For the past three years I have been writing articles for this blog. Blogspot has served as a great host for my blogs but I have now moved all my content to the Muscle Academy website.
You will be able to access all my past and future articles at the following link - http://muscleacademy.com.au/blog.html
Thankyou and see you all there!
- Evan
Saturday, 26 March 2016
Thursday, 17 March 2016
Post Contest Expectations
So you've dieted for six months, done a mountain of cardio, gone through a peak week, shaved your body, donned a dark tan and posing trunks and (hopefully) won a trophy. But what happens next? What should you expect? And how can you deal with it? All this and more will be covered in this week's blog.
Navigating the post contest period can be a tricky time for most if not all competitors. You've put your body through a lot getting down to contest levels of body fat and the price of getting that lean is not without consequence. Detailed below are the things you can typically expect to experience post show.
What to expect
Bingeing and over eating
I have put a lot of competitors through contest preps and I have been through quite a few myself. I can say at this point I haven't come across a single competitor (including myself) who hasn't experienced periods of constant or intermittent over eating post show. This seems to be independent of the post show plan I put in place. I have structured plans in detail in all different types of ways, rigid ones, very flexible ones and everything in between. The end result is ultimately always that I see episodes of over eating. In most cases I see this go on for several weeks until the person kind of "gets it out of their system" and they actually want to "eat healthy" again.
In my opinion this comes down to several factors:
1) Appetite is usually sky high for a while after a period of chronic calorie restriction even though more food is being consumed (I was traveling after my last show and I actually started buying vegetables and fruit to keep in my hotel room at night so that I would eat that rather than ice cream or cookies. I knew I should have been full but I just felt like eating, more and more and more).
2) Psychologically people are very food focused at this stage and often feel like they have to make up for all the foods they missed out on during contest prep. Many people will actually line up a list of foods or a list of restaurants they are going to go to after they are finished prepping.
3) There are now no more pending conditions which require restriction or moderation. That is, you've been dieting hard for months for this one show, or series of shows and now that they are done you have no immediate reason to not eat as much as you want, whenever you want.
4) If you didn't do so well in your shows, were unhappy with how you looked or are a bit lost for direction now that they are over then you may take solace in eating delicious foods and/or a large amount of food.
So don't beat yourself up if you do happen to binge after a show. I literally have not come across anyone at this point in time who has been able to perfectly reverse out of a bodybuilding season. If you binge post contest you are not a failure, you are normal.
Though I haven't come across one yet, I think it is possible for some people to navigate this period in a structured manner. I think that I could probably do it myself if I were to do a season purely in Australia where I have access to ideal circumstances like cooking facilities and am not tempted to any great degree by delicious foods. No doubt I would still struggle and I only think I could do it in this context because I am very self disciplined. However what usually happens is I end up doing a show or two over in the USA to round out my season and afterwards I tend to then travel for a few weeks and enjoy the food as part of that experience of traveling (usually without cooking facilities). It might not be the best choice nutritionally to do this but I guess who is going to go to travel to the USA to compete and then restrict themselves from experiencing the food of that region afterwards? Not this guy! So in my case, no regrets there.
Gradual recovery
I suppose what we would like to happen post show is that we start eating "normal" amounts of food again and all the adaptations that we have incurred along the way to getting shredded normalise straight away. And indeed this does tend to happen with some variables. In my case for example my energy levels, mood and libido all recovered very quickly. However this is not the case for all variables. Some things can take a lot longer to return to normal eg strength, appetite, libido, food related behaviours, psychological factors.
It might take many months until you feel normal again after completing a contest season. In my case and in most cases that I have observed, it tends to take around half the time you prepped. So if you prepped for six months, you'll probably be feeling pretty good three months post show. Though this is not a hard and fast rule.
I also want to note that not only does the length of recovery time tend to vary between individuals but that each variable that has been affected can recover at different rates for different people. For example some people might experience very few problems with food focus and appetite after two to three weeks, while others might still be going nuts about food three months after their contest season ends. While one person's libido may recover in one month, another's might take two to three month's to fully return to normal.
In my experience the things that may have been disturbed which you will see return to normal over time are (in no particular order):
- energy levels
- mood
- hormone levels, libido and menstrual cycle
- appetite
- mentality and behaviours relating to food
- body fat levels
- body weight
- muscle mass
- gym performance/strength
- disturbed digestion
- non food related psychological issues experienced during contest prep eg anxiety
- sleep
- metabolism
Feeling lost
It's not uncommon to lack direction and goals after completing a contest season. For many months the competitor's life has revolved around preparing for this one day and before you know it, it's all over. Often afterwards the competitor is left not really knowing what to do next because they have been so focused on that one massive day, very little thought goes into what the plan is going to be after the contests are over. Also because life has been so uber focused on bodybuilding for the past 6 plus months, in some cases the competitor can almost get sick of bodybuilding or aspects of it. The result can be spinning wheels for months, losing interest in training and diet, regressing in regards to physique or taking up related disciplines like powerlifting.
