CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE MARCH || ISSUE 32 | Page 59

REPAIR
&
RECOVER
POST CONTEST
Post-Contest
In my opinion, this phase is the most important one to
ensure your long-term success and enjoyment of this
sport. Yet, so many people go about it so wrong!
During this phase, you must back off your restrictive diet
and high amounts of work output gradually to help your
body adjust to the reduced stress and not over
compensate too much. The more extreme your diet,
training, and cardio were, and the longer you were at
those high levels, the longer it will take to recover. But
trust me when I say that your consistency and proper
execution during this time is just as important as it was
during your pre-contest phase.
This phase is all about repair and recovery, and when you
transition properly from your contest preparation
structure to off-season flexibility, you will optimize your
off-season progress and set yourself up for another
successful pre-contest phase.
In the next issue of the CPA Magazine, I will get into
more detail on how to properly execute your post-
contest phase.