Post-Contest Nutrition & Reverse Dieting – My Thoughts

My thoughts on post-contest nutrition and reverse dieting…

Look, I’m all about competitors keeping in decent shape/condition after a contest and not putting insane amount of fat gains, but to a certain degree. I have been one of those guys that gained 40lbs after a contest within a week, and it isn’t fun for the least bit, so I always work with my athletes to avoid this at all costs. But in my opinion, there should only be a little time allowed to slowing reintroducing more and more calories back into your nutrition programs, and I usually allow 2-2.5 weeks of slowly putting it all back in. Once your body adjusts back to the proper homeostasis (it doesn’t take that long if you do it correctly), start piling in the food, grow, train, rest, and repeat.

What makes me laugh though is, people taking 7-10 weeks of this REVERSE DIETING garbage, yes it is garbage, to the next level. You realize that after a show/contest prep your body can put on some of the best muscle gains? Utilizing the “Rebound” to your advantage can do wonders, and this Rebound window only lasts a short amount of time. By the time you finish your “REVERSE DIET” regime, that Rebound is gone. The body is a sponge after weeks upon weeks of dieting, hard training, hours upon hours of endless cardio, depletion, so taking advantage of all the hormonal adjustments it will go through after a contest will net you some of the best muscle gains you can get. Not everything Layne Norton and others says is true. Don’t buy into everything some of these “experts” or “Doctors” (they love to put PhD with their names lol) think. Yes they maybe educated extremely well in this field, but personally, I don’t practice what many preach unless I see the results ON THEMSELVES PERSONALLY. For example, would you hire a overweight, obese trainer to get you in shape, or a twig of a dude to pack on mountains of muscle on you? Probably not.