Body image related psychology
I think that in the case of competitors who have truly gotten contest lean we can agree that body fat levels that low are not something which are sustainable for various reasons. After a contest season body fat needs to be put back on. But having said that, it can be really difficult dealing with losing that level of conditioning and watching yourself smooth over after having worked so hard for a long period of time to achieve it. This can be compounded because having reached such a level of condition, anything above that can now feel "fat". In fact very lean and healthy body fat levels can now essentially make some competitors feel fat even though they are very normal or perhaps actually much leaner than average. So just keep in mind that these kinds of things can be things you experience fear or anxiety over.
How to deal with it
Post contest plan
The most important thing to have is a post contest plan. This plan needs to be realistic and specific. The athlete needs to be able to carry out the plan and they need to know exactly how they are going to go about it. It also needs to be something which is discussed between the coach and competitor in advance so as to set clear expectations of what is going to happen and how it is going to be carried out. This plan needs to be agreed upon by both parties so that both are on the same page prior to executing it.
If a specific plan is not set, the post contest period can become treacherous ground especially for the inexperienced competitor. The competitor is essentially left goalless and without direction or structure after coming off a period which has been extremely goal oriented and structured. At the same time the competitor has a lot to deal with in terms of physical and psychological disturbances related to the diet, their body image, how they did in their show(s) etc.
One thing I feel should be a priority in the post contest plan is recovery. This is something that should take precedence over things like maintaining a lean body composition. Context is important here and I'm not saying staying (relatively) lean isn't desirable but we cannot stay contest lean for a prolonged period of time and recovery of all the things that have happened to the body over the course of the prep is something that should be focused on more than maintaining a six pack.
Setting goals
It's really important to set some goals for after the show before the end of the contest season is reached. This goes hand in hand with building the post contest plan. Goals should be in relation to nutrition, recovery, body composition, physique improvements, training and even areas in life outside of bodybuilding and fitness. If thought goes into all these things and at least some vague goals are set in relation to them, it makes for a well constructed plan and a smooth transition into the improvement season and normal life. It also just makes the process more efficient in regards to progress and avoids time wasting.
Self discipline
This is really something that is under rated. Anybody who has completed a contest prep and gotten shredded has a lot of self discipline because it takes a lot to get through a prep and deal with all those sacrifices and challenges along the way. Along the same lines, one of the elements of a successful post show period is discipline. It's going to require similar or greater levels of self discipline than the contest prep itself to stay on track and execute a reverse diet/recovery diet in a successful manner. Applying willpower and disciplining yourself is a powerful tool in your arsenal and I think competitive bodybuilders can take what they've learned in that regard from the contest prep period to the post contest period.
Patience
Patience is a quality that is going to be necessary for navigating the post contest window. This is because as I have discussed previously, some of the less than desirable adaptations that have occurred during a contest prep can take a long time to return to normal. For example if you were squatting 150 kg during your previous off season and at the end of your prep you are squatting 110 kg, you cannot expect to be squatting 150 kg immediately post contest. It is likely to take a while until your strength increases back to that previous level. This is kind of logical in the sense that when you were prepping your strength would have dropped down gradually rather than plummeting suddenly from 150 kg to 110 kg. So along the same lines it's going to take time for that strength to gradually build back up as your muscle mass increases, body weight increases and your leverages improve. This is of course the case for many other variables too. Knowing roughly what to expect can help put your mind at ease so that you can focus on controlling what you can and being patient about what you cannot.
Dealing with body image related psychology
In this case I think the biggest thing is being educated about what to expect. Just being aware that you may experience things like anxiety about changes in body composition away from contest shape post show is half the battle won. Trying to relax and go with the process with the understanding that it is completely normal to lose that super lean condition is a good idea. This is the general attitude and approach I would suggest taking. As your body changes it is something which usually you should adjust to mentally. Of course if it remains an ongoing issue then you should consider seeking help from a psychological health professional.
The post contest period is not something that is always easily dealt with. Just knowing what to expect, having a strategy in place and having someone to help you work through it effectively can be of benefit.
Thanks for reading. If you have anything to add to the discussion please feel free to do so where I have shared this on social media or in the comment section below.
You can contact me via the details provided below if you want to speak to me about my coaching services.
Muscle Academy contact details:
Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon
- Evan
Navigating the post contest period can be a tricky time for most if not all competitors. You've put your body through a lot getting down to contest levels of body fat and the price of getting that lean is not without consequence. Detailed below are the things you can typically expect to experience post show.
