Hitch Fit Living Magazine Volume 1 July/August 2015 | Page 41

"IMPROVEMENT SEASON"
As my own competition season nears its end I am already putting
together my "improvement season" plans and goals. I say
improvement season because to many competitors (I have been guilty
of this in the past) just immediately fall into an "off season" and it's
literally just that.. and "OFF season." Until it is time to start training
for the next show there is no tracking food or set food plans and
there isn't much of a set training plan. You're kidding yourself if you
think you're going to weight until training for your next show and
make sudden improvements. You will not make your best
improvements while dieting for a show. It's nearly impossible to put
on good quality muscle or make major improvements to ones
physique (besides fat loss) while in a caloric deficit. With a sound "off
season" or better yet "IMPROVEMENT season" plan in place is
where you will make the most out of your hard work.
A few tips on how to have a successful "improvement season" .
1. Don't go crazy post show - In many cases competitors can put on 10-20lbs+ in a week or two after the show. It's okay to
reward yourself after a show but don't blow 10-20 weeks of hard work in one or two weeks of binge eating. A little discipline goes
a long way here.
2. Slow and steady - If you got stage lean then your body has been in a caloric deficit during the entire time you dieted for the
show. Don't just jump back into what you were eating right before you started dieting. When you are very lean and past your
bodies natural body fat set point you are primed to store fat. Going straight from 1,500 calories a day to 3,000 calories a day will
have you putting on excess body fat in no time! Slowly increase calories week by week and slowly decrease cardio week by week.
3. Have a plan in place for your nutrition and training - You should tailor your training and nutrition according to the goals
you have set. Maybe it's to bring up a lagging body part, bench pressing a certain amount of weight or eating x amount of calories
while staying under a certain percentage of body fat. Whatever the goal is make sure there is a written plan in place with smaller
goals to get you to your end goal.
4. Track your progress - I would recommend tracking workouts and nutrition daily. It's as simple as w ɥѥ