Post Contest Rebound

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Since this forum is now about bodybuilding I figured… Lets talk about it

Contest season is coming in fast for a lot of guys… With each contest prep also comes a post contest rebound…

This is, imo, the BEST time to add some muscle… FAST… If you do things correctly

  1. what do you guys like to do post contest
  2. what have you had success with
  3. what have you had NO success with
  4. what do you do to maximize gains?
  5. do you try to keep fat gains minimal or dont care for them.and just eat whatever
  6. how do you approach training post contest
  7. how do you add cals post contest
  8. anything else u wanna talk about

Ill.chime in on this later, too

2

[quote]zraw wrote:
Since this forum is now about bodybuilding I figured… Lets talk about it

Contest season is coming in fast for a lot of guys… With each contest prep also comes a post contest rebound…

This is, imo, the BEST time to add some muscle… FAST… If you do things correctly

  1. what do you guys like to do post contest
  2. what have you had success with
  3. what have you had NO success with
  4. what do you do to maximize gains?
  5. do you try to keep fat gains minimal or dont care for them.and just eat whatever
  6. how do you approach training post contest
  7. how do you add cals post contest
  8. anything else u wanna talk about

Ill.chime in on this later, too
[/quote]

ok so my experience with this was a bit weird- and only having one contest under my belt i dont have very much expertise to offer but my thoughts are this:

stay conservative- add carbs back and get your metabolism up and running again- keep in mind if you had a very tough prep its going to take you a little bit to feeling back to normal- thats why i wouldnt reccomend going crazy if you had a hard a prep- eating 400 grams of carbs a day isnt going get you feeling back to normal faster then 150 will, but it could cause some unneeded fat gain.

this is coming from the perspective of someone who is a drug free BBer and had a very tough last 5 weeks of prepping. also i didnt even get that shredded anyways, so take that all for what it is worth

the same advice may not apply to someone with a different experience.

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I’m prepping to do a mens health cover model comp, not bodybuilding I know but I am treating it and dieting like it is a show and not just a send a pic in affair.

This is my first prep but I am interested in doing what Justin Harris advocates doing after the prep, put the calories high for four weeks after the show through clean food alone, to take advantage of the increased insulin sensitivity and hunger, then doing a 4 week mini contest diet and then moving onto the offseason.

Looking forward to the offseason after this since dieting has really refreshed me and cleansed my pallet considering I am actually interested in seeing how good gains can be when counting calories and macros as closely as I am now whilst dieting.

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do whatever shelby tells me to

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[quote]Mr. Walkway wrote:
do whatever shelby tells me to[/quote]

Do you have a log? If not, when is your show?

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My perspective is coming from 1 mock contest prep and 1 actual contest, not much, but here goes…

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. what have you had NO success with
    N/A

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  1. how do you add cals post contest

Gradually adding back carbs

  1. 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.

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[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
…[snip]…

Looking at my answers above, I realize I am boring, ha, ha.

…[snip]… [/quote]

Ha, not hardly. That was a pretty articulate post, and I appreciate you taking the time to answer in (some) detail.

–Me

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[quote]kravi wrote:

[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
…[snip]…

Looking at my answers above, I realize I am boring, ha, ha.

…[snip]… [/quote]

Ha, not hardly. That was a pretty articulate post, and I appreciate you taking the time to answer in (some) detail.

–Me
[/quote]

Thanks, glad I could help. Just meant that I am pretty conservative in my dietary approach.

9

I added in cals/carbs huge after my contest hoping to take advantage of this window and I got pretty fat in just a weeks time. I have pics in my Indigo Log on page 9 or 10 or so if anyone cares to see, but suffice to say I learned the hard way that this is not a ticket to “eat your face off and gain nothing but muscle.”

Recommendations and what I will do next time:

  • DO Add in a SMALL amount of calories. Maybe just an extra 100-200 calories

  • DO ramp up your calories over the coming weeks and months

  • DO A small reduction in the amount of cardio/conditioning work. This, combined with the small addition of cals, with create the difference in your calorie intake/output

  • DONT suddenly jack up your food intake 1,000 cals a day or something stupid like that

  • DONT stop ALL your cardio because you are “done prepping”

I think if managed properly this is the BEST time to make gains… But not a time to make DRASTIC gains. Its also a very good time to get fat if mismanaged. Your body probably has next to zero body fat and wants it desperately… Do not make it easy for it to store.

