Improvement Season Reflection and Prep Transition
At almost 2 weeks into my prep (officially started September 28th), I spent the previous 12 months in an improvement season focusing on growing and improving my physique. That's an entire year of consistency with my training and consistency with my nutrition.
I don't skip workouts, and I don't neglect my macros. I'm not saying these things to be "hardcore". I'm actually quite the opposite of what many consider "hardcore". I'm not part of "team no days off", I don't "eat clean", I don't eat 8 small meals every few hours, and I don't wake up at the crack of dawn for fasted cardio. (I'm still not doing any cardio, and when I start to incorporate it, you certainly won't find me doing it fasted.) I take rest days when I need them, I fit donuts and ice cream and pizza in my macros, and I eat according to my hunger and personal preferences. People always say fitness is a lifestyle, and I can agree with that, but you don't need to give up all the things you love and enjoy outside of bodybuilding. It is a lifestyle in that you will only get so far if you don't actually love and enjoy what you're doing.
It is a lifestyle, and I love it. I get to train. I love training. It's my happy place, and I'm fortunate to be healthy enough to participate in something that I love and something that makes me feel good.
For those who compete in physique competitions, the goal is to bring an improved package each time. My goal was never to be in such a rush to compete immediately again or to compete over and over again that I never gave myself more than a few months at a time to grow. Likewise, my goal was never to be so concerned with staying lean that I never made any progress. My goal for this improvement season was to capitalize on my beginner gains and build a solid foundation for my physique. I feel pretty good about accomplishing that.
As I reflect on the last year, I'm very satisfied with how I've spent my time. I got to lift heavy, set new PRs, push myself, challenge myself, and grow -- both mentally and physically. I'm looking forward to seeing what I've built this off-season, and I'm looking forward to continuing this journey into my prep.
We become good at what we practice, and the keys to a successful off-season are the same things that lead to a successful on-season: being consistent with training and being consistent with nutrition. So what changes between off-season and on-season? I've mentioned before that a performance-based off-season can transition to a results-based on-season. It's not uncommon for strength (performance) to stall or even decrease while in a long diet. Our focus is never black or white, and performance will still be important, but the main focus shifts towards body fat reduction (results). Besides manipulating macros, and the addition of cardio on an as-needed basis, not much else changes. Recovery is still important. Love and passion for the sport is still important. Off-season and on-season don't have to be, and really shouldn't be, night and day. People have an idea that prep starts with a bang, and all of a sudden things get really intense and miserable. It doesn't need to be that way. It gets hard, yes, as anything worth doing should, but I believe it should be approached with long-term success in mind. Ease into it and approach it in a step-wise fashion. Train smarter, not harder.
I ended my improvement season training building up to a 2 week high volume block, followed by a 1 week deload. Training volume has since returned to "regular". Still on a 3 days on/ 1 day off split. As mentioned, still zero cardio. It takes some trial and error to find a caloric intake that allows for fat loss at an acceptable pace. You don't want calories too high or too low, and maintenance calories can be a moving target after adjusting training volume and food intake. Macros are currently at 150P/ 40F/ and carbs ranging from 350-315 although I suspect this will still need some tinkering. Bulking weight never broke 130 (my high was 129.4 which I hit on the morning I started prep), and I woke up with a new prep low of 126.8 today after sleeping in until noon. (Yes, I love sleeping. LOL.) I don't get hung up on these numbers, as anyone who weighs themselves daily knows that scale weight fluctuates wildly, but I am interested in the overall trend. I'm going for a loss of about 1 lb. per week, and although I don't want to be a slave to the scale, it's a very useful tool. (Especially when body fat is too high to really use the mirror as a guide.) I plan to use my handheld BIA more often for reading my body fat, I just have a hard time remembering to use it. It's not the most accurate device, but by using it consistently, I can at least be consistently inaccurate and still get a good idea of the overall trend in body composition.
This post was text heavy. Here's a pic:
I don't skip workouts, and I don't neglect my macros. I'm not saying these things to be "hardcore". I'm actually quite the opposite of what many consider "hardcore". I'm not part of "team no days off", I don't "eat clean", I don't eat 8 small meals every few hours, and I don't wake up at the crack of dawn for fasted cardio. (I'm still not doing any cardio, and when I start to incorporate it, you certainly won't find me doing it fasted.) I take rest days when I need them, I fit donuts and ice cream and pizza in my macros, and I eat according to my hunger and personal preferences. People always say fitness is a lifestyle, and I can agree with that, but you don't need to give up all the things you love and enjoy outside of bodybuilding. It is a lifestyle in that you will only get so far if you don't actually love and enjoy what you're doing.
It is a lifestyle, and I love it. I get to train. I love training. It's my happy place, and I'm fortunate to be healthy enough to participate in something that I love and something that makes me feel good.
For those who compete in physique competitions, the goal is to bring an improved package each time. My goal was never to be in such a rush to compete immediately again or to compete over and over again that I never gave myself more than a few months at a time to grow. Likewise, my goal was never to be so concerned with staying lean that I never made any progress. My goal for this improvement season was to capitalize on my beginner gains and build a solid foundation for my physique. I feel pretty good about accomplishing that.
As I reflect on the last year, I'm very satisfied with how I've spent my time. I got to lift heavy, set new PRs, push myself, challenge myself, and grow -- both mentally and physically. I'm looking forward to seeing what I've built this off-season, and I'm looking forward to continuing this journey into my prep.
We become good at what we practice, and the keys to a successful off-season are the same things that lead to a successful on-season: being consistent with training and being consistent with nutrition. So what changes between off-season and on-season? I've mentioned before that a performance-based off-season can transition to a results-based on-season. It's not uncommon for strength (performance) to stall or even decrease while in a long diet. Our focus is never black or white, and performance will still be important, but the main focus shifts towards body fat reduction (results). Besides manipulating macros, and the addition of cardio on an as-needed basis, not much else changes. Recovery is still important. Love and passion for the sport is still important. Off-season and on-season don't have to be, and really shouldn't be, night and day. People have an idea that prep starts with a bang, and all of a sudden things get really intense and miserable. It doesn't need to be that way. It gets hard, yes, as anything worth doing should, but I believe it should be approached with long-term success in mind. Ease into it and approach it in a step-wise fashion. Train smarter, not harder.
I ended my improvement season training building up to a 2 week high volume block, followed by a 1 week deload. Training volume has since returned to "regular". Still on a 3 days on/ 1 day off split. As mentioned, still zero cardio. It takes some trial and error to find a caloric intake that allows for fat loss at an acceptable pace. You don't want calories too high or too low, and maintenance calories can be a moving target after adjusting training volume and food intake. Macros are currently at 150P/ 40F/ and carbs ranging from 350-315 although I suspect this will still need some tinkering. Bulking weight never broke 130 (my high was 129.4 which I hit on the morning I started prep), and I woke up with a new prep low of 126.8 today after sleeping in until noon. (Yes, I love sleeping. LOL.) I don't get hung up on these numbers, as anyone who weighs themselves daily knows that scale weight fluctuates wildly, but I am interested in the overall trend. I'm going for a loss of about 1 lb. per week, and although I don't want to be a slave to the scale, it's a very useful tool. (Especially when body fat is too high to really use the mirror as a guide.) I plan to use my handheld BIA more often for reading my body fat, I just have a hard time remembering to use it. It's not the most accurate device, but by using it consistently, I can at least be consistently inaccurate and still get a good idea of the overall trend in body composition.
This post was text heavy. Here's a pic:
 |
| 13 days into prep :) |
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