Table Of ContentBUILDING THE BIKINI BODY GUIDE BOOK
1.
Foreword by Lauren Simpson.................................................03
2.
About Mark Carroll.....................................................................06
3.
About Clean Health Fitness Institute....................................07
4.
How This Guide Came About.................................................08
5.
Why Women Should Train Like Men....................................09
6.
Busting Myths on Nutrition and Diet Fads...........................10
7.
Goal Setting 101............................................................................12
8.
Should I Cut or Build?..................................................................13
9.
Fueling the Bikini Body...............................................................16
10.
Macronutrient Recommendations.........................................20
11.
Finding Balance Through Flexible Dieting.........................22
12.
Building a Bikini Body Goal: Building...................................25
13.
Building a Bikini Body Goal: Cutting.....................................27
14.
Understanding Nutrition Fat Loss Plateaus.........................31
15.
How to Structure Your Diet......................................................34
16.
Diet Breaks for Body & Mind..................................................36
17.
Tracking Your Progress.............................................................37
18.
Bikini Body Training Overview................................................40
19.
Glute Specific Training Secrets..............................................46
20.
Understanding How to Read This Program.......................48
21.
Advanced Training Techniques..............................................52
22.
Training Templates......................................................................57
23.
Conclusion....................................................................................90
24.
Exercise Glossary........................................................................92
25.
References...................................................................................110
26.
Further Reading.............................................................................111
By Mark Carroll
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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POWERED BY
FOREWORD BY LAUREN SIMPSON
WBFF WORLD BIKINI CHAMPION
Gone are the days where you will only find women on the
cardio equipment and men in the weights room. Gym
culture is evolving and females in fitness are at the
forefront!
Quotes such as…
These are all common thoughts and messages that were once pushed out by the media and what us
as women associated ‘training’ with. I can talk to this first hand… because I was that girl.
I was the girl who only did cardio or group fitness (pump, body attack etc.) classes and who purely
went to the gym to lose fat and look ‘thin’. I was very uneducated at the time and assumed what most
other girls did... lifting was for guys, and girls just did cardio which were very “old school”
beliefs.
In recent years with the rise of social media and the accessibility of quality health and fitness
information, we have seen a positive impact and influence on females in the gym and their associa-
tion in particular with weight training.
The benefits of resistance training for both body composition and health, as opposed to cardio only
was really coming to light and more females started to wander onto the weights floor. The more fe-
males I started seeing on the gym floor, the more confident I became to join them there too.
In 2014 when I walked through the doors of Clean Health Fitness Institute in their original Sydney
CBD gym, I instantly fell in love with training the moment I stopped working out just to be ‘slim’ and
burn calories, but to get stronger and work towards performance goals in the gym.
I now feel so much more confident in myself and it’s such an empowering feeling to push your body
to new levels and achieve what you never felt possible.
When I stepped into Clean Health Fitness Institute and looked at these women lifting weights and
their incredible physiques. I never saw them do cardio and it was just lifting weights that was getting
them in this shape. They weren’t ‘big’ or ‘bulky’. They looked strong, healthy, defined and seriously
badass lifting!
“Lifting weights makes you big and bulky”
“You will look like a man”
“Cardio is the best way to lose fat”
“You only go to the gym to burn calories”
“I just want to be thin”
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Lifting weights really changed my life. From corporate worker and cardio bunny to now coaching
thousands of women worldwide, being the current WBFF World Bikini champion and a competitive
natural powerlifter in the IPF (International Powerlifting Federation).
The last few years in particular, Coach Mark Carroll has had a significant influence on me, most
recently preparing me for the WBFF World Titles in 2018 where I won and was crowned Bikini Diva
World Champion. The focus was on lifting weights and getting stronger on the big lifts to create a
strong, lean bikini body which we achieved.
My main message on my social media platforms from the very beginning has always been that girls
can lift weights and be strong, yet still be feminine and this is something that I feel Mark does better
than any other coach in the industry today.
So, with that being said, now it’s time to get stuck into lifting with this guide book. Remember to work
hard, be consistent and trust the process with Mark as I have. You are in safe hands!
Lauren Simpson / 2018 WBFF World Champion
WHY THIS GUIDE
WE GET RESULTS!
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POWERED BY
ABOUT MARK CARROLL
In the last year my methods for building the bikini body have been displayed on a global level thanks
to the power of social media and more specifically for me, Instagram. Social media has allowed the
world to see my results, showcased by the women I train which I am truly grateful for.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with female influencers from around the globe which has
contributed to my success and to building my brand. I’m often asked, “what is the Mark Carroll
method for building ‘THE’ bikini body?”. Well, this is answered with my favorite phrase these days, “It
depends”.
How so? Well because every physique is so different, which in my opinion the key is to build upon
our weak body parts whilst simultaneously losing body fat, which will enable you to be able to reveal
a more shapely, strong yet feminine physique.
Having said that, when I analyze and really look at what I do with my female clients, I see a common
theme and consistencies across all of them which include and are not limited to the following…
The industry I grew up with from a program design sense tended to be very dogmatic. Yes, the
basics win out, but variety is the spice of life. So, why not have both? Balance is key and that is what I
want to give you with this guide so enjoy!
