So, you’ve just finished your final show…

Prep has come to an end and you are about to transition into your off season. Post-show can be a daunting and confusing time for many. You will see the scales begin to increase & the lines begin to ‘disappear’...So how do we deal with this? One major thing that you can do is shifting your mindset to thinking of all of the positives that come with post-show/ off season instead of the perceived ‘negatives’ or ‘FOMO’.

The Positives of Post-Show : Let’s Talk!

Your health will improve. 

Let’s face it, competing isn’t healthy. Our bodies don’t want to be stage lean…we need fat. Especially as females, it is so important that we return our bodies back to being healthy as quickly as possible. This includes regulating our hormones, regaining our cycles etc (if lost).

When you begin to eat more food, your body will literally thank you for it. You will have more energy, you will sleep better, improved concentration levels etc. 

You can begin chasing a different kind of number. 

So on prep, we are constantly looking at the scale, hoping to see a decrease each time we step on it. Checking our measurements for progress. Watching the time pass by as we do our cardio. During your off season you can utilise your extra energy and begin chasing a different kind of number…That’s right, were talking about your log book.

You will be able to progressively overload your exercises, increase your weights, tempo, reps etc…and who doesn’t love hitting a PB & feeling strong as?!

You can be more sociable. 

It’s likely that during prep there was an occasion or two where you found yourself turning down events, meet-ups etc as you didnt have the energy, couldn’t eat out, didn’t have time etc. Or maybe you went,but you didn’t get to join in on all aspects? Utilise your off-season by catching up with your friends and family.

Do the fun things that you didn’t get to do whilst you were on prep. Give them all of you now that you are able to do so, thank them for understanding that you needed to focus on you & your goals.

You get to eat more food.

Now this is pretty self explanatory, but as you head into your off season you will begin to eat more food, with potentially more variety. Whether your goal is to grow or simply maintain a healthy bodyweight your food will likely be increased as you need to either be at maintenance or eating surplus calories to achieve these goals.

This will likely include being able to have off-plan meals, dinners out, takeaways, family meals etc. 

You have more time!

On prep, we may spend hours and hours in the gym or just doing other prep-related tasks. Ticking the boxes such as, cardio, training, steps, posing practice, stretching, checking in, meal prep etc. All of these things won’t necessarily come to a grinding halt when you hit post-show…however you may not have as many steps to do, as much cardio etc.

This will give you extra time to focus on other hobbies, spend time with your family, partner, children etc. 

Try and focus on all of the positive things that you are GAINING rather than what you are losing (definition, lines, etc).

During the post show period use the time to reminisce on your season…

What went well? What can you improve for your next season?

Make a plan & set new goals.

It can be easy to feel like you have nothing to grind for in the off season as your shows aren’t near. So if you set yourself goals then you always have something to strive towards achieving. 

Have a listen to some of our @Notjustabikinigirl podcast episodes below for further insight and tips. We have too many to post here, so follow the link and search ‘post show’ for more episodes!

Oh & don’t forget to be INCREDIBLY proud of yourself. Regardless of placing, you stepped on that stage and you SHONE. You achieved something that many people couldn’t even think of doing.

So, pat yourself on the back and tell yourself, out loud, truly how proud you are.

If you need someone to talk to whilst navigating this period, please don’t hesitate to drop us a DM @Kompakwomen or Email info@kompak.store. We are a team of current/past competitors so we can completely emphasise with how you may be feeling as we have experienced it ourselves.