getting back in bulk mode after a show?

[Gettinswole21]

Hi i had a question on what ur guys thoughts and stratagies are for the best way to get back into bulking up after ur first show. i am currently a little over 3 weeks out from my first show and was curious:

1. after ur show like the following monday do u get back onto ur regimented pre contest cardio. (for example:) if i was doing 2hrs liss cardio starting 2weeks out and cut it the last week would u get back on the same amount of cardio and intensity that monday after ur show?

2. diet wise, after splurging the night of the show and the day after is it best to get back on ur prep diet meaning calorie intake the week before the show and slightly add calories week by week while checking ur weight. (for example:) if im low low carb like 100g a day before peak week then that monday afer the show should i up my carbs to like 150 and gradually watch my weight fluctuations and add each week if not gaining?

thankyou

[DanTheManB]

Hi i had a question on what ur guys thoughts and stratagies are for the best way to get back into bulking up after ur first show. i am currently a little over 3 weeks out from my first show and was curious:

1. after ur show like the following monday do u get back onto ur regimented pre contest cardio. (for example:) if i was doing 2hrs liss cardio starting 2weeks out and cut it the last week would u get back on the same amount of cardio and intensity that monday after ur show?

2. diet wise, after splurging the night of the show and the day after is it best to get back on ur prep diet meaning calorie intake the week before the show and slightly add calories week by week while checking ur weight. (for example:) if im low low carb like 100g a day before peak week then that monday afer the show should i up my carbs to like 150 and gradually watch my weight fluctuations and add each week if not gaining?

thankyou


Here are my thoughts. And I've been there done that 3 times and the self control has been better each time:

1. Cardio-wise my last show I just stopped. Not a good idea. lol. Not that I gained a ton of fat but it just makes MORE sense to at least do half of what you were doing previously and slowly come back down. Personally this next off-season I'm keeping in 20 min sessions post-workout for most days.

2. I wouldn't necessarily "splurge" (in my mind that means binge)--I would have a nice big MEAL of whatever you are craving most Post show and then the next day relax and eat when hungry whatever you want til full-not bloated. OR plan ONE big cheat meal the next day. After that start to reverse diet Monday slowly...Alberto 'Father Flex' probably has done this better than anyone I've ever seen.

[DanTheManB]

Oh and I wouldn't up carbs by 50 lol. Think SLOWER. Like 10-20 g increments. Seriously.

[AustrianOakJr]

I agree that upping your calories in the reverse of how you cut them out is a good strategy in order to learn your body and how it will react as far as staying lean while increasing metabolism, filling out, etc. But, I have a hard time believing much progress will be made in the strength and muscle building dept if you stay well below you set point for longer than necessary. The problem is that at contest-level body fat, hunger is not satiated by hitting your maintenance calories or even eating quite a bit above maintenance. Hunger wont be satiated until you come close to your set point again. So, reverse dieting does allow you to learn a lot about what can be done to really dial in your physique and stoke your metabolic fire, but it also sets you up for many more weeks of feeling miserable, low testosterone, and less than optimal gains in muscle and strength. I dont know that I advocate packing on 20 lbs of fat in the first week, but I dont necessarily think that hitting your set point relatively quickly (compared to how you lost the fat) is a bad thing. The problem begins when people start binging on anything and everything in sight and have a hard time controlling their appetite......and then even when they have surpassed their set point, the brain hasnt had a chance to catch up......people wind up putting on 50 lbs of fat in the first two months and have a very hard time with depression and consequent further binging. I think a happy medium is a good way to make the most of your off season. Enjoy a day or two of eating whatever you want. Then come back to your diet numbers while allowing yourself incrementally more food as you go along. Feed the fire with slow introduction of carbs and allow your weight to come up at a farily regulated pace. Allow yourself another cheat day every week or so isnt a bad thing. And dont get down on yourself if your putting on 2-3 lbs a week for the first month or two.......just be reasonable and controlled. When you hit your set point at an even keeled pace, your brain will let you know by decreasing hunger signals substantially and then from there you can take your weight gain at a very slow (1/4-1/2 lbs) per week.

