Stage 7 of the Institute of Motion’s Long Term Athletic Development Model is titled Life After Competition. In this stage, athletes have made the difficult decision to transition out of high-level competition, greatly impacting their physical, mental, and social health in both the short and long term.

This programme is reserved for athletes who may have put on unwanted weight after retirement as they may have lessened their physical activity while still consuming high amounts of calories. It can also be considered for any athlete who maintained a high weight during their career for performance purposes but is now looking to reduce their overall size for health reasons.

Focus should be on regular physical activity that is enjoyable and/or variable. Adherence is necessary so reducing the amount of willpower to engage in the programme is a critical factor. Daily walking, strength and conditioning, and playing recreational sport (perhaps a new sport) is recommended with active recovery days that allow the individual to sustain a high caloric output and reduce overuse injury potential. The order of these days can be rearranged to fit the individual’s schedule and they may choose to add additional days that they feel are beneficial and easy to adhere to.