How’s training? How are the new goals? What are the new
goals?
That’s an interesting topic right now because I’ve been asked
quite a lot if I’m competing in Season A. The reason for this is because I’m
lean. I still have visible veins. I’m not skinny or gaunt, but I’m lean – I won’t
deny that.
The truth is this; there is an awful lot of interest in what
people choose to do post-comp. The whole food thing takes on a life of its own
after months of denial. The answer for each person can be terribly elusive
because, try as you might, sometimes your body won’t play the game that your
head is trying to achieve. So before I launch into my own tactics, this is what
I think happens most of the time;
-
Competition
Day – lean as you will ever be, proud of your achievement, proud of your
ability to achieve what you have. Brilliant day and a great feeling.
-
Decision
quickly made to keep this body looking decent for a while longer. In my honest opinion –
no one ever gets lean enough for a comp and then consciously decides to slap on
5 kilos in the first week. It absolutely and seriously does happen – make no
mistake about that – but I wouldn’t believe a single soul if they told me this
was their master plan.
- There's a great big HOWEVER in here- the millisecond that competition is over, there are choices to be made. How much to indulge, how long to let it go on for, what to consume. Do you just "let go" and scoff whatever for however long? Smells like disaster. Or do you carefully cycle off the diet by keeping the same foods and just introducing a bit more of them - sorry, but this doesn't have a great strike rate either. Of course it sounds like the sensible plan - but sensible and what actually works are two very different beasts.
- Unfortunately the golden answer is not that easy. Because the post comp will be extremely reflective of the pre comp. A ridiculous regime of excessive cardio and minimal food generally results in quite the opposite. So does that assure you that a sensible prep will ensure a great post-comp? No. That is not true either. Too many post comp stories have led me to believe this assumption is simply not true.
- I don't have the answer for anyone but me. My method has worked beautifully for me. Will it work for you? Maybe - maybe not. I wish I could say it with more assurance. I have tried so hard to lead my trainees into the right areas post comp and the overwhelming experience I have had is that they don't maintain the contact they should or could. And I have never found out about any food issues until way down the track ... even though I have always offered help and guidance with cycling out of the competition nutrition. I guess when the going gets tough, most of us want to hide away and shield ourselves from any prying eyes.
- What I have experienced myself though, is that when the weight-gain cycle has started, it rolls on like a dirty great snowball,
gathering momentum as it rolls. Very, very hard to stop due to the emotions and
esteem issues that compound with every mouthful.
-
Eventually
there is a terrible realisation that, not only has the comp body gone, but it’s
hard to tell that you even workout anymore. Puffy, uncomfortable and ill at
ease with your condition.
- The choice
is made to either jump on some sort of 12 week challenge, begin cardio’ing like
crazy, or reject the whole industry altogether. Moderation is not a common
hallmark of a competitor. All or nothing is generally the way.
So I decided to buck the trend. I made a very conscious
decision to manage myself after the comp. Not just for a couple of weeks – not just
for a couple of months.. I decided I wanted the majority of my everyday life to
be healthy, comfortable and free of the awful esteem issues that come with big
gains and losses of weight. If that means I won’t ever win Ms Olympia
(hahahahaha), then so be it.
So anyhow, I’ve already blogged about macro tracking. I’m
slowly increasing and I’m up to a very reasonable calorie count now. I have
room to have very nice meals and I force myself to include plenty of treats. I’ve
had my ‘fails’ and they are quite interesting;
-
When
I find myself staying too ‘clean’ (god I hate that word) – it only ever leads
to cravings and I eventually give in. Way, way, WAY better to plan and account
for treats than to binge and pig-out. And, as previously stated, if you tell me
you don’t ever crave sugar or fat, I just won’t believe you. No one is that
squeaky clean. Saying it doesn't make it true.
-
When
I stick to the same foods all day every day – which is quite easy for me
because I have always been a fairly lazy eater – I end up feeling hard-done-by.
So I force myself to try new meats, new seasonings, new combinations – and it
works to keep me excited about my meals. Again, this prevents cravings.
-
When
I let my emotions get away on me and fail to see the connection with what goes
in my mouth. That’s something I hate occurring but it can and does. I have lately made the strong connection between my day's plans going out the window, and my desire to over-eat. Why has it taken me so long to figure this one???
But I’ve had many more wins than losses. And I’m just stoked
with how it’s working out. Just today I’ve added more food in and I’m
certain that I will absorb the extra and there will be minimal change in body
composition. And that’s what I’m after – very small little increases that keep
me gaining at a very slow pace until I don’t want to gain anymore.
So what about cardio? This one I’ve given plenty of thought
to. Cardio is topical in all phases of training;
-
In
the pre-comp phase, there is debate around the use and/or over-use for leaning
purposes;
-
In
‘off-season’ phases there is debate over whether to include cardio or whether
it just negates any muscle gain
-
In
general fat-loss programs, there is yet more debate over the amount and style
of cardio to prescribe.
I spent my last off-season with no cardio at all. Perhaps the
odd HIIT once a month, and some months none at all. I ate ‘clean’ 90% of the
time and over-did the sugar on the other 10%. I did not track my composition or
my weight and I didn’t weigh my foods – I just ate until I didn’t want to eat
anymore. There wasn’t a happy ending. I loaded on 15kg and, along with that, I
felt incredibly sluggish and there wasn’t a perky piece about me. Looking back
I’m surprised I didn’t feel worse psychologically – I think I was saved due to
being so busy at work and home with other things.
These days I do my 2 HIITS per week and I try not to miss
them. For the past couple of weeks I only managed 1 but that’s just fine too.
As long as I have them in there somewhere. If someone told me that I was
compromising my ability to make and retain muscle by doing my cardio, I’d
answer them with the following;
-
My
health is very important to me. My ability to run a couple of km without too
much hassle is a nice indicator of some general fitness. My heart needs
exercising and a bit of honest cardio helps out. And most of all – absolute top
of my list – I just LOVE feeling that perky feeling of having a measure of
cardio fitness. Regardless of muscle growth.
-
I
won’t drop out my cardio. I just won't. I will listen to your argument about muscle retention and I'll still opt for a little more fitness than a little more muscle.
-
I
think the nice mix of heavy training, a little cardio and great nutrition is
setting me up beautifully for any direction I want to go in. If I want to lean
down, it’s within reach. If I want to gain, I can do so at a nice easy level.
If I want to maintain, I’m very content with the input and output. It’s all
achievable without any great gains or losses - and I honestly believe those big see-saws in weight are extremely stressful on body and mind.
As for training, I have been
following a periodised program with varying rep ranges on certain nights. I’m
just about ready for a change and I’m going to head into a strength program. I’m
loving what I’m writing which is quite funny – surely it’s strange to like your
own stuff so much?
I’m also ready for some measurement
comparisons and I’ll include the results next time.
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