Autumn Calabrese recounts her recent bikini competition: a 12-week preparation period made especially difficult by travel (7 of 12 weeks), strict nutrition and intensive gym sessions, and coaching support. On competition day she won first place in her height category (novice), won the overall novice title, and placed second in the open category for her height; she may pursue USAS qualification and a pro card but has not decided. She thanks supporters and returns to regular training and relaxed eating.
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What's up, everybody? I don't know if you heard, but I did just finish my iron game bikini competition. This was my fourth competition ever in the last two and a half years and I got to bring home some hardware. So the last 12 weeks have been an interesting roller coaster for me and I just want to share with you guys how it all ended. My bikini competitions are something I do once or twice a year. They do take about 12 weeks of prep and it is intense. But my nutrition is crazy, crazy on point. I work with coaches for it. I'm in the gym anywhere from one to three hours a day getting in my workouts. The closer I get to competition, the more intense it gets. This was by far my hardest prep ever because I traveled seven of the 12 weeks of prep. That doesn't make it very easy for getting in workouts and staying on point with your nutrition when you're trying to eat at the airport. But I did do it. I'm not gonna lie. I did have a few slip ups, but did the best I could when I was at all of my events and traveling. Day of competition came. It was amazing, long, fun, exhausting, all at the same time. But I brought home the first place in my height category in novice, which meant I got to go compete for the overall in novice against the other height categories. I won that overall and then in the open category for my height, I second. So overall, it was an amazing competition. I'm so happy that I did it. Hard work paid off. As for what is next, I don't know if there's another competition in my future. Never say never. My second place open win qualified me for USAS this summer. However, usas do come a week after Summit, so I haven't decided yet if I'll be going for my pro card. But for right now, I'm back in the gym. I'm eating clean, I am enjoying a few treats here, here and there, glass of wine, a cookie. I do want to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everybody that's been following along on this journey. To everybody that cheered me along and supported me and encouraged me through all of those hard times. I really appreciate it. I know I get to be there for you guys a lot. So it was awesome to have everybody there for me this time. Thank you. Thank you for following me. Be sure to subscribe. You guys check back often for more videos and I'll see you next time. Bye.