[Trapzillaoo7]

Oak,
I think you are dead on here. I have been doing a ton of thinking and this is the same protocol I plan to follow. I blew up after my 2006 show run. I gained 17 lbs the first week and it just went up from there. I was 231 by March of 2009(I competed at 172-176 within a 3 show span). I end up carrying the majority of my fat in the midsection as my arms stayed lean after this. It was really strange for me. I guess I can partially thank age for that, lol. Anyway, I think just following my re-feed #'s post show may be the way to go and then up them from there depending on the gain. I will step on stage again in 4+ weeks around 176-180 and hope to walk around more in the 195-200 range. I may allow myself a meal or even a day to splurge during the off-season but no more eating when/what I wanted. I think we deprive ourselves so much that we go so far the other way when we are done. Anyway, best of luck to everyone competing!

Brian


I agree that upping your calories in the reverse of how you cut them out is a good strategy in order to learn your body and how it will react as far as staying lean while increasing metabolism, filling out, etc. But, I have a hard time believing much progress will be made in the strength and muscle building dept if you stay well below you set point for longer than necessary. The problem is that at contest-level body fat, hunger is not satiated by hitting your maintenance calories or even eating quite a bit above maintenance. Hunger wont be satiated until you come close to your set point again. So, reverse dieting does allow you to learn a lot about what can be done to really dial in your physique and stoke your metabolic fire, but it also sets you up for many more weeks of feeling miserable, low testosterone, and less than optimal gains in muscle and strength. I dont know that I advocate packing on 20 lbs of fat in the first week, but I dont necessarily think that hitting your set point relatively quickly (compared to how you lost the fat) is a bad thing. The problem begins when people start binging on anything and everything in sight and have a hard time controlling their appetite......and then even when they have surpassed their set point, the brain hasnt had a chance to catch up......people wind up putting on 50 lbs of fat in the first two months and have a very hard time with depression and consequent further binging. I think a happy medium is a good way to make the most of your off season. Enjoy a day or two of eating whatever you want. Then come back to your diet numbers while allowing yourself incrementally more food as you go along. Feed the fire with slow introduction of carbs and allow your weight to come up at a farily regulated pace. Allow yourself another cheat day every week or so isnt a bad thing. And dont get down on yourself if your putting on 2-3 lbs a week for the first month or two.......just be reasonable and controlled. When you hit your set point at an even keeled pace, your brain will let you know by decreasing hunger signals substantially and then from there you can take your weight gain at a very slow (1/4-1/2 lbs) per week.

[UCFBuilder]

I agree that upping your calories in the reverse of how you cut them out is a good strategy in order to learn your body and how it will react as far as staying lean while increasing metabolism, filling out, etc. But, I have a hard time believing much progress will be made in the strength and muscle building dept if you stay well below you set point for longer than necessary. The problem is that at contest-level body fat, hunger is not satiated by hitting your maintenance calories or even eating quite a bit above maintenance. Hunger wont be satiated until you come close to your set point again. So, reverse dieting does allow you to learn a lot about what can be done to really dial in your physique and stoke your metabolic fire, but it also sets you up for many more weeks of feeling miserable, low testosterone, and less than optimal gains in muscle and strength. I dont know that I advocate packing on 20 lbs of fat in the first week, but I dont necessarily think that hitting your set point relatively quickly (compared to how you lost the fat) is a bad thing. The problem begins when people start binging on anything and everything in sight and have a hard time controlling their appetite......and then even when they have surpassed their set point, the brain hasnt had a chance to catch up......people wind up putting on 50 lbs of fat in the first two months and have a very hard time with depression and consequent further binging. I think a happy medium is a good way to make the most of your off season. Enjoy a day or two of eating whatever you want. Then come back to your diet numbers while allowing yourself incrementally more food as you go along. Feed the fire with slow introduction of carbs and allow your weight to come up at a farily regulated pace. Allow yourself another cheat day every week or so isnt a bad thing. And dont get down on yourself if your putting on 2-3 lbs a week for the first month or two.......just be reasonable and controlled. When you hit your set point at an even keeled pace, your brain will let you know by decreasing hunger signals substantially and then from there you can take your weight gain at a very slow (1/4-1/2 lbs) per week.

