38 offseason periodization

UNIVERSITY

Offseason
Offseason Periodization


Lesson Overview
Why Periodize offseason?
The Push Phase
The Fat Loss Phase
The Holding Phase
Sample Structure Layout


Offseason Periodization
Primary Goal is maximizing muscle accrual and limiting fat gain
Primary Variables that will dictate this rate:
Genetics (can’t change this)
Body Composition (P-ratio)
Recovery Capacity (Nutrition, PEDs, Sleep, Stress)
Training Performance (Training volume dictated by recovery)
Are the above variables static, never changing? NO!
So, our offseason will never be static in turn
Why don’t we just non-stop grow for 2 years?


The Push Phase
The Push Phase: progressively increasing muscle mass up
• Food will Progressively Increase Higher
• Training Stimulus will Progressively increase (more reps, load, sets)
• If Enhanced, PED usage will Progressively increase for new growth

Why can’t we always stay in this phase?

Fat gain is a governor to muscle gain ratio (P-ratio)
High inflammation and low insulin sensitivity
Poor Performance: Lethargy, Decreased pumps and stamina
Pushing food for so long causes GI distress, low appetite
PED usage can NOT be sustained at high levels year round
You will have a 30+ week contest prep diet coming soon….NOT ideal
We will need a phase to reverse some of these issues and gain more
offseason time.


The Fat Loss Phase “Mini Cut”
The Fat Loss Phase: Drop body fat and hold muscle tissue
• Food Progressively Decreased
• Cardio/NEAT Increased
• Training Stimulus held high for muscle retention
• If Enhanced, PED usage minimum maintenance or start of blast

Why implement a minicut in the offseason?
Muscle gain will come with fat gain (this is individual for timing)
Restore health variables
Decreasing body fat improves insulin sensitivity and lowers inflammation
GI given “rest” less food and improved appetite
Psychological break from Push Phase

Males
• Bulk if 8-12% body fat, Cut if 15-17% body fat
Females
• Bulk if 18-22% body fat, Cut if 25-27% body fat

A question to ask is can we just rotate between Push and Fat Loss Phases?


The Holding Phase
Holding Phase: Transition Point between Push and Fat Loss Phases
• Nutrition is brought close to maintenance level
• Training is brought down to a recoverable volume
• Cardio/NEAT may slightly increase
• If Enhanced, PED usage is at minimum
Why Implement a Holding Phase?
• Fat loss phase right after a Push phase, might cause new tissue to not
“hold”: Delayed growth? Settling point theory?
• Both Push and Fat loss Phases can generate high training fatigue to
dissipate fatigue we will need lower volume training to hold tissue
• Health restoration from high body fat, high food, training stress, PEDs
• PEDs at baseline levels (easy to lose muscle, easy to gain fat, best
time to hold steady)
• Psychological break
• Life happens and we have vacations, get sick, get busy, etc


Should this Periodization Always be Used?
For beginners' long durations in push phases are very do able as
progress comes easy, fatigue is low and PED usage is low.
Moving into the intermediate and advanced stages these phases will
become needed more so due to muscle to fat gain ratios decreasing
and need for high PED usage causing a cyclic blast cruise approach.
You don’t always need to do phases between each one, but if you find
issues arising in progress you can look to these phases
End of each phase reassess where you are at for phase transitions:

Where is my body composition at?
What do I need in my physique?
How has my gym performance been?
Are my joints and connective tissue recovered?
How are my health parameters?


How long should each phase be?
Stay within our body fat cut off points
Males
• Bulk if 8-12% body fat, Cut if 15-17% body fat
Females
• Bulk if 18-22% body fat, Cut if 25-27% body fat
PED usage can continue if health parameters are in check 12-20+
weeks
Restoration of injuries
Motivation and life issues resolved
Gym Performance is continuing to progress


SAMPLE PROGRESSION LAYOUT


SAMPLE PROGRESSION LAYOUT


Summary
We can periodize our offseason into phases Push, Hold, Fat loss
These phases revolve around body composition, recovery capacity and
goals of season

The length within each phase will be based on your goals and health
long term in bodybuilding

Next sections we will get into making the manipulations and decisions
for each phase