My perspective is coming from 1 mock contest prep and 1 actual contest, not much, but here goes…
- what do you guys like to do post contest
Reverse diet by slowly adding back carbs. I still eat clean (with the exception of a cheat meal or two the day following the end of the diet).
Initially (first week or two) a bigger jump, then smaller jumps each week. I find that my metabolism is raging at this point and it actually takes a while for the scale to go up because all that happens as I eat more is that I burn more.
- what have you had success with
Between my first mock contest and my actual contest, I feel like I gained quality mass, so the reverse dieting worked as far as that goes.
After both preps I maintained leanness for a while as I slowly gained weight. So while not magical, reverse dieting has worked for me.
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what have you had NO success with
N/A
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what do you do to maximize gains?
In specific relation to the post contest period? Nothing. I am pretty conservative I guess, I just keep going what I did before but with more overall carbs and calories.
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do you try to keep fat gains minimal or dont care for them.and just eat whatever
I have tried to keep fat gains minimal. The science is there to support that the leaner you are, the more efficient you are at adding lean mass, while the fatter you get, the easier it is to pile on fat. Basically, as you get fatter it would start to become a viscous cycle, so it is best to stay lean and keep the gains lean.
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how do you approach training post contest
Training remains the same, I may be a bit fatigued from the peak week protocol, so I might back off a bit in terms of weight or volume. But I quickly am back to normal and training continues much like it did prior to the contest. However, my preferred form of “cardio”, which is dragging a tire, become a luxury that I try to get in from time to time rather than a necessity that I make time for.
- how do you add cals post contest
Gradually adding back carbs
- anything else u wanna talk about
Looking at my answers above, I realize I am boring, ha, ha.
I think if you were depleted than it may appear that you gain fast post contest because you will gain weight via glycogen and water. But for a natural that’s pretty full, I don’t think a ton of scale weight or lean mass will be gained post contest if they dieted intelligently.
However, because you are very insulin sensitive and being lean is conducive to making lean gains, I do feel that it is a GOOD time to make gains, just NOT DRASTIC gains, imo.