What to expect
Bingeing and over eating
I have put a lot of competitors through contest preps and I have been through quite a few myself. I can say at this point I haven't come across a single competitor (including myself) who hasn't experienced periods of constant or intermittent over eating post show. This seems to be independent of the post show plan I put in place. I have structured plans in detail in all different types of ways, rigid ones, very flexible ones and everything in between. The end result is ultimately always that I see episodes of over eating. In most cases I see this go on for several weeks until the person kind of "gets it out of their system" and they actually want to "eat healthy" again.
In my opinion this comes down to several factors:
1) Appetite is usually sky high for a while after a period of chronic calorie restriction even though more food is being consumed (I was traveling after my last show and I actually started buying vegetables and fruit to keep in my hotel room at night so that I would eat that rather than ice cream or cookies. I knew I should have been full but I just felt like eating, more and more and more).
2) Psychologically people are very food focused at this stage and often feel like they have to make up for all the foods they missed out on during contest prep. Many people will actually line up a list of foods or a list of restaurants they are going to go to after they are finished prepping.
3) There are now no more pending conditions which require restriction or moderation. That is, you've been dieting hard for months for this one show, or series of shows and now that they are done you have no immediate reason to not eat as much as you want, whenever you want.
4) If you didn't do so well in your shows, were unhappy with how you looked or are a bit lost for direction now that they are over then you may take solace in eating delicious foods and/or a large amount of food.
So don't beat yourself up if you do happen to binge after a show. I literally have not come across anyone at this point in time who has been able to perfectly reverse out of a bodybuilding season. If you binge post contest you are not a failure, you are normal.
Though I haven't come across one yet, I think it is possible for some people to navigate this period in a structured manner. I think that I could probably do it myself if I were to do a season purely in Australia where I have access to ideal circumstances like cooking facilities and am not tempted to any great degree by delicious foods. No doubt I would still struggle and I only think I could do it in this context because I am very self disciplined. However what usually happens is I end up doing a show or two over in the USA to round out my season and afterwards I tend to then travel for a few weeks and enjoy the food as part of that experience of traveling (usually without cooking facilities). It might not be the best choice nutritionally to do this but I guess who is going to go to travel to the USA to compete and then restrict themselves from experiencing the food of that region afterwards? Not this guy! So in my case, no regrets there.
Gradual recovery
I suppose what we would like to happen post show is that we start eating "normal" amounts of food again and all the adaptations that we have incurred along the way to getting shredded normalise straight away. And indeed this does tend to happen with some variables. In my case for example my energy levels, mood and libido all recovered very quickly. However this is not the case for all variables. Some things can take a lot longer to return to normal eg strength, appetite, libido, food related behaviours, psychological factors.
It might take many months until you feel normal again after completing a contest season. In my case and in most cases that I have observed, it tends to take around half the time you prepped. So if you prepped for six months, you'll probably be feeling pretty good three months post show. Though this is not a hard and fast rule.
I also want to note that not only does the length of recovery time tend to vary between individuals but that each variable that has been affected can recover at different rates for different people. For example some people might experience very few problems with food focus and appetite after two to three weeks, while others might still be going nuts about food three months after their contest season ends. While one person's libido may recover in one month, another's might take two to three month's to fully return to normal.
In my experience the things that may have been disturbed which you will see return to normal over time are (in no particular order):
- energy levels
- mood
- hormone levels, libido and menstrual cycle
- appetite
- mentality and behaviours relating to food
- body fat levels
- body weight
- muscle mass
- gym performance/strength
- disturbed digestion
- non food related psychological issues experienced during contest prep eg anxiety
- sleep
- metabolism
Feeling lost
It's not uncommon to lack direction and goals after completing a contest season. For many months the competitor's life has revolved around preparing for this one day and before you know it, it's all over. Often afterwards the competitor is left not really knowing what to do next because they have been so focused on that one massive day, very little thought goes into what the plan is going to be after the contests are over. Also because life has been so uber focused on bodybuilding for the past 6 plus months, in some cases the competitor can almost get sick of bodybuilding or aspects of it. The result can be spinning wheels for months, losing interest in training and diet, regressing in regards to physique or taking up related disciplines like powerlifting.
Body image related psychology
I think that in the case of competitors who have truly gotten contest lean we can agree that body fat levels that low are not something which are sustainable for various reasons. After a contest season body fat needs to be put back on. But having said that, it can be really difficult dealing with losing that level of conditioning and watching yourself smooth over after having worked so hard for a long period of time to achieve it. This can be compounded because having reached such a level of condition, anything above that can now feel "fat". In fact very lean and healthy body fat levels can now essentially make some competitors feel fat even though they are very normal or perhaps actually much leaner than average. So just keep in mind that these kinds of things can be things you experience fear or anxiety over.