I get girls strong as f**k
I get girls strong as f**k on the basics, using compound lifts
I also use a variety of rep ranges
I have my ‘go to’ lifts which stay consistent in programs
I use variety for accessory lifts
I aim to tick all the boxes when it comes to potential hypertrophy adaptations
I strive for increased training frequency with legs, specifically the glutes
Lastly, I design my programs to get results but also be enjoyable
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The Mark Carroll Method
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ABOUT CLEAN HEALTH
FITNESS INSTITUTE
Since 2008, Clean Health Fitness Institute has been regarded as Australia’s premiere fitness
industry educators and personal training organization. Having certified over 10,000 personal trainers
and fitness professionals in over 15 countries globally, we have developed a reputation as pioneers
in the health and fitness industry worldwide.
Clean Health Fitness Institute was founded by industry titan, Daine McDonald. In 2012, they opened
their first high end personal training studio and over the 5 years that followed the company facilitated
over 100,000 personal training sessions and developed a global reputation for results and excel-
lence.
Since 2008, we have annually coached numerous national and international champions in bikini,
fitness and figure competitions across numerous organizations including the ICN, ANB, IFBB, WBFF
and NPC.
Clean Health Fitness Institute has featured in other publications such as Channel 9 with Kerri Anne,
Fitness First Magazine, Nine MSN’s Health and Well-Being site, along with lecturing at some of the
biggest health and fitness conferences globally including Filex, the Mefit Pro Summit and the
Australian Fitness Expo.
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POWERED BY
HOW THIS GUIDE CAME ABOUT
As of writing this book, I am currently 30 years old and I started training when I was 13 years old and I
have loved it like nothing else since. I remember being in the gym every single day, begging my mum
to take me with her because I was under 15 and needed a parent to come in. I would go do weights
and my mum would swim laps in the pool or use the cross trainer, I just wanted to be big and strong.
My mum, like most women at the time, just wanted to be ‘slim’.
Back then, cardio was king, and the gym floor was split into two distinct sections, weights for the
guys, and cardio machines for the girls. It stayed like this for years. Occasionally women would
venture into “our” domain and it would be like trying to talk to a girl for the first time. It was a strange
sight to see.
Thankfully, this culture has changed over the last 10 years in particular. More and more women began
venturing into the weights section of the gym, including my mum, which I was thrilled about.
But what really changed the last 10 years, was the rise of younger women wanting to get ‘strong’. In
high school, (not that I was good at talking to girls back then) I remember distinctly, guys wanted to
be strong and muscular, the girls at school wanted to be skinny as possible!
But then something weird started to happen, women started to see the value in resistance training.
That the gym was a place not just to be “skinny”, but a place a woman can be strong. Women today
want to be strong, feminine and fit and not just skinny like a runway model.
I really think Instagram helped usher in the new revolution of strong, fierce women in the gym.
Seeing videos and photos of girls lifting weights, heavy weights, yet still looking feminine. Women
realizing that resistance training actually accentuated the female physique, rather than their fears of
looking more masculine or ‘bulky’.
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WHY WOMEN SHOULD TRAIN LIKE MEN
The notion that women should train like men is not new. I heard it for the first-time years ago and
in many ways it’s true. Put simply, men should be doing cardio work as well, and women should be
doing resistance work, the generalization is that guys are all about the strength gains and women are
all for the HIIT circuits.
Remember, balance is key!
Women really should train ‘like men’ though, because we both want the same thing, which let’s be
honest, is to look good naked right? Jokes aside, it is apparent that weight training builds shape our
physiques. Women can build the curves and create the shape they desire through resistance
training, not through cardio alone.
Women tend to believe that by doing cardio or combining cardio in the same session with weights
they will get the best results. However, the research clearly shows that if they do weights and cardio
on separate days, like most men prefer to do, better body composition results will follow in addition
to feeling better due to the increased strength gains.1, 2
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BUSTING MYTHS ON NUTRITION
AND DIET FADS
For many years, women and society overall have been made to believe that achieving the ultimate
bikini body involves some degree of ‘struggling’. Whether the struggle is from excluding food groups,
going on high fat, no fat or low carb diets or doing copious amounts of cardio sessions over the
week, the same theme remains.
But in reality, this isn’t true, you don’t need to over complicate it! As I like to say, keep it simple stupid.
My personal goal and a big part of why you are now here is to get women stronger than ever whilst
eating more food than ever!
That’s how it should be! The ultimate goal with your training and nutrition is really to have you eating
as much food as you can whilst maintaining a lean physique and only doing as much physical activity
that is necessary.
Here are my favorite myths to bust for women:
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You don’t need to exclude any food groups. So, there need not be any restrictions of sugar, dairy,
carbs, fats or whatever else you can think of.
You don’t need to go low carb for 12 weeks to get a transformation!
You can have fats, as many as you set your macros to, which I’ll get to throughout this guide.
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The term ‘Bikini Body’ is highly subjective and individual for everyone. Having said that, what is ‘The
Bikini Body’ we are working for here?
