
Day 1 - Glutes, Quads, Calves, Abs & Cardio
A1 Barbell Back Squat 3x8-10
B1 Barbell Hip Thrust 3x8-10
C1 Curved Back Hyperextensions 2x12-15
D1 Leg Extensions 2x12-15
E1 Calf Raises 3x12-15
E2 Leg Raises 3x12-15
F1 Elliptical 30 minutes (AVG heart rate 130-140 BPM)
Day 2 - Back, Shoulders, Arms & Cardio
A1 - Underhand Grip Lat Pull Down 3x8-12
B1 - Dumbell Shoulder Press 3x8-12
C1 - Seated Upper Back Row 3x8-12
C2 - Dumbell lateral Raises 3x8-12
D1 - Cable Triceps Extension 3x8-12
D2 - Cable Biceps Curl 3x8-12
E1 - Abdominal Crunches 3x8-12
F1 Stairmaster 30 minutes (AVG HR 130-140 BPM)
Day 3 - Hamstrings, Gluts, Quads, and Cardio
A1 - Stiff Leg Deadlift (SLDL) 3x8
B1 - Hamstring Curls 3x8-12
C1 - Bulgarian Split Squat 3x8-12
D1 - Reverse Hypers 2x12-15
E1 - Assault Bike 5-6 rounds of 30" ON 120" OFF (RPE 8,9/10)
Important notes:
The above workouts will help beginners and even intermediate lifters significantly improve their performance and physique.
Advanced lifters and even some intermediate ones (4+ years of training experience) might have to increase overall training volume and frequency to improve their physique, especially if they plan a bikini contest in a couple of months.
This program will not allow you to lose weight if you are consuming more calories than you are burning, and if the total calories and macros are not tracked, you might not even drop your body fat percentage. That is why nutrition is vital in building the perfect bikini body!
Keeping your sets mostly at 8 reps or between 8 and 12 reps is not a must; for me, it is a sweet spot where I can get both good strength and hypertrophy goals simultaneously.
Don't be someone who does program hoping all the time! To see whether a program is good and to give your body a chance to grow and progress, you need to be on a program for at least 6 weeks.
If an exercise does not feel right and causes much pain and discomfort, try to fix it. If it does not work after a while, replace it. There is no ultimate exercise you must have in your programs!
If you just started training, don't expect to be bikini competition ready in just a couple of months. For your body to mature, you need time, and most bikini competitors train for years before they feel ready to step on the stage.
Nutrition
The most important part when trying to get a bikini body is nutrition. You should create an individual plan that fits into your lifestyle and considers your body composition, activity level, and goals.
You need to ensure that you get enough protein for muscle growth and repair. Protein should be between 1-1.2g/lb of lean body mass. This is essential for a healthy diet as it helps keep you full and energized and will help maintain your muscle mass.
You should also focus on healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado, and nuts. Fats are essential to a healthy diet and can help regulate hormones.
Carbohydrates are important for providing energy to the body but should be chosen wisely. Complex carbs such as vegetables, fruits, sweet potatoes, and rice should be chosen over processed carbs such as white bread and pasta.
Some general recommendations for fat and carb intake:
Fat no less than 0.6gm per kg of your BW
Once you adjust your protein and fat intake, the remainder of calories should be allocated towards carbs (ideally 1-2gm of carbs per kg of your BW as you need fuel to train, recover and support muscle preservation and growth)
Important notes about fat loss and muscle growth:
You can not optimize both at the same time unless you are a complete beginner
Suppose you are an intermediate or advanced trainee. Try optimizing one goal at a time. You can have a fat loss phase and then a bulk phase. Whatever you decide, know that each objective takes time.
For fat loss to occur, you must be in a caloric deficit. A weekly deficit of 3500 calories (500 calorie daily deficit) will allow you to lose approximately 350-450 calories.
You need to be in a minor caloric surplus to optimize muscle gain!
The higher the deficit, the higher your protein intake should be (2-2.2gm per kg of BW) to reduce muscle loss.
If calorie intake is, high protein can be lower (1.6-1.8gm per kg of BW)
Mental Strength & Consistency
Having a bikini body isn't just about training and nutrition; it is also about having the right mindset. You must be consistent with your diet and training program to see results, so you must develop a strong mental attitude to stay on track.
You have to push yourself, even when you don't feel like it, and embrace the challenge of reaching your goals. You must also learn to motivate yourself and focus on long-term results rather than just quick, short-term wins.
Genetics
People often blame their genetics for a poor physique, and that is partially true because from the day we are created in our mother through the teenage years until we are adults, our genetic makeup plays a significant role in how we look.
But there are also ways to work around it, as genetics can be manipulated through years and years of hard work, dedication, consistency, and a good understanding of nutrition. You may not be able to change your genetics completely, but you can improve significantly.
I hope this blog post has given you the knowledge to create a program tailored to your needs and goals. Remember, don't shy away from weights! Every female might be unable to join a bikini division but can most certainly have a strong, toned, sculpted look if they train hard and stay consistent with their nutrition plan.
If you need help with a diet plan or want an in-person or online personal trainer, book your free consultation today so our team of experts can help you make an informed decision about your fitness journey!
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