9) Back to the Gym or Take a Break?
Some bodybuilders like Ronnie colman were known to take as long as three months off from training after a contest. That never made any sense to me. As it is, even with the best efforts you’re bound to lose a bit of muscle mass getting into true contest condition. If you take an extended break, you’ll lose even more size and strength. This means you’ll spend a substantial portion of your off-season simply trying to get back to your normal starting point before you can even begin to try and make any new gains. I used to take off no more than a week or two, which felt sufficient to rest and recover. Even if I happened to be on holiday in Hawaii, I would still often find a local gym just to work out a bit. Why? Because I love to train. In my seminars, people ask me why I didn’t take longer breaks and I retort with another question— why would I take three months off from having sex if it’s something I enjoy a lot? Long layoffs make no sense for a competitive bodybuilder. The body has been overworked and underfed during your prep, and afterward is the perfect time to make new gains. I made most of my best gains in the months following each of my contests.

Summary
In the end, it’s not really what you do in the final week before a contest that will make the biggest difference. It’s what you did in the 9-15 weeks of preparation leading up to then that determines how good you look. If you failed to get rid of all the body fat you needed to, manipulating your carbs, water and sodium isn’t going to suddenly make you shredded— though unfortunately this seems to be a common misconception. Don’t fall victim to the type of denial in which you’re not lean enough but convince yourself that you’re only “holding water!” But, if you have done your homework and properly prepared, the final week can be the time to put the finishing touch on your physique that can put you over the top and into first place.