How to deal with it
Post contest plan
The most important thing to have is a post contest plan. This plan needs to be realistic and specific. The athlete needs to be able to carry out the plan and they need to know exactly how they are going to go about it. It also needs to be something which is discussed between the coach and competitor in advance so as to set clear expectations of what is going to happen and how it is going to be carried out. This plan needs to be agreed upon by both parties so that both are on the same page prior to executing it.
If a specific plan is not set, the post contest period can become treacherous ground especially for the inexperienced competitor. The competitor is essentially left goalless and without direction or structure after coming off a period which has been extremely goal oriented and structured. At the same time the competitor has a lot to deal with in terms of physical and psychological disturbances related to the diet, their body image, how they did in their show(s) etc.
One thing I feel should be a priority in the post contest plan is recovery. This is something that should take precedence over things like maintaining a lean body composition. Context is important here and I'm not saying staying (relatively) lean isn't desirable but we cannot stay contest lean for a prolonged period of time and recovery of all the things that have happened to the body over the course of the prep is something that should be focused on more than maintaining a six pack.
Setting goals
It's really important to set some goals for after the show before the end of the contest season is reached. This goes hand in hand with building the post contest plan. Goals should be in relation to nutrition, recovery, body composition, physique improvements, training and even areas in life outside of bodybuilding and fitness. If thought goes into all these things and at least some vague goals are set in relation to them, it makes for a well constructed plan and a smooth transition into the improvement season and normal life. It also just makes the process more efficient in regards to progress and avoids time wasting.
Self discipline
This is really something that is under rated. Anybody who has completed a contest prep and gotten shredded has a lot of self discipline because it takes a lot to get through a prep and deal with all those sacrifices and challenges along the way. Along the same lines, one of the elements of a successful post show period is discipline. It's going to require similar or greater levels of self discipline than the contest prep itself to stay on track and execute a reverse diet/recovery diet in a successful manner. Applying willpower and disciplining yourself is a powerful tool in your arsenal and I think competitive bodybuilders can take what they've learned in that regard from the contest prep period to the post contest period.
Patience
Patience is a quality that is going to be necessary for navigating the post contest window. This is because as I have discussed previously, some of the less than desirable adaptations that have occurred during a contest prep can take a long time to return to normal. For example if you were squatting 150 kg during your previous off season and at the end of your prep you are squatting 110 kg, you cannot expect to be squatting 150 kg immediately post contest. It is likely to take a while until your strength increases back to that previous level. This is kind of logical in the sense that when you were prepping your strength would have dropped down gradually rather than plummeting suddenly from 150 kg to 110 kg. So along the same lines it's going to take time for that strength to gradually build back up as your muscle mass increases, body weight increases and your leverages improve. This is of course the case for many other variables too. Knowing roughly what to expect can help put your mind at ease so that you can focus on controlling what you can and being patient about what you cannot.
Dealing with body image related psychology
In this case I think the biggest thing is being educated about what to expect. Just being aware that you may experience things like anxiety about changes in body composition away from contest shape post show is half the battle won. Trying to relax and go with the process with the understanding that it is completely normal to lose that super lean condition is a good idea. This is the general attitude and approach I would suggest taking. As your body changes it is something which usually you should adjust to mentally. Of course if it remains an ongoing issue then you should consider seeking help from a psychological health professional.
The post contest period is not something that is always easily dealt with. Just knowing what to expect, having a strategy in place and having someone to help you work through it effectively can be of benefit.
Thanks for reading. If you have anything to add to the discussion please feel free to do so where I have shared this on social media or in the comment section below.
You can contact me via the details provided below if you want to speak to me about my coaching services.
Muscle Academy contact details:
Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon
- Evan
Monday, 7 March 2016
Off season update: fat loss phase
Off season update
Recently I executed a fat loss phase as a part of my off season. This might sound confusing because the off season for a bodybuilder means it is an improvement phase - a phase where you are trying to get better and improve your physique for next time you compete. In this case the improvement phase has involved the inclusion of a fat loss phase. Whilst I haven't been improving in terms of adding muscle mass at this time, it is contributing towards putting me in a smarter place overall (body fat wise).
Rationale
The general idea is that if I can get leaner I will be in a position where I can sustain a surplus and continue to perform well in the gym for a reasonable length of time without getting ridiculously far away from contest condition (in terms of body fat levels). As such I will be in a better position to begin contest prep when I eventually decide to.