Anyone claiming to add 5-10 pounds immediately in the first week or two post contest is most likely mistaken and seeing water/glycogen weight, or on drugs.

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[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

  • DO Add in a SMALL amount of calories. Maybe just an extra 100-200 calories

  • DO ramp up your calories over the coming weeks and months

[/quote]

Even if you’re retardedly low…like 1700?

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[quote]jskrabac wrote:

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

  • DO Add in a SMALL amount of calories. Maybe just an extra 100-200 calories

  • DO ramp up your calories over the coming weeks and months

[/quote]

Even if you’re retardedly low…like 1700? [/quote]

i think you can add a decent amount if you had an extremely hard diet—i went from protien only in the last 10 day or so and then after contest started around 150 grams carbs and 70 grams fat and i didnt gain weight crazy fast. after gaining a few lbs over a few weeks i had to start adding more in to keep the scale moving up slowly. I think just add enough carbs and fats to keep you sane and make sure you’re not making huge scale jumps. in my mind the goal of post contest rebound should be: gain sanity back, restore broken metabolism/hormones, limit uneeded fat gain.

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[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:

[quote]jskrabac wrote:

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

  • DO Add in a SMALL amount of calories. Maybe just an extra 100-200 calories

  • DO ramp up your calories over the coming weeks and months

[/quote]

Even if you’re retardedly low…like 1700? [/quote]

i think you can add a decent amount if you had an extremely hard diet—i went from protien only in the last 10 day or so and then after contest started around 150 grams carbs and 70 grams fat and i didnt gain weight crazy fast. after gaining a few lbs over a few weeks i had to start adding more in to keep the scale moving up slowly. I think just add enough carbs and fats to keep you sane and make sure you’re not making huge scale jumps. in my mind the goal of post contest rebound should be: gain sanity back, restore broken metabolism/hormones, limit uneeded fat gain.

[/quote]

Thanks for the input. I think that’s a forum for another day. I’ll revisit this when I’m 1 week out or so. I’m very close to zero carb now though.

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[quote]jskrabac wrote:

[quote]GrindOverMatter wrote:

[quote]jskrabac wrote:

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

  • DO Add in a SMALL amount of calories. Maybe just an extra 100-200 calories

  • DO ramp up your calories over the coming weeks and months

[/quote]

Even if you’re retardedly low…like 1700? [/quote]

i think you can add a decent amount if you had an extremely hard diet—i went from protien only in the last 10 day or so and then after contest started around 150 grams carbs and 70 grams fat and i didnt gain weight crazy fast. after gaining a few lbs over a few weeks i had to start adding more in to keep the scale moving up slowly. I think just add enough carbs and fats to keep you sane and make sure you’re not making huge scale jumps. in my mind the goal of post contest rebound should be: gain sanity back, restore broken metabolism/hormones, limit uneeded fat gain.

[/quote]

Thanks for the input. I think that’s a forum for another day. I’ll revisit this when I’m 1 week out or so. I’m very close to zero carb now though.
[/quote]

been there bro… been there

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[quote]jskrabac wrote:

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

  • DO Add in a SMALL amount of calories. Maybe just an extra 100-200 calories

  • DO ramp up your calories over the coming weeks and months

[/quote]

Even if you’re retardedly low…like 1700? [/quote]

Especially if you are retartedly low… And especially if you started significantly higher than that number and have been that low for weeks on end. This is probably a sign that you are closer to a “crashed metabolism” (or just a slowed metabolism) than someone who is eating 2200-2500.

If you reduce your cardio a bit, and bump up your cals only 200-300 or so, you should actually be a net increase of 500 a day or so, which adds up fast over the course of the week.

What you dont want to do, in my opinion, is add 500 calories a day AND drop your cardio so you have a sudden increase of 750-1000 calories a day change over the previous week, and end up with 1000’s of extra calories suddenly. Again, it is my belief that your body is primed to store fat at this stage since there is virtually none of it on your body, so given it a nice reason like thousands of extra cals is a terrible idea.

15

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

[quote]jskrabac wrote:

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

  • DO Add in a SMALL amount of calories. Maybe just an extra 100-200 calories

  • DO ramp up your calories over the coming weeks and months

[/quote]

Even if you’re retardedly low…like 1700? [/quote]

Especially if you are retartedly low… And especially if you started significantly higher than that number and have been that low for weeks on end. This is probably a sign that you are closer to a “crashed metabolism” (or just a slowed metabolism) than someone who is eating 2200-2500.

