Off-season is the time period where muscle gains take place. The pre-contest is nothing more than a phase of “lose most of your body fat while retaining as much muscle as humanly possible”. It is in the off-season that bodybuilders grow. There are a set of standard rules for off-season growth that all bodybuilders should follow. Consume an additional 500 calories each day. Keep cardiovascular training to a minimum. Make sure you receive adequate sleep each evening, and a nap each day if possible. Never go more than 3 hours without protein. Training should be hard and heavy. Use compound movements. Train four days per week at best. Find new ways to surprise your body parts into growth. This rule applies especially for intermediate or advanced bodybuilders who have spent ...

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Recently, a very high-profile amateur bodybuilder added 80 pounds in the off-season. Competing at 255 pounds as a super heavyweight, he moved his bodyweight up to 330 pounds. It was all the talk of the bodybuilding industry: “How much muscle will he gain? How will he be able to diet down? How will he look?” Self-proclaimed armchair gurus, secure in the anonymity that internet forums provide, debated for months about whether or not this amateur phenom and self-proclaimed “Next BIG thing” would show up with 25 pounds of new muscle, or depleted and overdieted. When contest time arrived, the bodybuilder showed up as a shadow of his former self. Despite owning a supplement contract and being featured on magazine covers before ever winning a national show, and having the expertise of some of the greatest ...

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Everyone knows that nutrition is about the most important element in the scheme of things for a bodybuilder. The quality and quantity of the food that you eat - and the times that you choose to eat it - makes a significant difference in the way that you look, feel and develop. Food is also crucial to energy in the gym, and is often the unnamed culprit in a bad workout session. But barring sticking with cans of tuna and cooked yams, or chicken breasts and brown rice, nutrition can be a mystery to a lot of newbies and seasoned competitors alike. Most stick with just a few staples in order to simplify, but it may not be serving their every need - either in the gym or up on the stage. The 6 Food Groups Usually, nutritional bibles will show a pyramid with ...

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