Duration
So far I have been cutting for fourteen weeks and I am now entering the final week of the cut. So at the end of this week the cut will have been approximately a fifteen week fat loss phase. Originally I called this a "mini cut" but I would say this has gone well past that as a mini cut is usually six weeks or less in duration.
Nutrition Structure
The approach I took was to simply count protein and calories. Carb and fat targets were not specific but often ended up being similar on most days anyway. My target calorie intake was 3000 - 3100 calories per day. Usually I was conservative and tried to hit 3000 but sometimes actually went below this. Typically my macronutrient intake ended up as something along the lines of 240 - 260 P, 330 - 350 C, 55 - 75 F.
Refeed days were included at 4000 calories. The major target here was a carb range of 600 - 625 grams. Protein was usually fairly consistent and fat was adjusted to fit the remaining calories. The set up for this was 7 days low, 3 days high. This is something we trialed over the course of this fat loss phase. I can confirm that I did feel better as a result of the consecutive refeed days but of course doing things this way it does tend to drag out the overall length of the deficit. Using this approach one needs to allow a longer period of time to lose body fat.
Some additional things I did to make this cut more tolerable and practical is I did not measure or track my vegetable intake but was fairly consistent each day having several servings of vegetables with dinner. Usually it would be onion, garlic, green beans, capsicum, mushroom and kale/spinach. I also did not weigh out my fruit intake (I did track it but I didn't weigh the individual pieces of fruit). Instead I estimated the weight of the fruit to generally be around 100 grams each. I had one banana and one apple of similar size each day. This just made things a whole lot easier and less stressful as it can be a pain in the ass to measure fruits and vegetables every single day.
Cardio
I also did no formal cardio during this fat loss phase. I continued any normal recreational activity that I did regularly in the off season (one karate class per week, surfed sometimes and went for an occasional walk) but I didn't go out of my way or formally plan to do anything additional that would count as cardio.
Training
My training throughout my fat loss phase has consisted of around three training blocks. The goal of each of them has been primarily to maintain strength and muscle mass. The structure of each block has been a little different, the first including more frequency per body part, the second having a lower frequency per body but higher intensity and the third retaining fairly low frequency for some body parts but substituting some volume for intensity. For the most part it has been fairly effective. I have lost strength universally for all the big lifts but it is in line with the changes that we would expect to see eventually during an extended fat loss phase (altered leverages, reduced energy, potential muscle loss).
Results
Body weight has been tracked daily during this cut and a weekly average has been used along with weekly photographs to track progress. Weight loss has been fairly smooth with some periods of slower weight loss but continued fat loss ie no change in weight but visually leaner. As such no changes to calories or cardio have been required throughout the fat loss phase. Essentially if things looked a bit slow I just waited it out and stayed consistent and over time I continued to make progress. I think if you give yourself a good amount of time this can be a really good way to do things because you can maintain a higher caloric intake for a longer time period.
The absolute amount of weight I have lost to this point is ~ 6 kg.
Personal Experience
Even though this cut has been for a reasonable length of time, I haven't experienced too many negative side effects. Energy has been fine, mood has been undisturbed, libido is normal. I would say the only two things I have experienced have been some strength loss (this wasn't obvious until the second half of the cut) and also some occasional hunger. I have also experienced a few minor injuries but I cannot say for sure whether the cut played a role in the development of these or not. For the most part though I have enjoyed the process and I've felt pretty good physically and mentally throughout it.
Starting Stats
Starting weight - 106 kg
Off season calories - 3900 - 4000
Low day calories - 3000 - 3100
Refeed day calories - 3900 - 4000
Cardio - none
Squat estimated 1 RM - 217.5 kg
Deadlift estimated 1 RM- 235 kg
Bench Press estimated 1 RM - 170 kg
Recently I executed a fat loss phase as a part of my off season. This might sound confusing because the off season for a bodybuilder means it is an improvement phase - a phase where you are trying to get better and improve your physique for next time you compete. In this case the improvement phase has involved the inclusion of a fat loss phase. Whilst I haven't been improving in terms of adding muscle mass at this time, it is contributing towards putting me in a smarter place overall (body fat wise).
Rationale
The general idea is that if I can get leaner I will be in a position where I can sustain a surplus and continue to perform well in the gym for a reasonable length of time without getting ridiculously far away from contest condition (in terms of body fat levels). As such I will be in a better position to begin contest prep when I eventually decide to.
Duration
So far I have been cutting for fourteen weeks and I am now entering the final week of the cut. So at the end of this week the cut will have been approximately a fifteen week fat loss phase. Originally I called this a "mini cut" but I would say this has gone well past that as a mini cut is usually six weeks or less in duration.
