Build Phase / Off Season 2014

June – December 2014

Build Phase 2014

Overview
Diet
Workouts

Also check out:

Cut phase 2014
Contest prep 2015 – Calculations and initial plan
My weekly cut phase updates
Competition Guide Articles

Overview:

In the off season, I took the 1st month to recover. My shoulder was shot and I needed a break mentally and physically. During this month I lifted much lighter, higher reps 4-6x per week, just enough so that I was barely challenged. I also did my best to stick to the following diet to stay leaner and not gain more than 10 pounds above my stage weight. After my recovery lifting month, I went back to lifting muscle groups 2x per week for about 6 weeks, de-loaded for a week, then went down to lifting each muscle group 1x per week. Cardio was worked down to nearly zero.

Attempted off season diet:

50-60g of fat
120g protein
250g of carbs

But I just craved carbs all the time, even though I wasn’t hungry. I felt like I had no filter when it came to eating. I gained 20 pounds above my stage weight hovering in the 143 – 147 pound range. Eventually after 4 months, I came to a diet that I was able to happily stick to.

Off Season diet that worked for me:

100g fat
120g protein
140g carbs
Caloric intake around 14x my body weight (BW x 14 = daily calories).

High fat, I know, and I loved it. I would eat a lot of olive oil, grass fed butter and cheese, nuts, coconut butter, MCT oil, avocados, meats like yummy steak and brats! I found this so much easier and had zero cravings. I centered about 100g of carbs around my mid-morning workouts leaving 40g for the rest of the day. I loosely counted macro’s (protein, carbs, fat) and maintained my weight and stuck to that diet.

I have seen and read many different successful bikini, figure, physique and bodybuilding woman that have had macro ratio’s all over the board, and have been successful. They did what diet worked best for them.

This one worked for me as it kept me sane. That is why it is so important to track everything you are doing… diet, weight and workouts to see what works best for you as you change up the routine.

Workouts:

In August, I suffered from a minor shoulder impingement and began physical therapy at the end of October 2014. This lasted about 2 months and I am so glad I went. It helped me to work on weaknesses that were neglected. I learned I had weak lower traps as most people do. In an effort to heal my shoulder, I had to scale back on upper body beast mode lifting for a few months. My shoulder size suffered for it but I am still going to compete this spring because its fun. 🙂

Click here to view (PDF) Workout Plan, Build Phase, Sept-Dec 2014 Heather Get Fit. Go Figure