awesome advice here..completley agree

last year after my last show...the night of and the next day i went ALL OUT..anything and everything went in my mouth lol...and although i felt like absolute shiit and was 13 pounds heavier the next day...im gonna do it again this year and would recommend the same for anyone else..the reason being that i was so bloated and full and felt like so much shiit that I WANTED to get back on the diet...just get it out of your system and then get back to normal eating..what really helped me get back to normal eating was BIG salads filled with a bunch of veggies...i was so sick of being held to a certain amount of food more than anything..i just wanted to eat big meals...so i made big chicken salads with cottage cheese, bunch of veggies, nuts, fruits..everything...it took care of my urge to binge..kept me eating healthy and eased me back into eating more and more cals

[Gettinswole21]

so if my cardio before i stop a week or so before the show is at 2hrs liss on the stairmaster then that monday i should go for an hr a day 6days a week? or just go for an hr on the treadmill?

[AustrianOakJr]

TWO HOURS OF LISS??? A DAY?? Are you kidding? Holey shmokes. I would probably bump that down a notch after your show. :)

[MuscleManxx]

i think everyone knows whats the "right" thing to do

go back to your previous diet and slowly increase cals so you are only gaining back about 1-2 lbs a week, thats what i wanted to do in theory

here i sit 185lbs 10 days after stepping on stage at 163

[Barn01]

i think everyone knows whats the "right" thing to do

go back to your previous diet and slowly increase cals so you are only gaining back about 1-2 lbs a week, thats what i wanted to do in theory

here i sit 185lbs 10 days after stepping on stage at 163

Ya I did that post show as well ... gained 11lbs by Monday morning. I snapped out of it when I hit 175lbs and started to put the brakes on the curb the eating.

I say allow yourself to get to healthy BF% and then put the brakes on and go to a maint level for a few weeks to allow your metabolism to catch up. Then you can add in a few more cals and keep it going.

[MuscleManxx]

Ya I did that post show as well ... gained 11lbs by Monday morning. I snapped out of it when I hit 175lbs and started to put the brakes on the curb the eating.

I say allow yourself to get to healthy BF% and then put the brakes on and go to a maint level for a few weeks to allow your metabolism to catch up. Then you can add in a few more cals and keep it going.

ya what i did now was actualy cut all sugar out, thats what really got me

im just eating oats, brown rice, sweet potatoe, and fruits

still getting like 500gm of carbs a day but i leveled of and feel like my metabolism bounced back really fast

iv been a steady 183 this whole week, the bloat is coming down and i still have a decent outline of a six pack

think im going to cycle my carbs 2 high days one medium day

seeing as i train 2 on 1 off

[Whomper107]

I agree with what Oak said, you should try to gain weight back at a reasonable pace. Don't binge yourself into oblivion, but also avoid subjecting yourself to months of misery through any sort of overly strict reverse dieting. As I recall, Father Flex chose to reverse diet so slowly (and successfully) not because he felt it was necessarily the best way to handle things post-show, but rather to take advantage of a rare opportunity (being shredded to the bone) and experiment with eating into a show.

[Slovation]

I thught I wa eating pretty conservative post show and packed on 28lbs in a week. Whoopsy lol. I was eating healthy but just quite a bit more. Gotta control the portions.

[DanTheManB]

I thught I wa eating pretty conservative post show and packed on 28lbs in a week. Whoopsy lol. I was eating healthy but just quite a bit more. Gotta control the portions.

holy fuk!

haha....I went from 164-176 in 4 days...one cheat meal and a ton of sleeping, waking up eating, going back to sleep after hitting the gym and I gained 12lbs in the four days. then I got back on track

[Barn01]

I thught I wa eating pretty conservative post show and packed on 28lbs in a week. Whoopsy lol. I was eating healthy but just quite a bit more. Gotta control the portions.


holy fuk!

haha....I went from 164-176 in 4 days...one cheat meal and a ton of sleeping, waking up eating, going back to sleep after hitting the gym and I gained 12lbs in the four days. then I got back on track

It's amazing how fast it hits you. From Sat night cheat meal to Monday morning I packed on 11lbs. Sunday night I found myself eating 3 dinners, 3 deserts and by the end I was stuffing left over chicken wings in my choc cake. I couldn't even sit because my stomach was so distended (I was in pain if I tried) but I still felt hungry.

Anyhow one comp down and I fought the urge so I know I can do it again. It's just that first time is so over powering. Especially if you don't have a reason to stay tight right after.