3DMUSCLEJOURNEY - Onseason Transitioning

Onseason Transitioning

By Natural Pro Bodybuilder - Alberto Nunez

It’s the Sunday morning after your last show of the year and a few things are obviously different. You are not quite as ravenous as you had been the weeks leading into the contest, and the prominent vascularity in your forearms is proof that you enjoyed a good meal (appetizer, desert, and then more in many cases) the night before. Being well fed and physically full for once, you might be feeling a different type of emptiness at this point. Regardless of how well you did the night before and what that trophy reads, it can be hard to have something you put so much effort, time, and energy into suddenly come to an end. It’s an odd feeling to wake up without that sense of urgency at your bedside. This is exactly where things can go really bad if a competitor doesn’t have a plan ready.

Glory and balance can be hard to find as a competitive athlete, but it can be done.

Aside from what I outlined in a previous article Offseason Approaches: The “Post Contest Window” and the Tortoise and the Hare, there are a few other things I would recommend that you as a competitor do in order to make sure you get started on the right foot. It’s not uncommon to have bouts of depression, lapses in focus, and getting your priorities mixed up post-contest. Anyone who has competed can relate to what that Sunday morning can feel like and many can vouch that the “post contest blues” are a real phenomenon. As a bodybuilding coach I will confirm with you that yes these feelings are very common actually. I deal with athletes in this very situation all the time and have experienced it firsthand myself. Thus, I know just how challenging getting the ball rolling in the other direction can be.

Many decisions to be made and while many are clear, it can be difficult to follow through in the midst of all the post contest emotions running wild.

My Experience
Just recently I came off what was the biggest show of my contest season, and up until this point the biggest in my bodybuilding career. Of course it was none other than the IFPA Yorton Cup. The company of friends both old and new kept me distracted in a good way, so I found that I didn’t get too much of the blues on Sunday. That being said, the next afternoon was a different story. As I traveled up North on a train to visit some of my girlfriend’s family in the New York area, I was left with time to think. I started to miss my season and all the good times; mostly the moments of success during my contest prep. Whether it was watching the scale move, turning a bad workout into a great workout, or doing well in a show, I had a lot to look back on. I was going to miss those moments of accomplishment I had throughout my prep. Oddly enough, even the rough times made me smile as I thought about them. Be it the hunger pains or a frustrating plateau, I was going to miss it all! I was going to miss having to do cardio when I least wanted to, or longingly window shopping at a bakery. From this side of the fence the offseason grass didn’t seem much greener.

This is when most feel abandoned to some degree, without a home, as the cocoon that was your contest prep is now gone. Mental games can sneak up on you if you let them, from here on you have to get proactive, and start moving forward.

I love the onseason, but you have to realize and remind yourself that the offseason is where the vast majority of your improvements take place.

Your Mission
You have to realize that prior to this prep you had structure, discipline, and worked very hard, it was just with a different focus. Now is a perfect time to recapture that spirit and start applying the work ethic you applied to your contest prep period to the next goal. How well you do during your next contest prep starts here, and what you can do to make sure your next journey gets off on the right foot starts during the offseason. Realize this is a time to get to work and set up the base from which your next contest prep starts. Being a bodybuilder is a continuum; the seasons shift throughout the year, but while appearances change, the Earths’ orbit is perpetual. Or at least until our sun expands and swallows the Earth whole which is a different story all together (and actually ties in to real life), but this is simply a bodybuilding article. So yeah I won’t bother you guys with my philosophies on life, but the truth is if you’re going to be a competitive bodybuilder you should see yourself this way. I want to give you guys a to-do list that maybe you’ll find useful as your contest season comes to an end and your transition into the next season begins.

Having a nutritional plan ready to go on Monday morning is a very important thing, as this is where most competitors fail. When I say plan, I mean something besides what restaurants you are going to hit up, as you need to have some structure right away. Simply by doing this you will really up your chances of succeeding in making your offseason landing a smooth one. I will save myself some time and simply link you to that article I wrote earlier this year.

http://www.3dmusclejourney.com/articles-os-approaches.php

Get back in the gym!
Get back in the gym, even if the workouts are a bit less than stellar while you are in the midst of all these emotions. Simply by being there it will be a reminder that your hard work and desire were established long before you ever mailed in your first entry form. It’s usually the guys that take a week or more off that end up 15-20 pounds heavier by week’s end. If you reach this point, it becomes even harder finding the motivation to get back in the gym being a bloated mess. Even if there is little structure in these workouts, get back in by Tuesday at the latest. The gym might be the last thing on your mind, but you might be surprised as to how motivated you actually feel once you are in there. Especially now that some of the excess pressure that comes via dieting for a contest is no longer present. I have had some of my best workouts after a contest when I go in there stress free and without any expectations (note to self for the offseason) and just get to work.

