Offseason Focus

Just wanted to start a thread here with regards to staying focused in the offseason. For the compeitors of the world, it seems to me like a lot of the offseason eating issues are because people lose focus of the long term goal of improving on the stage. Am I correct here? Not that I am calling anybody out...I am certainly guilty of this and displayed it regularly during my last offseason. It could be as simple as pushing an ab/calf workout back a few days(guilty) or letting yourself eat too many splurge meals (guilty but it was sort-of on purpose. LOL).

I think the most valuable thing a competitor can do in the offseason is to keep his/her INseason goals in the forefront of thier mind and then realize that each and every thing you do each day impacts that goal. It takes a fiery will, tenacity and a good support system. The latter of which we have created with these forums. :)

What do you guys think about this?

Me too....and I'm paying the price now.  Fat Fat Fat!!!  LOL!

So true! I am very excited about my offseason, and when I say offseason INseason on a caloric surpluss. Up until this year when I decided to prep I had never really watched what I ate. With a postworkout snickers bar in hand I decided I think I want to do a couple shows this spring. Seeing how my body transformed in a matter of weeks has me so motivated to apply it year round.

This is a time to improve, set and achieve new goals. So how about we start with some INseason on a caloric surpluss goals!

Alberto illustrated the point pretty nicely...so I'll forgive him for his ice cream comment on the other thread.  Just kidding buddy. LOL

You need to take the motivation that you use precontest and apply it in the offseason to become successful on the stage. The biggest mistake somebody can make coming off a contest is to think "OK, thats done". Because its NEVER done if you are a competitor who is looking to compete again. You always have that competitive agenda. The key is to keep it as present in your thoughts 7 months out as much as it is 7 days out. You have to want to be better than last time, every time. And that drive has to outweigh your desire to eat.

I understand stress/emotional eating plagues a lot of people, competitors included. But that is where a serious competitor needs to take a step back, evaluate the situation and then do one of two things if they are serious about their competition goals: One, fix the problem on their own and waste not more than 2 seconds in doing so. Or secondly (and more realistically) seek out professional assistance to deal with these things so that your mind does not get in the way of your dreams. Because I honestly can not think of a worse fate than to have gone through my life knowing that I didn't take the steps I needed to take to realize a dream. We only get one shot at life. Make it count.

Look at the word "bodybuilder". It can be interpreted in so many ways. What does the body encompass? How do we build it?

Body: mind, spirit, psyche, appearance, fat, muscle, organs, thoughts, emotions...

Build: improve, strategize, form, structure, construct, process, develop...

We cannot be bodybuilders without a focus on every aspect of our bodies. And whether in the offseason or inseason, if we truly consider ourselves to be bodybuilders, we must behave accordingly. If this is our lifestyle, health and competition, than we are bodybuilders 24-7. It's a mind shift for sure-- if we're doing this in a healthy way, is there truly an "OFF" season?

Offseason: Doesn't exist for us. Not at all...which is honestly why I have never liked the "onseason/offseason" lingo. Its all onseason to me. Its just a precontest or postcontest status in my mind. :)

Sean for you,  it's

 "precontest" and "contest."

precisely.  you have a very long precontest.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

You have a family and a pastry chef wife....it is expected of you. Now we know i am only making this excuse, since MY significant other is currently taking a whole semester in French Pastries....excuses excuses

BTW Sarah and your wife need to meet joe, to exchange recipes. Especially the cookie recipes

Lucas

2 pastry chefs in the bunch?!  Holy moly!!!! 

I agree with you, Sean.  The word/concept OFF SEASON has played with my mental focus many times.  I'm trying to move away from that now.  That phrase just makes you think you can do whatever you want because the stage is so far away.  The off season is harder to tackle and probably even more important than the dieting process requiring even more support.  Dieting is easy, we all know what we're in for and how we'll feel.  Post comp is another story.  As for that stress eating, it's just a learned behavior anyway and the struggle is learning a new behavior in it's place while embracing the bodybuilding lifestyle and mentality. 

This is a great thread to have.  Much needed and should be very helpful.  Thanks!!

Oh Joe- you're so literal! I'm actually going to be EATING that batch of fudge-not licking the batter bowl! ;) Eat fudge- the Diet Doc lifestyle mandates it!

It is the post-competition eating that gets out of whack I think because we're in a mindset of "well I took it off before, I can take it off again." We justify eating more than we recognize is necessary because of this. We think, "I wasn't allowed to eat this during my diet, so I deserve to have it now." And you can have it and enjoy it, but are you eating it out of a sense of urgency because you anticipate not being able to get it again when you start dieting? Recognize and remember that there will ALWAYS be food around and that we can ALWAYS get it.

What if we looked at the pre-contest "dieting" as pre-contest "nutrition" just like we view post-contest "nutrition" ? Would it make a difference? We're just modifying quantity for the most part.

And yes to emotional eating being learned-- that's promising because it means we can UNLEARN it!

Interesting thread Kori.  Just this morning I while doing cardio I was thinking through post competition eats.  I've noticed that if I'm far out from the date  I'm a big talker.."..oh, I want a cheeseburger, fries and a large piece of chocolate cake...".  Then, the closer I actually get to my cheat meal I start stressing and thinking that I don't want it.  I remember last year after competition, I had been eating so well that I didn't want a cheat meal post competition....I wanted (and had) peanut butter.

This time around I was going to talk to Joe about what to have after the show - I'm currently leaning towards protein pancakes with bananas in them (I love 'em).  Of course, true to form, I was going to go to a brunch the day after the competition but once again, the more I think about it, the more I'd rather make myself a turkey burger with ezekiel buns with sweet potato fries, or cottage cheese, protein powder and peanut  butter, or a HUGE bowl of oatmeal.   I also think that once I start eating things like chocolate cake - I just start craving it whereas if I don't bother with it, I don't think about it as much - so why bother.  Not to mention, my body revolts something horrible when I eat junk.

One of the things that my husband has said to me is that the way I eat and my lifestyle shouldn't be looked at as some form of sacrifice.  If you look at it that way then there's always something that you think you can't have.

Sorry about the rambling...