If you reduce your cardio a bit, and bump up your cals only 200-300 or so, you should actually be a net increase of 500 a day or so, which adds up fast over the course of the week.

What you dont want to do, in my opinion, is add 500 calories a day AND drop your cardio so you have a sudden increase of 750-1000 calories a day change over the previous week, and end up with 1000’s of extra calories suddenly. Again, it is my belief that your body is primed to store fat at this stage since there is virtually none of it on your body, so given it a nice reason like thousands of extra cals is a terrible idea.[/quote]

Thanks Lonnie. That feedback helps alot. It hasn’t been that long. Cals were up around 2300+ up until about 3 weeks ago.

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How did you all handle decreasing/dropping cardio? Did you just drop it, decrease days or time or change type ie liss to hiit

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[quote]Mdgray82 wrote:
How did you all handle decreasing/dropping cardio? Did you just drop it, decrease days or time or change type ie liss to hiit[/quote]

I changed the type (stairstepper to stationary bike) and lowered the intensity, more of a brisk ride rather than a monster hill climb. You really want to give your body AND mind a break after a long prep, but you still want to keep your metabolism kicked up to avoid too much fat gain, especially if you are treating yourself maybe too well in the kitchen.

18

[quote]Myosin wrote:

[quote]Mdgray82 wrote:
How did you all handle decreasing/dropping cardio? Did you just drop it, decrease days or time or change type ie liss to hiit[/quote]

I changed the type (stairstepper to stationary bike) and lowered the intensity, more of a brisk ride rather than a monster hill climb. You really want to give your body AND mind a break after a long prep, but you still want to keep your metabolism kicked up to avoid too much fat gain, especially if you are treating yourself maybe too well in the kitchen. [/quote]

How does your post contest cardio compare to your off season cardio (if you do any that is)?

19

[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:

[quote]Myosin wrote:

[quote]Mdgray82 wrote:
How did you all handle decreasing/dropping cardio? Did you just drop it, decrease days or time or change type ie liss to hiit[/quote]

I changed the type (stairstepper to stationary bike) and lowered the intensity, more of a brisk ride rather than a monster hill climb. You really want to give your body AND mind a break after a long prep, but you still want to keep your metabolism kicked up to avoid too much fat gain, especially if you are treating yourself maybe too well in the kitchen. [/quote]

How does your post contest cardio compare to your off season cardio (if you do any that is)?

[/quote]

I used to be a traditional no cardio/straight out bulk in the offseason guy, but recently was converted to cardio year round. My change of philosophy was based on several factors.

  1. Getting up in age.

My metabolism is no longer what it used to be. This is especially apparent as a straight up ectomorph that used to be able to get away with all kinds of dietary shenanigans, for example I onced prepped for a show starting 2 weeks out and came in 2nd. The offseason can be a long time period, so you are probably not going to be on point nutritionally 100% of the time. Cardio allows for a little more room of dietary error and enjoyment. Not everything has to be a pain. Also, as you get older, your perspective changes and the health benefits of cardio year round become something of great value.

  1. Looking like a bodybuilder.

Let me first start by saying I am not huge or greatly developed by any measure. People are not moving out of my way when I come into a room. Even on my offseason bulks, I still looked like a skinny fat guy who used to workout. It really hit me when someone asked if I USED to play football (picture THAT guy). Cardio in the offseason also me to maintain a look that I am pleased with, while not contest shape at all, but still that guy who is 8-10 weeks away from looking great. Some may say cardio will limit your muscle gains and there may be some truth to that. I have no delusions of becoming the next Mr. Olympia and at this point I am totally fine with that. I have tried the no cardio route and while cardio is not fun, I see and feel the benefits of including it year round.

Back you your question though :slight_smile:

Post contest, which I would consider 2-3 weeks, I use the bike. Mainly because I can get off my feet and allow my lower body to recover from the 14-16 weeks of contest pounding. While the bike is the least efficient, it has a place in rehab or deloading periods. 20 minutes 3-4 times a week post training. After that offseason is 20-30 minutes, 4 times a week stairstepper or elliptical if the facility does not have a stepper (they are not so popular anymore, I suspect because they are the most difficult).

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Man, thanks for taking the time to reply in such depth!