In a recent Instagram post, I discussed the importance of a well-planned off-season for achieving muscle gain results. This process requires careful consideration and cannot be condensed into a single blog post. Therefore, I will present it in three separate parts:

1. The timeline
2. Training
3. Diet

In this blog let's begin with the crucial planning and timeline aspect of the off-season.

 

The Start Point

To embark on a productive off-season, it's crucial you start from the right point. Allow me to illustrate this with stages from my own off-season journey:

 

1. Primed and Ready for a Gaining Phase:

• The photo here is maybe still slightly too high of a body fat percentage for a prolonged gaining phase, however the start point can be very individual dependant. Personally, I'm comfortable with a bit more body fat.
• All biomarkers are in the green: controlled appetite, good sleep, libido, stress, energy, and movement stability.

 

2. Peak Gaining Phase 

•  Higher body fat percentage and biofeedback starting to be negatively affected; poor sleep, reduced appetite, some digestive stress.
• Sign I need to pull back and commence a mini-cut. - Not an ideal start position to continue to gain from.

 

3. End of prolonged cut/prep

•  Very similar to peak gaining phase in the sense that biofeedback is in the reds: poor sleep, extreme appetite/food focus, low energy, reduced libido, reduced internal stability due to low BW pose high chance of injury in particular movements.
• Not a great place to start an effective gaining phase, a period of getting biofeedback markers back to normal needs to be established before effectively commencing a gaining phase.

 

Scenario 1 above serves as an excellent starting point for the gaining phase.

 

Mapping Out the Timeline

Starting from the point illustrated above , establish the ultimate goal, whether it's stepping on stage, a photoshoot, or showcasing your physique at its peak. This goal might be a year, two years, or even longer down the line. Reverse engineer the path to get there. Due to the extended nature of an off-season, maintaining motivation can be challenging. Therefore, having a flexible but well-structured plan is crucial.

Continuously gaining at a steady rate for over a year isn't sustainable. Motivation drops, energy levels dip, and body fat increases. To add significant muscle, a more assertive approach is needed. Break down the 1-3 year off-season period into distinct phases:

 

1. The Push-Up Phase (16-24 weeks):

• Caloric surplus, aiming for a maximum steady gain of 0.5kg per week (likely to slow down). 
• Embrace the inevitable increase in body fat.
• Ensure consistent progression with your performance at the gym alongside the rate of gain

 

2. Mini-Cut/Recomp Phase (Up to 8 weeks):

• Re-sensitise appetite and biomarkers by losing as much body fat as possible in a short time period.
• Not for extreme leanness, but to set up for the next push-up phase. The more time you spend cutting the less time you are actually gaining muscle.

 

3. Maintenance/Holding Phase:

• Transition between phases or hold at a stable maintenance for a very short off-season. 
• Balance lower body fat with good biofeedback for seamless transition between phases.

 

4. Pre-Prep Diet:

• After a long push-up phase, a mini cut followed by a maintenance phase readies the body for an efficient prep phase.

 

How you structure these phases and how aggressively you push up body weight is going to be highly dependent on the individual and the timeframe and nature of the end goal (e.g prep, photoshoot, look good on holiday). 

 

Some Examples of Off-Seasons: 

 

Scenario 1 (Shorter Off-Season)

Context: Competed and was very close to winning titles, muscularity for the class is spot on just need to come in a touch more conditioned. Season finished in October and looking to compete again the following year:

Oct-Dec: Recovery diet out of prep to gain some body fat then hold/maintain.

Jan-April: Now, because feedback was you needed to come in leaner the chances are you didn’t push as hard during the previous prep so the short gaining phase from Jan-April will be at a slower rate and more controlled, you may even consider a maintenance phase to put you in the ideal spot before the next prep/diet. If you did get extremely lean during the prep and just missed out on the placing you wanted then you can push bodyweight up slightly higher but again you may want to taper down slightly nearer April to put you in the best spot for the next diet.

 

Scenario 2 (Longer Off-Season)

Context: Competed but judges feedback was to gain more muscle to be competitive. Season finished in October, looking at a more lengthy off season to bring more muscle:

Oct-Dec: Recovery diet out of prep to gain some body fat then hold/maintain.

Jan - May: Push up Phase 1 to take bodyweight to a new high and performance in the gym should be at an all time high.

May-June: Mini-cut to reset biomarkers and allow yourself to push up again but note this is for a short period so you wouldn’t drop bodyweight as low as you did on prep.

July- Dec: Push up Phase 2 reaching and potentially exceeding body weight in Push-Up 2 but at a slightly slower rate. You will also notice that reaching the previous high bodyweight may be easier this time around and body composition in a slightly better place.

Jan-March: Pre- prep diet for 8 weeks to again reset biomarkers and put body composition in a great place for starting prep.

April-May: Maintenance of 8 weeks at a new lower bodyweight but establishing performance at the gym at an all time high and biomarkers in an ideal spot for the start of prep.

 

These are just a couple of examples, remember the nature of your off season/gaining phase is going to be highly individualised. If you need some help and accountability to structure yours drop me a DM!