Natural bodybuilders face a challenge when the off-season rolls around.  Everyone knows the off-season is the time period where bodybuilders get BIG.  They lift, eat, and sleep big in order to add some muscle mass.  This way, when they diet down for next year’s competition, they’ll be stepping onstage with 5 to 10 pounds of new, lean muscle.  However, natural bodybuilders face a challenge that their chemically-assisted brothers in iron do not.  Gaining too much weight in the off-season results in a highly challenging pre-contest diet in which muscle will be lost in the course of dieting.  Here are some nutritional tips and tricks for adding muscle in the off-season without adding too much fat, in order to avoid those awful pre-contest diet blues..

Avoid stimulants

Caffeine, guarine, and other stimulant might make your workout fun, but in the long run, they do hamper success.  You’ll become dependent upon them, and will need them just to have a ‘regular’ workout before long.  These supplements also dehydrate the body.  When you’re trying to stimulate new muscle growth, having water in the muscle cells is essential.

Glutamine rocks!

The rigors of heavy off-season weight training can wreak havoc on your joints.  Glutamine is very effective for assisting the body is lubricating the joints to ensure they don’t ache nonstop, and to help prevent injuries.  Warm-ups also go a long way in ensuring safe, effective workouts.

Eat buffet style

You’re going to need a lot of calories in the off-season in order to facilitate growth.  It’s often very tough to sit down and devour 16 ounces of chicken breast.  However, tossing back 6 ounces of chicken, 6 ounces of steak, and 4 ounces of shrimp would be an easy task for most men of iron.  Cook your meals ahead of time, and mix them up.  Or, select the “mix-n-match” from the menu when you visit restaurants.

Off-season bulk gain

In the off-season, it may be hard to effectively measure your gains.  You’ll feel big as a house, this is without a doubt.  However, you should be aware of the fact that once you begin to diet down, much of this new size (in the form of fat and water) will be shed in the first two weeks of dieting.  Therefore when you begin your off-season training, and see 15 pounds on your frame.  It’s not all muscle.  Keep that in mind when estimating your gains and dealing with your own personal expectations.

Keep fats and carbohydrates moderate

Too many bodybuilders make the mistake of boosting their carbohydrate intake too much in the off-season.  While it’s important to raise the amounts of pasta and rice you face on the plate each day, you should recall that carbohydrates are simply the energy we use for exercise and living.  Protein and fats are the essential nutrients for muscle growth.  Focus more upon raising your protein intake with an extra serving of meat with each meal.  That alone might be enough of an off-season nutritional change to foster some new growth.

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