Anabolic rebound after dieting

shawnkarbabacz · Mar 15, 2009

I was wondering, after a diet for a show (mine will have been 16 weeks) how long do you guys wait to get back into the gym to take advantage of the anabolic effect of post dieting? I hear so many different things from different guys. Alot of guys are right back that monday pounding heavy weight, whereas others like to take 1-2 weeks of to give their CNS and overall body a break.

chris250 · Mar 16, 2009

Depends on how burned out I am...??? if im ready to go, then just a few days off from the gym, if im burned out then maybe a month or so...But everyone is different

chris

b-boy · Mar 16, 2009

1 week off is the most i have been able to take after a show, my head just won't let me take more off, going to the gym has been a part of my daily routine going on 24yrs now. so whether i feel like it or not i get back into the gym after the 1 week layoff and do something, it may not always be balls to the wall (sometimes it is depending on my joints) but im in there doing something and getting some blood flow to my muscles.

shawnkarbabacz · Mar 16, 2009

yeah i would have to force myself to take the time off, which i would if i thought it would be more beneficial in teh long run, but it sounds like i should be good to go. I cant wait to start hitting funner, heavier workouts

after a while the 30 sec rest, runnin around the gym and hrs of cardio gets old and you start longing for the heavy lifting ya know?

buselmo · Mar 17, 2009

the only time i have experienced this "rebound" you speak of was when i was natural and lost a shit ton of muscle getting ready for a contest, and the second was when i quit training for 2 months then got back to it.
all my other contest, where i only lost a maximum of 12 lbs in 10 weeks (including water depletion on the day of the contest... so it's probably 9 lbs) and this contest where i lost 6 lbs INCLUDING THE WATER DEPLETION! the week before the contest i was 4 lbs below where i started 22 weeks before when i started dieting, there was no rebound what so ever. in fact, the only thing i experienced was severe bloat, constipation, and looking like shit the whole week after a contest.
if there is a "fabulous rebound", i would suggest you don't lose a lot of muscle next time.
now, to your main question about how long you wait til you start training... usually people stop training 3-5 days out of a contest, right? i don't know if that's what you do, but i stop 5 days out, and stop cardio 4 days out. the contest is usually on a saturday in the states, so, you just compete, then you go eat a nice meal after that... sunday you probably won't train, and you will still eat some good healthy food

.... by the time it's monday, you would've eaten 10 billion calories on the weekend, and rested for about a week or so without training... i think it's time you get back to the gym and you will be properly rested, and nurished.

b-boy · Mar 17, 2009

buselmo said:
the only time i have experienced this "rebound" you speak of was when i was natural and lost a shit ton of muscle getting ready for a contest, and the second was when i quit training for 2 months then got back to it.
all my other contest, where i only lost a maximum of 12 lbs in 10 weeks (including water depletion on the day of the contest... so it's probably 9 lbs) and this contest where i lost 6 lbs INCLUDING THE WATER DEPLETION! the week before the contest i was 4 lbs below where i started 22 weeks before when i started dieting, there was no rebound what so ever. in fact, the only thing i experienced was severe bloat, constipation, and looking like shit the whole week after a contest.
if there is a "fabulous rebound", i would suggest you don't lose a lot of muscle next time.
now, to your main question about how long you wait til you start training... usually people stop training 3-5 days out of a contest, right? i don't know if that's what you do, but i stop 5 days out, and stop cardio 4 days out. the contest is usually on a saturday in the states, so, you just compete, then you go eat a nice meal after that... sunday you probably won't train, and you will still eat some good healthy food .... by the time it's monday, you would've eaten 10 billion calories on the weekend, and rested for about a week or so without training... i think it's time you get back to the gym and you will be properly rested, and nurished.

bro after eating so few calories for weeks on end and getting down to super low bodyfat, your body will absorb and actually use an enormouse amount of calories because its in panic mode and thinks you are starving away to nothing! the rebound effect is due to your own body's survival mode. so sure there is a rebound effect after a show!

phoenix13 · Mar 17, 2009

I start as soon as I can following the contest. I increase intensity as my body allows due to recovery from CNS fatigue from final weeks of prep.

shawnkarbabacz · Mar 17, 2009

yea im only 2 1/2 weeks out now but im definatly 'feeling' it, and not just in the low cal, low energy, gimmie some food way. Im sure i coulda done alot of things differently but, and i know this isnt the best idea but whats done is done, the main thing i think was overtraining a little toward the end.

The way i feel i can only describe as TOTAL exhaustion most of the time. Tough to describe it since i havent really figured my body out yet but i think im gonna take the week after off cept for maybe some light cardio or something. I was just wondering if you guys knew anything concrete like 'the first week after the show is the most important' or something to that extent.