Nutrition Structure
The approach I took was to simply count protein and calories. Carb and fat targets were not specific but often ended up being similar on most days anyway. My target calorie intake was 3000 - 3100 calories per day. Usually I was conservative and tried to hit 3000 but sometimes actually went below this. Typically my macronutrient intake ended up as something along the lines of 240 - 260 P, 330 - 350 C, 55 - 75 F.
Refeed days were included at 4000 calories. The major target here was a carb range of 600 - 625 grams. Protein was usually fairly consistent and fat was adjusted to fit the remaining calories. The set up for this was 7 days low, 3 days high. This is something we trialed over the course of this fat loss phase. I can confirm that I did feel better as a result of the consecutive refeed days but of course doing things this way it does tend to drag out the overall length of the deficit. Using this approach one needs to allow a longer period of time to lose body fat.
Some additional things I did to make this cut more tolerable and practical is I did not measure or track my vegetable intake but was fairly consistent each day having several servings of vegetables with dinner. Usually it would be onion, garlic, green beans, capsicum, mushroom and kale/spinach. I also did not weigh out my fruit intake (I did track it but I didn't weigh the individual pieces of fruit). Instead I estimated the weight of the fruit to generally be around 100 grams each. I had one banana and one apple of similar size each day. This just made things a whole lot easier and less stressful as it can be a pain in the ass to measure fruits and vegetables every single day.
Cardio
I also did no formal cardio during this fat loss phase. I continued any normal recreational activity that I did regularly in the off season (one karate class per week, surfed sometimes and went for an occasional walk) but I didn't go out of my way or formally plan to do anything additional that would count as cardio.
Training
My training throughout my fat loss phase has consisted of around three training blocks. The goal of each of them has been primarily to maintain strength and muscle mass. The structure of each block has been a little different, the first including more frequency per body part, the second having a lower frequency per body but higher intensity and the third retaining fairly low frequency for some body parts but substituting some volume for intensity. For the most part it has been fairly effective. I have lost strength universally for all the big lifts but it is in line with the changes that we would expect to see eventually during an extended fat loss phase (altered leverages, reduced energy, potential muscle loss).
Results
Body weight has been tracked daily during this cut and a weekly average has been used along with weekly photographs to track progress. Weight loss has been fairly smooth with some periods of slower weight loss but continued fat loss ie no change in weight but visually leaner. As such no changes to calories or cardio have been required throughout the fat loss phase. Essentially if things looked a bit slow I just waited it out and stayed consistent and over time I continued to make progress. I think if you give yourself a good amount of time this can be a really good way to do things because you can maintain a higher caloric intake for a longer time period.
The absolute amount of weight I have lost to this point is ~ 6 kg.
Personal Experience
Even though this cut has been for a reasonable length of time, I haven't experienced too many negative side effects. Energy has been fine, mood has been undisturbed, libido is normal. I would say the only two things I have experienced have been some strength loss (this wasn't obvious until the second half of the cut) and also some occasional hunger. I have also experienced a few minor injuries but I cannot say for sure whether the cut played a role in the development of these or not. For the most part though I have enjoyed the process and I've felt pretty good physically and mentally throughout it.
Starting Stats
Starting weight - 106 kg
Off season calories - 3900 - 4000
Low day calories - 3000 - 3100
Refeed day calories - 3900 - 4000
Cardio - none
Squat estimated 1 RM - 217.5 kg
Deadlift estimated 1 RM- 235 kg
Bench Press estimated 1 RM - 170 kg
Starting photo - front
Starting photo - rear
Starting photo - most muscular
Finishing Stats
Finishing weight - 100 kg (99.7 kg lowest weight so far)
Low day calories - 3000 - 3100 (no change)
Refeed day calories - 3900 - 4000 (no change)
Cardio - none (no change)
Squat estimated 1 RM - 207.5 kg (4.6 % decrease)
Deadlift estimated 1 RM- 222.5 kg (5.3 % decrease)
Bench Press estimated 1 RM - 155 kg (8.8 % decrease)
Low day calories - 3000 - 3100 (no change)
Refeed day calories - 3900 - 4000 (no change)
Cardio - none (no change)
Squat estimated 1 RM - 207.5 kg (4.6 % decrease)
Deadlift estimated 1 RM- 222.5 kg (5.3 % decrease)
Bench Press estimated 1 RM - 155 kg (8.8 % decrease)
14 weeks - front
14 weeks - rear
14 weeks - most muscular
How do you think I did with this fat loss phase? Leave a comment below or on social media. You can contact me via the details provided below if you want to speak
to me about my coaching services.
