COUNTING CALORIES IN THE OFF SEASON

Personally l have never counted calories in the off-season. l would always leave that for the time of a competition preparation. I feel that counting calories all the time every day of the year will absorb way too much of your time and eventually you will get bored and possibly distance yourself from your long term fitness goal.

What have l done instead, to keep on track with my progress and stay in descent shape year round is the following.

I would always make sure to be in a positive nitrogen balance. This means consuming enough protein throughout the day to help me with muscle hypertrophy allowing me to grow. l would accomplish this by including some type of protein with each of my meals.

Also, to make sure l would stay in decent shape throughout the year and transition easier into comp prep when need be, l would keep a track of my abdominal. I would make sure l don’t lose complete sight of my abs in the off season. If you can see even slight outlines of your abdominal that means that you are not more then 12% body-fat and that would be a good place to be in the off season.