What's next?

.....The most common question people ask post competition.

After my show, I gave myself a mental and physical break. It was well needed and very much overdue. I took the entire week post show off from the gym..No training, no cardio..nothing. I had a few days where I ate whatever the fuck I wanted..Literally WHATEVER! Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts, mixed nuts and Ben & Jerry's is a normal dinner...right? LOL! Well, the food fun was short lived because I felt like a fuckin train hit me...Oh the fun of sugar and sodium (eye roll). I was bloated, crampy and looked a hot mess...But, it was good fun and got it out of my system. After those few days, I cleaned up my meals but still kept my ass out of the gym. I took the free time to catch up on things..work, life etc.

After my week of rest, I got back in the gym over the weekend and it felt AMAZING! My energy is through the roof and my enthusiasm for training is back with a vengeance. I'm keeping my diet tight, while slowly increasing my macros. I've made a slight bump from where I was the last few weeks of prep and as my body responds I'll further increase. I added in some of the things I was craving..Fats and sugar! So increasing my fats a bit with nuts, PB2 (this bitch ain't fuckin around with real PB!) and adding in some fruits which is a nice treat. And no, before you ask...I have NOT weighed myself! I'm still a bit..ummm, fluffy if you will lol But, my body is stabilizing so I'll get a better gauge of where I am holding at in a few weeks.

I am again going to be navigating my own off season and I'm looking forward to it. I have read/followed John Meadows and I'm going to be applying his Mountain Dog program to my training. The progress I've seen others make (and John himself) is incredible, also it's VERY different than any way I've trained in the past so I'm really looking forward to seeing how my body responds. As I said, I will be slowly increasing my macros...With the intensity of my training, I'll definitely be needing the fuel to help with not only gains but recovery. And no, there will be no fuckin cardio!

As far as "What's next" and competition plans....I'm in full off season mindset now. After speaking with the judges, they confirmed exactly what I knew I needed to work on so it's nice to get that confirmation that I can objectively assess my physique. A few people have urged me to compete in the fall, but I don't compete just to compete, just cause I can..The goal for me, it to always bring a better, more improved package to the stage and IMO taking a few weeks off, then going right into prep for fall is NOT going to accomplish what I would like to. Between my off season last year, then a long prep, my body needs a break and that's what I'm giving it. I learned a TON during the last year and I'm excited moving forward.

So the quest begins for bigger, thicker Nicole for 2014!