Muscle Academy contact details:
Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon
- Evan
Muscle Academy contact details:
Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon
- Evan
Thursday, 3 March 2016
Accepting yourself but not accepting defeat
I'm going to cover an area this week that a lot of people struggle with and that is accepting yourself for who you are. A lot of females struggle in this area but it definitely affects males too. Of course this does flow over to many areas of of physical and emotional selves but I am going to focus on this from a bodybuilding perspective because, well ... this is a bodybuilding blog.
Caveat
What I would like to do first is add a caveat to the notion of accepting yourself for who you are and that is "AND work on improving yourself as a whole and bettering your weaknesses". The whole idea of resistance training and body sculpting is to try to get better. To become bigger and stronger and improve weak areas. Making progress is part of what it's all about so whilst we should accept our limitations, we should also avoid accepting them so much that we create beliefs that limit us more than the physical limitations do. For example if you have small calves, you believe that they will never grow and therefore you do not train them or put very little effort into training them then they won't grow. If you believed that you could improve and took action towards it then your calves probably would have a better chance at getting bigger over time. At the same time if you can see your genetic calf structure isn't very good, it might be reasonable to believe that your calves probably aren't going to be as big as Ben Pakulski's calves at any time in the near future or perhaps ever. Attitude is important. You must be able to be both positive, driven and realistic all at the same time.
A famous karate master named Shoshin Nagamine said this about limiting yourself:
"He is human and so am I. I cannot develop my own potentialities when in the trap of self-limitations. I must discard this self-limitation. If he practices 3 times, I must practice 6 times." - Shoshin Nagamine
Obviously this applies directly to karate practice but we can easily see how this can also apply to other activities like bodybuilding and indeed life in general. That is, whilst some physical limitations do exist for all of us, more often than not our limitations are largely in our mind, created by ourselves. It is interesting how far you can go by believing in yourself, discarding limiting beliefs and taking action.
Accepting Yourself
What I do want to talk about is accepting yourself because I think people really beat themselves up over their physique related achievements. Essentially what you need to realise when we are talking about physical structure is we all have genetic weak points - areas of the body where visually our attachments make our muscles look a certain way, muscles that don't respond very well to training, areas of the body that tend to hold more body fat than others, structural asymmetries and bone structures that shape our frame. Some of these things we can do something about, others we have no control over. If a muscle doesn't respond well to training, you can generally still make progress over time. If your bone structure isn't the way you'd like it to be or your muscle attachments make your biceps look bunched up with no peak, there is nothing you can do about those things. Instead of beating yourself up, instead resolve to take action towards the things you can influence and accept or ignore the things you cannot.
Everybody has the potential to improve themselves, but not everybody has the physical potential to be a world champion bodybuilder. In fact very few people have that potential. Unfortunately these days everybody thinks they are going to make it to the top. That's the thing about being at the top, somebody has to be there and only one person can be. Not every single person can be at the top, otherwise there would be no top. - I think I just said the word "top" four times in three sentences -. Anyway you get my drift. I encourage everyone to be the best they can be and strive for excellence but at the same time delusion and a lack of realism isn't going to help and tends to just create eventual disappointment. Remember like I said a few paragraphs back - stay positive, driven and realistic!
Back to the original topic. Generally you'll find even the very best in the world have weak points in their physiques. Several time natural world champion Shevon Cunningham has legs that self admittedly don't respond as well as his upper body. Looking at Doug Miller's physique, most people would consider him the best natural bodybuilder of our era and yet his chest lags a little compared to the rest of his physique. In my case my posterior chain excluding my glutes are lagging behind (back, hamstrings and to a lesser degree calves). Even the great Arnold Schwarzenegger had trouble bringing up his legs. My point being if some of the best bodybuilders in the world (not placing myself here by the way) all have weak features in their physiques and they are at the top of their game then you can certainly be alright accepting that you have weak points too and it is ok.
Again in my case, I do know that my back and hamstrings are weak areas. My calves used to be very weak for probably the first ten years of lifting. These areas I know might never become strong points. My back is never going to look like Doug Miller's or Nsima Inyang's and I am ok with that. But that sure as hell doesn't stop me from working hard to improve it! My calves have a large medial head and small lateral head. That is still the case in terms of relative structure but because I've been focused on making sure they improved, they have now become respectable and I am reasonably happy with their development. It might have taken thirteen years but they grew. If I had given up after one or two years then they wouldn't have changed at all. I have been training my hamstrings multiple times per week for years. Sometimes I have been training them four to five days per week. The improvements are small but they are there because I am relentless in my attitude and in my approach. So again, don't focus on perfection. Perfection is impossible. Focus on improvement. If you do that, there is a strong chance that you will get better and if you don't you can still be satisfied with the effort you put forth.
Thankyou for reading. I appreciate everyone who follows myself and the perspectives I share in this blog. Have anything to add? Leave a comment below or on social media. As always you can contact me via the details provided below if you want to speak to me about my coaching services.
