TIME FRAME
Contest prep takes up an enormous amount of time , but not the way most people would think . The physical time of training in a gym or doing cardio does take up time , but that happens year round whether a person competes or not . While it is true that one may add an extra cardio session or two during the week , this should not translate into hours upon hours each week . The time I refer to is the planning of each week . Meal plans must be created with certain macro goals in mind – the balance of carbs , proteins , and fats so as to slowly drop bodyfat , while maintaining muscle mass . The goal is not to simply lose weight , but to lean out in a way that sheds body fat , while retaining as much muscle mass as possible . There is no point to lose muscle mass during contest prep after spending all that time prior to competing working to build it . This requires a meticulous amount of detail in not only figuring out meals in advance so that they meet your macro requirements at the end of the day , but also entails the cooking , packing , and preparing each meal . Time goes in to laying out one ’ s schedule for the day and knowing which meals will need to be packed in a cooler or taken with you to eat later in the day . This alone can be a tremendous task , especially when most other people will grab something on the fly or eat whenever the mood strikes them based on what ’ s available . Preparation is the key to staying on track and hitting your goals .
Contest prep requires balanced nutrition . This includes carbs , proteins and fats . Ideally these should be coming from a variety of foods and not the same 4-6 foods over and over each day . Using this type of flexibility and variety will also keep the cravings in check and allow a person to continually change up their meals and eat different foods . The possibilities are great and a solid meal plan can easily include favorite foods and snacks without resorting to bland foods that one is force feeding themselves day after day . That is a recipe for failure which will only lead to a binge or a breakdown which results in a mental backlash of how “ undisciplined and weak ” one thinks he or she is as well as an action plan to “ make up for it ” with more cardio or exercise , or starvation period . None of that should happen and can be avoided by planning meals ahead of time to include many different food sources and meal options . That is not to say , contest nutrition isn ’ t hard , because even in its best form , the goal is to create a nutritional deficit and that deficit will continue throughout the prep and can be a challenge even for the most seasoned competitor . However , by starting early , and including a wide variety of foods that one enjoys , is helpful on the mental end and can go a long way towards a healthier and happier contest prep .
POST CONTEST
The goal of any contest preparation should be to remain as healthy as possible and step on stage in peak physical and mental condition . Preparing for a competition must begin long before contest day and should continue after the contest ends . The stereotype contest prep looks like this 12 weeks of extra cardio , plain chicken , tilapia and asparagus , all of a few hours in the spotlight on the stage , followed by a huge feast of burgers , pizza , chocolate , and anything else one can think of eating after the show ends . The little known and mostly unseen effects of this are the nausea , water retention , and mental depression that can occur in the days and weeks following a competition .
This scenario should be avoided as much as possible . The reality of contest prep is this , by continuing to be in a caloric deficit while increasing activity , the body ’ s metabolism naturally slows down to try and stop this downward slide . While it is running as efficiently as possible to burn food and fat for fuel , the body would very much like to return to some sort of balanced state . After a competition , many people have lists of foods they want to eat and enjoy because they have deprived themselves of these foods for quite some time . These foods are often high in fat and sugar . They over indulge in these foods and continue to do so for days after the competition . The body cannot handle the sudden overwhelming intake of such foods and becomes even slower while it works to process all of this . At the same time it is replenishing fat stores in case it should face this type of deficit again . All of this leads to a less than optimal scenario which is going to take weeks , and in some cases many months to fix . This is not what a competitor wants to deal with . In response they start working harder in the gym , doing more cardio , and beating themselves up because of the continued binges and for enjoying the food they are eating . It is a cycle that can have long lasting effects and take quite some time to reverse .
If remaining healthy and moving forward is the goal , then there should be a plan in place well ahead of time for what to do in the days and weeks post contest . Yes , it is ok to enjoy a meal or two after a show , but do so in moderation while continuing to eat roughly the same meals and same amounts of macros as before the contest . Over time , the goal is to slowly increase caloric intake and come out of that prep mode , but it is as strategic as contest prep , and not a free-for-all smorgasbord of eating everything in sight . This is often referred to as reverse dieting and one should definitely have a plan set up for after a contest .
START EARLY . ENJOY AND TRUST THE PROCESS
The mental aspects of competing are far more challenging than the physical training for a show . It is all about mindset and purpose . It is not for everyone , and no one should ever feel that they have to compete as some sort of measure of their fitness level or experience . Competing is something one should want to do and enjoy the process and transformation that occurs – both of which have nothing to do with placing on stage . Nope , this journey has nothing to do with how one places on stage . All of the goals and success are met before stepping on stage .
The best contest prep is one that is slow and steady with no drastic changes . Ideally , the farther out from a show one can start planning and making small changes , the better chance one has of bringing a healthy package to the stage . The practice of only needing 12 weeks to prepare for a contest is outdated and often not nearly enough time , without resorting to drastic measures to drop weight , often sacrificing muscle and health in the process . By starting earlier , anywhere from 16-24 weeks , the losses will be less each week , maybe a half to a pound of weight per week , but most of that loss will be primarily fat and spare lean muscle .
Follow these guides , be prepared ahead of time and then do the work and trust the process . It will be a rewarding experience to set goals , see the changes , and ultimately get the results you want and achieve greater goals . If you wish to discuss the mental aspects of competing further , do not hesitate to contact me via email , frankgigantenaturalpro @ gmail . com .
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