Exit Strategy

As competitions loom closer and figure girls are dropping from the tedium of counting calories and hours spent on the treadmill, now is a good time to think about your exit strategy.

You are now on the home run with everything planned from your suit to your tanning and carb loading schedule. You have probably already chosen the restaurant and booked a table for your post comp re-feed.

But what are you going to do the very next day? What is your plan for the week after your competition, and then the week after that?

Training
When?
(a) Monday morning
(b) Wednesday
(c) Next Monday
(d) F*ck that, I'm never going back to that smelly gym

Weights?
(a) Heavy weights, low reps, one body part per day - I wanna get f*ckn huge
(b) Same program, I'm just going keep going
(c) Something completely different - maybe BW full body circuits for a change
(d) The only weight I'll be experiencing is waiting for the pizza to be delivered

Cardio?
(a) More HIIT, less steady state
(b) More steady state and a few RPM classes
(c) Half as much as I was doing before (because I was doing it 2x a day)
(d) Cardio sucks - I'll run for the bus but that's about it!

Nutrition
(a) Same calorie range but with a cheat meal
(b) Slowly increase calories and/or carbs
(c) No logging - I'll just eat when I am hungry and stop when I'm full ...
(d) Mmmm donuts

Accountability
(a) I am staying with my trainer and will follow her program for the next 4 weeks
(b) I will weigh myself daily and publish my numbers on my blog
(c) I will make sure I can still fit into the jeans I wore at my new 'happy' weight
(d) I'll keep publishing my competition photos week after week while avoiding the scales and the camera until I decide to compete again

Goals
(a) I am running a marathon in 3 months
(b) I am booked in for a photo shoot 6 weeks after comp when I will look athletic and healthy which is different to competition lean
(c) I have a wedding to go to and I want to stay looking hot
(d) I am going to decide what to do next after I've had some carbs to fuel my brain function

Guidelines
(a) It is acceptable to try and maintain my 'best body ever' for as long as I can but I will most likely slowly gain some weight
(b) I will not gain more than 1/2 kilo a week. If I do, I will maintain at this weight until I am back on track. I know what my 'happy' weight is and I will take my time getting back there.
(c) I will set a 'screaming' weight which will not be exceeded
(d) No rules for me, I'll just eat clean with the odd treat, and train when I feel like it...

My exit strategy is going to be a reverse 12 week challenge. I am going to do before and after photos - before being comp day, and after being at a lean weight I can maintain. My diet and training will basically stay the same except with maybe a little less time in the gym and a few more calories on my 'low' days. Food will be logged, training will be Polar-ed, and daily scale weighing will resume.

What are you going to do when it's all over??