Muscle Academy contact details:
Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon
- Evan
Caveat
What I would like to do first is add a caveat to the notion of accepting yourself for who you are and that is "AND work on improving yourself as a whole and bettering your weaknesses". The whole idea of resistance training and body sculpting is to try to get better. To become bigger and stronger and improve weak areas. Making progress is part of what it's all about so whilst we should accept our limitations, we should also avoid accepting them so much that we create beliefs that limit us more than the physical limitations do. For example if you have small calves, you believe that they will never grow and therefore you do not train them or put very little effort into training them then they won't grow. If you believed that you could improve and took action towards it then your calves probably would have a better chance at getting bigger over time. At the same time if you can see your genetic calf structure isn't very good, it might be reasonable to believe that your calves probably aren't going to be as big as Ben Pakulski's calves at any time in the near future or perhaps ever. Attitude is important. You must be able to be both positive, driven and realistic all at the same time.
Don't listen to Will Ferrell
A famous karate master named Shoshin Nagamine said this about limiting yourself:
"He is human and so am I. I cannot develop my own potentialities when in the trap of self-limitations. I must discard this self-limitation. If he practices 3 times, I must practice 6 times." - Shoshin Nagamine
Obviously this applies directly to karate practice but we can easily see how this can also apply to other activities like bodybuilding and indeed life in general. That is, whilst some physical limitations do exist for all of us, more often than not our limitations are largely in our mind, created by ourselves. It is interesting how far you can go by believing in yourself, discarding limiting beliefs and taking action.
Accepting Yourself
What I do want to talk about is accepting yourself because I think people really beat themselves up over their physique related achievements. Essentially what you need to realise when we are talking about physical structure is we all have genetic weak points - areas of the body where visually our attachments make our muscles look a certain way, muscles that don't respond very well to training, areas of the body that tend to hold more body fat than others, structural asymmetries and bone structures that shape our frame. Some of these things we can do something about, others we have no control over. If a muscle doesn't respond well to training, you can generally still make progress over time. If your bone structure isn't the way you'd like it to be or your muscle attachments make your biceps look bunched up with no peak, there is nothing you can do about those things. Instead of beating yourself up, instead resolve to take action towards the things you can influence and accept or ignore the things you cannot.
Everybody has the potential to improve themselves, but not everybody has the physical potential to be a world champion bodybuilder. In fact very few people have that potential. Unfortunately these days everybody thinks they are going to make it to the top. That's the thing about being at the top, somebody has to be there and only one person can be. Not every single person can be at the top, otherwise there would be no top. - I think I just said the word "top" four times in three sentences -. Anyway you get my drift. I encourage everyone to be the best they can be and strive for excellence but at the same time delusion and a lack of realism isn't going to help and tends to just create eventual disappointment. Remember like I said a few paragraphs back - stay positive, driven and realistic!
Back to the original topic. Generally you'll find even the very best in the world have weak points in their physiques. Several time natural world champion Shevon Cunningham has legs that self admittedly don't respond as well as his upper body. Looking at Doug Miller's physique, most people would consider him the best natural bodybuilder of our era and yet his chest lags a little compared to the rest of his physique. In my case my posterior chain excluding my glutes are lagging behind (back, hamstrings and to a lesser degree calves). Even the great Arnold Schwarzenegger had trouble bringing up his legs. My point being if some of the best bodybuilders in the world (not placing myself here by the way) all have weak features in their physiques and they are at the top of their game then you can certainly be alright accepting that you have weak points too and it is ok.
Again in my case, I do know that my back and hamstrings are weak areas. My calves used to be very weak for probably the first ten years of lifting. These areas I know might never become strong points. My back is never going to look like Doug Miller's or Nsima Inyang's and I am ok with that. But that sure as hell doesn't stop me from working hard to improve it! My calves have a large medial head and small lateral head. That is still the case in terms of relative structure but because I've been focused on making sure they improved, they have now become respectable and I am reasonably happy with their development. It might have taken thirteen years but they grew. If I had given up after one or two years then they wouldn't have changed at all. I have been training my hamstrings multiple times per week for years. Sometimes I have been training them four to five days per week. The improvements are small but they are there because I am relentless in my attitude and in my approach. So again, don't focus on perfection. Perfection is impossible. Focus on improvement. If you do that, there is a strong chance that you will get better and if you don't you can still be satisfied with the effort you put forth.
Thankyou for reading. I appreciate everyone who follows myself and the perspectives I share in this blog. Have anything to add? Leave a comment below or on social media. As always you can contact me via the details provided below if you want to speak to me about my coaching services.
Muscle Academy contact details:
Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon
- Evan
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