WNBF Pro Rich Knapp loves training regardless of what time of the year it is

The man in the mirror
Start assessing your physique and what your strengths and weaknesses are. This is also a good time to have those whose eyes you trust chime in as to what will help you improve your physique. Some are obvious and some not so much, thus why it is important to have an unbiased opinion. This is something that one of the best natural bodybuilders on the planet Brian Whitacre practices, as he sends out emails just days after his show to ask a select group of individuals what they feel he needs to work on in order to improve his physique. It can be humbling, but it’s a good way to reestablish the fact that there is work to be done. If one of the best in the world feels like they need trusted feedback from unbiased eyes, then perhaps we can all benefit from such a practice. Success leaves clues, and I think we can all learn from Brian when it comes to this approach. Not to mention it’s a good way to start building up a new bodybuilding “to do” list. Now you have something to channel your focus and energy towards as you start laying the foundation of your upcoming offseason.

As bodybuilders we can be our own worst enemies, so an unbiased eye is a very valuable tool.

A Plan
The fourth thing you should do is probably have some sort of structured program to follow, and perhaps after the feedback you got on your physique you can better create or follow a program that emphasizes those areas that lacked the most. Chances are at some point during your prep you were looking at the other side of the fence and thought how much greener the grass would be in the offseason. Well, now this is your chance to soothe those urges. It should be an exciting time, as this is where you really get to change your physique for the better. A good chunk of your potential success next season starts here, and having a training program that caters to your specific needs is important. Not to mention it will be motivating to know that your training will no longer just serve the purpose of maintaining muscle mass, but inducing muscular development once again. That one alone fires me up to get the ball rolling again. Along with this, it’s a good time to put some goals in writing: Be it bringing up your lagging back, or doing a better job keeping tabs on your nutrition. You are much more likely to follow plans and goals if you make them official by writing yourself a personal contract with timelines and such.

"It's a dream until you write it down. Then it's a goal."-Emmitt Smith

Be realistic when setting goals, but at the same time don’t ever focus on how daunting the task will be, but that it is what you truly want.

Clean up your room and mow your lawn.
Lastly it is time to incorporate a bit more balance. Now that you are done with your season you may realize how much extra time you likely spent being meticulous with your prep, possibly with your food intake for example. Or maybe some of your free time was spent doing the cardio you required to get into contest shape. For some of us this newfound free time means we get to sleep-in a bit more, or come home straight after work, or enjoy a Saturday morning eating a healthy breakfast with your significant other. This is the time to ensure the things that are truly important in life regain their spot on your priority list if they had maybe slipped a bit. This one is very important as I personally know what it is like to get into bouts where you are hyper focused on the task at hand. There is nothing wrong with that, as I am sure Ray Lewis isn’t on the phone with his mom the night before the Super Bowl, nor is a someone looking to take the BAR exam in a few weeks regularly partying until the wee hours of the night. Being hyper focused is nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s something you should be able to turn on and off like a switch. Of course if you did it right you won’t have to apologize to a bunch of different people for losing your cool, or have too much relearning to do. When I say relearning, I mean relearning how to be normal. Being okay with grabbing a hors d'œuvre at a company party, or being hand fed by your niece a piece of her morning toast (ahhh those always taste the best).

Day Dream A Bit
Lastly it’s a time to reflect and be proud of your season and all the hard work you put into it. Also to reflect on what you could have done better from a mental standpoint; what specific parts of your strategy worked well and what didn’t. Many lessons can be learned from your prep that right away can be put to use in your offseason. Also, with everything happening so fast, there is nothing wrong with stopping and smelling the roses for a while. Take the time to really think about your journey and how much fun it was. Think about how right now you are working on the next cluster of memories that will stand out in your life, just that thought alone should help you deal a bit more with the fact that the last journey is over. If you follow the steps prior, thinking back on your prep won’t leave you with that “post contest blues” feeling, but rather help you get excited about working on the next journey.

It’s not easy, but if you are prepared and from the start make sure you address these Sunday morning symptoms, you will have an easier time transitioning into a successful offseason. In a sport that essentially is an individual endeavor, the obstacle to success is self sabotage and ironically your key and barrier to success is you. Like 3DMJ coach Brad Loomis said in an article a while back, “it all starts with your head”. It’s not easy, and often the first step in a long journey is the hardest, but you have to remember that that first brick you lay down will eventually be a fortress. It can be a hard concept to grasp, but with the right preparation and attention to the right details, you will minimize the down time or any backtracking you might experience as you transition from contest season to offseason.