What you need to know about offseason
I was guilty of this – thinking that prepping is the most important part of this process. Don’t need to “get serious” until you officially start prep.
But the truth is - As a bodybuilder, the offseason is crucial to your competition season itself. While it might seem like a time to relax, take a break, and enjoy all the foods you couldn’t eat during prep, the offseason is actually a significant factor in your training, progress, and development. Whether you’re trying to build muscle, improve weaknesses, or just take care of your body after months of intense training and dieting, the offseason is your opportunity to make serious gains.
Here’s what you need to know about the offseason and how to make the most of it.
1. Understanding the Offseason Concept
The offseason is typically the period between competitions, when you're not dieting down or doing strict contest prep. It’s the time to focus on building muscle, improving on the feedback from your last competition, and giving your body the rest and recovery it needs.
It’s also a great opportunity to take a step back, assess what worked, what didn’t work, and focus on what your plans are during this time.
While the competition prep phase often involves calorie restrictions, strict cardio routines, and intense focus on aesthetics, the offseason is where you can focus on the long-term goal of improving your physique, working on flexibility and recovery.
2. Training Focus: Building Size and working on your weaknesses
The offseason is when you can lift heavy and train hard to build more muscle. Without the pressure of a competition date, you can focus on progressive overload — the principle of gradually increasing the weight, reps, or intensity of your workouts to stimulate muscle growth.
A few tips for your training during the offseason:
Increase Training Volume: Add more sets, reps, or even frequency to your workouts to promote muscle growth. As you're not dieting, your energy levels are likely higher, so you can handle more volume and intensity.
Prioritize Weak Points: Use the offseason to work on muscle imbalances or lagging body parts. If your arms are a weak point, for example, incorporate additional isolation exercises to bring them up to par with the rest of your body.
Vary Your Routine: Change up your exercises, rep ranges, and training style. Whether it’s focusing on lower rep ranges or higher rep ranges, variety will keep your muscles adapting and growing.
3. Nutrition: Eat to Grow
While on contest prep you are on a calorie deficit, the offseason is about fueling your body for growth. While you don’t want to go overboard, being in a slight caloric surplus can help facilitate muscle growth. However, it’s important to balance your approach to avoid unnecessary fat gain and I recommend reverse dieting to ensure that does not happen
Here are some key nutrition strategies for the offseason:
Increase Calories Gradually: Start by adding around 50-200 calories to your daily intake. This allows you to gain muscle without putting on excessive fat. Track your progress and adjust if needed. (this range is dependent on many factors – so listen to your coach)
Macronutrient Ratios: Aim for a balanced intake of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Protein should still be high (at least 1gram per pound of body weight), as it supports muscle repair and growth. Carbohydrates will fuel your workouts, while fats are essential for hormonal health.
Nutrient Timing: While you don't need to be as strict as during competition prep, timing your meals around your workouts can still make a difference. Consider eating a protein- and carb-rich meal an hour or two before your workout, and follow it up with a post-workout meal to aid recovery.
Clean Surplus: While it might be tempting to indulge in junk food, the goal is to build quality muscle, not just add weight. Stick to whole, nutrient-dense foods and avoid excessive processed foods or empty calories.
You might expect some fat gain with the higher calorie intake.
The Risk of Fat Gain: Although you’ll be eating more to fuel muscle growth, this can also lead to fat gain. The key is to avoid overindulging. While gaining some fat is inevitable when you’re in a caloric surplus, you should focus on a clean surplus —This is a balancing act, and it can be tricky.
4. Rest and Recovery: Restoring Your Body
After months of intense dieting, cardio, and training, your body needs a break. The offseason provides an excellent opportunity to allow for better recovery, reduce stress on your joints, and address any injuries that may have developed during the competition season.
Sleep is Essential: Recovery starts with sleep. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Sleep is when muscle repair and growth occur, so don’t skip on rest.
Active Recovery: While you might reduce the intensity of your training or take a few days off, it's also important to keep moving. Light cardio, stretching, yoga, or foam rolling can help keep your muscles supple and aid recovery without overstressing your body.
Injury Prevention: If you’ve been dealing with nagging injuries, the offseason is the time to focus on healing and addressing those problems. Work with a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist to work through any issues and prevent long-term damage.
5. Mental Reset: Focus on the Long-Term
Bodybuilding is a mentally and physically demanding sport, and after the grueling competition season, you are probably feeling mentally fatigued. The offseason is a great time to reset your mindset, set new goals, and focus on the long term.
Set Clear Goals: Use this time to identify areas of improvement for your next competition. Do you need to grow your booty or improve your posing? Define your goals so that your training and nutrition plan are targeted.
Take a Break from Social Media: Many bodybuilders find it beneficial to take a mental break from the pressure of social media and constant comparison during the offseason. This time can be used for reflection and realigning your focus.
Rediscover Your Passion: Without the pressure of competition deadlines, you can rediscover why you fell in love with bodybuilding in the first place. Enjoy the process of training and improving without the pressure of having to "look perfect" all the time.
6. Make use of your “Off” Time
Use the offseason wisely to focus on building a strong foundation for your next competitive season. You don’t need to be in the gym six days a week, but a consistent, well-structured training routine will ensure that you make progress even when you're not preparing for a show.
The offseason is often seen as a time for rest or slack off, but in reality, it’s THE time to focus on improving.
While it may not have the glamour and excitement of competition prep, the off season is the time to build muscle, recover from the grueling demands of contest prep, and set the foundation for future success. Expect some mental and physical challenges along the way, but with consistency, discipline, and a focus, the offseason will pay off when you step on stage again.
Remember: bodybuilders don’t just grow during prep, they grow during the offseason. Use this time wisely, and have the right plan in place so that you will be set up for even greater success when it’s time to compete again.
7. Mental Challenges: Staying Focused and Avoiding "Off-Season Slump"
You may experience some mental challenges. After months of intense preparation for a competition, it’s easy to feel a sense of burnout or lack of motivation. You may also feel pressure to keep up with the shredded look, especially with social media constantly showcasing the physiques of top bodybuilders.
The Mental Shift: Transitioning from a phase of extreme discipline and restriction to a period of muscle-building freedom can feel strange at first. You might struggle with not being “stage-ready” or dealing with the appearance of extra body fat. It's normal to feel less lean than you’re used to, but remember that it’s all part of the process.
Dealing with Expectations: If you’ve been living the competitive bodybuilding lifestyle for a while, you might feel pressured to always look lean and vascular. However, your body needs the calories and recovery time to grow. Remind yourself that the offseason is a strategic phase, and the changes you make now will pay off in the long term when you return to contest prep.
Avoiding Overindulgence: While you have more flexibility with your diet, it’s easy to slip into habits of overindulging or eating “junk” foods. Having a structured nutrition plan is just as important in the offseason as it is during contest prep. Staying disciplined will ensure you don’t go too far off-track.
Embrace the Offseason process and for long-term success and treat this time with intention, discipline, and focus similarly to your prep.