Again, for everyone it’s highly personal. I have clients like Lauren Simpson, bikini world champion
who has a lot of muscle, then clients like Instagram super star Hanna Oberg who has an incredible
bikini body with less muscle, and more curves.
Both girls lift heavy and train hard, yet their own specific genetics highly dictate how they look at
their best. Which is why my goal in this guide is not to tell you how you should look, rather my guide
is aimed to help you build the best version of your own bikini body.
Some girls want to be leaner, some want to have more curves, and a lot of you I hope are going to
want to take part in the “build” aspect of the nutrition.
What I wanted to do with this nutritional component, is share with you what I personally do and
believe to be optimal for my clients from my experience. Now I always base my methods on the latest
science, but what I believe sets me apart from other coaches is blending that with real world in the
trenches experience, designed to get you a healthy and sustainable result. After all, it is important to
understand that there are many ways to a great result.
I have many systems and nutritional strategies, which in some cases differ from other super
successful coaches. Now I don’t believe it means ones better or worse, as coaches we should be
putting our own personality into what we do!
My nutrition methods and systems have evolved tremendously over the years. In fact, the last 18
months alone, my knowledge and take on dieting in general has almost taken a complete 180° on
what clients do and don’t need to get amazing results!
Further Things You Should Know!
You can’t diet forever and at some stage you need to take a break to restore key functions and prime
the body for fat loss. I’ll coach you through this in this guide book.
If you can’t see yourself doing it 12 weeks from now, you won’t be. I encourage you to be flexible.
Remember, there are no ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods just bad amounts of calories in and energy out in
relation to your goal.
Carbohydrates are a key fuel source for muscle growth, we want them as high as possible over the
next 12 weeks, so learn to embrace them!
POWERED BY
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GOAL SETTING 101
First of all, this guide is not a “challenge”.
Now in saying that, there is nothing wrong with challenges, they are a great way to set a goal,
however this guide is about educating women on how to build their best bodies for life. You may
have a goal to build more muscle or to drop some body fat to reveal more of your shape, or you may
have a goal to do both. I want you to make sure when you choose a goal, you are choosing a goal for
your long-term benefit and not a simple quick fix.
For example, if you are already really lean and you know that eventually you want to compete and
need more muscle on your glutes and shoulders, make sure you choose a nutritional goal that aligns
with what you need long term and not short term.
When choosing a goal, I want you to commit to it for a full 12 weeks. If you want to build muscle, then
commit to it for the entire time. Don’t freak out after 3 weeks if the scale goes up a kilo or two, It’s
normal. On the flip side if you want to lose body fat, it’s not the end of the world if you have a week
or two when scale weight plateaus. Again, it’s normal and we can plan for it accordingly.
Recognize there will be great days and bad days in the gym. Some days you will love how you look,
the next day you think you’re the worst thing in the world. Again, trust me ladies, from a guy who
trains women almost exclusively. Whether you are starting off in the gym or a bikini world champion,
you will all have days of insecurity. Joys of being human!
Decide, Commit, Succeed.
Choose your goal, commit to it for 12 full weeks and the results will come!
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POWERED BY
SHOULD I CUT OR BUILD?
Ok so which one should you do? Well in typical Mark Carroll fashion I will say this, “it depends”. But
let me give you a little guidance on the matter!
Should I choose to ‘Cut’?
If you are more than 5-7kg away from your ‘goal’ body weight, I would suggest doing a cut. Use the
12 weeks to get stronger and build muscle (yes you can in a calorie deficit, albeit not as much as a
surplus) but most of all, use my nutritional structure to help you lose the body fat first. The leaner
you are, generally the greater ability to build muscle in a calorie surplus.
On the flip side, this means that the higher your body fat when in a calorie surplus, you are most
likely to favor or at least balance out fat gain to muscle build ratio. This will mostly be the case due
to the lower levels of aromatase activity (present in adipose tissue) that is responsible for
converting testosterone into oestrogen, and thus the higher levels of testosterone in a leaner
physique.3
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Should I choose to ‘Build’?
I have created this program with the strong intention that you choose build, hence the title ‘Building
the Bikini Body’. So, with that in mind I hope you choose this option because my big thing, is
teaching women to stop living in a calorie deficit.
Use a calorie deficit to get lean, then get out back to baseline. In this guide, the ‘build’ nutritional
approach involves increasing calories whilst minimizing fat gain. Remember, the most optimal way to
build the desired shape you want is to increase calories.
Back in 2018 when I started coaching Lauren Simpson, the first thing I did was put her into a surplus
for 4 months. This is the year that Lauren went on to become the WBFF Bikini Diva World Champion.
In the months leading up to this, Lauren put on 6kg. After successfully completing a ‘building phase’
we moved into an 8-week cut to prepare Lauren for the WBFF Worlds stage in Las Vegas, which she
won!
She won because she spent time building the
necessary shape to give her physique that pop
it needed when she was comp prep lean. Don’t
be scared to gain some body fat in the quest
to build muscle. I will tell you right now, Lauren
hated the way she looked; however, it was for
that specific long-term goal I spoke about -
become world champion. Short term pain
(being uncomfortable) for long term gains!
POWERED BY
NUTRITION
EAT WELL
