Offseason - week 1 - Goals & Plan
The first week of this offseason, and things look very different to previous "post show" periods. I have typically in the past blown up 30-40lb pretty quick straight after a show. I made it a priority this year to stick to a healthier & much more productive "exit plan" coming out of a prep and into the improvement season.
The goals moving forward are simple:
1) initially gain 7-10lb over contest weight only (to help recovery & training performance)
2) spend the next 6-8 weeks gaining another 5-8lb & maintain 15lb over stage weight for the whole offseason
3) get stronger than ever at 15lb above stage weight, giving extra emphasis on areas that need bringing up (arms, upper chest/shoulders, quads)
4) compete in the 2022 Natural Olympia being MUCH better than my 2021 showing.
At 1 week post show, I'm holding 172lb (7-8lb above stage weight) feeling great, sleep is much better & pretty much back to normal, I feel stronger already, pumps in the gym are extreme, food focus has greatly reduced and I feel in the same place at 1 week post show, that I was 3-4 months post show in 2018. I have learnt the hard way with over dieting & binging post show, a huge part of my progression going into 2022 is doing things RIGHT from the get go.
My food is exactly the same as pre contest with larger portions, and allowing a non-tracked meal once per week.
current meal plan looks like this:
M1- protein blend-oats-blueberries-creatine-multivitamin
M2- chicken-jasmine rice-green beans
M3- chicken-jasmine rice-green beans
M4- chicken-jasmine rice-green beans
M5- protein blend-oats-udo's oil-multivitamin
PWO- whey-bananas (on training days)
4L water minimum daily (more like 5-6L most days)
1 untracked meal weekly, (whenever social events land)
30min pre workout - extra strong coffee
3200-3500kcals daily (180p 550-600c 45f)
This kind of plan looks very robotic and restrictive but I enjoy all these meals and feel great on this energy & performance wise. Also the transition back into prep in the summer will be very easy, simply trimming down serving sizes & taking out the untracked weekly meal.
My steps are 10k daily minimum, but often 12-15k, a good amount of activity and allows me to keep the food high.
I have made a few changes to my training set up, mainly exercise selection to focus on the muscle groups that need bringing up. I feel being more accurate in my training will produce the desired results.
SSB squat or Hack squats to hit the quads more directly over a barbell back squat.
Incline DB press to hit the chest & focus on the upper "shelf" in place of decline barbell.
going slightly lighter with arm work, focusing on "feeling" the muscles contract as opposed to throwing around heavy weight, this will still be 8-12 reps to failure but making sure the desired muscle groups are taking the load.
I trained legs Sunday after the show, this was a deload session, I'm looking forward to going full intensity on legs this coming Monday, time to build some proper quads!
Back in the UK Monday & after a day off any structured eating (sunday) it was time to get to work.
Wednesday 3rd November
Chest/Delts/Triceps
X2 Incline DB press X2 52.5kg 7, X2 45kg 12
X2 Hammer strength press - 110kg 9,7
X2 seated cable flye X2 22kg 12,9RP3RP2
X2 DB laterals X2 22.5kg 15,15
X2 seated machine lateral 50kg 15,12RP3RP2
X2 Dips +60kg 9,7
X2 tricep extension machine - stack+10kg 12,8RP3RP2
Friday 5th November
Back/Biceps/Abs
X2 deadlift 200kg 5, 170kg 11
X2 weighted pullups +15kg 10,9
X2 seated row 120kg 10,8
X2 rear delt flye X2 25kg 15,15
X2 DB curls X2 20kg 12,10
X2 preacher machine curl #4 12,10RP4RP2
X2 hanging leg raises BW - 20,20RP15RP10
Monday is the first "proper" leg session of the improvement season - LETS GO!