Description
This article is from the
Hardgainer Bodybuilding & Weightlifting FAQ, by Frank J. Kelly
and Craig R. Sadler with numerous contributions by others.
3.5 What are the keys to a cycle?
Be aware of the big misuses of cycling.
First and foremost, don't reduce the number of easy workouts so
you can get back into the hard sessions. This happens a lot
because people are too greedy, but it only brings the cycle to
a sudden halt with no gains to show for it. A 40:60 split between
comfortable and hard workouts is a sound place to start. Adding
too much poundage or going for too many reps (even with reduced
poundage) will bring this cycle to a halt too. At the start of a
cycle you should plan your 'new-ground' increases somewhat.
e.g., I'll add 5lbs a week to my squat for 4 weeks, keeping my style
good. Then what usually happens is the gains slow down, so I'll
drop to 2lb a week increases for 4-5 more weeks, and then 1lb increases
for 2 more weeks; it's then I usually have to end the cycle. That
will give me almost 30 lbs on my squat in 10 weeks (using a 14-16 week)
cycle.
Obviously, you will have to chop and change
this somewhat as you can never foresee every eventuality. Try to
stay with the program as much as possible. But when you feel you
can't add 5lbs next workout, then DON'T. Always make sure you reach
your target reps! Don't be greedy by trying to add 5lbs when you can
really handle 2lbs. You'll only end up with poor style (as the extra
5lbs will feel like a ton), giving you pseudo-strength and worst of
all you could possibly get an injury. Stay with increases you can
handle. 2lbs a week may not seem like much but with 26 such increases
in the year (with 26 recovery weeks), you will add 52lbs to an
exercise!
Cycling of intensity isn't infallible,
as it depends on many variables. No cycling system works if you
do too much work, do it too frequently, and rep-out to your max
too early in the cycle. You need to experiment. You will make
mistakes, but you must learn from them and not repeat them.
Remember: do whatever gives you the most muscle gains in the least
time.
** Experiment a bit to find what's best. **
The two biggest variables involved are
rest and nutrition. In the recovery phase, you can get by with
two workouts every seven days. But when you reach the growing phase
your body will need some more time to grow and adapt. In the first
two to three weeks you can stay at two whole-body workouts per week,
but then as you lose some momentum, you should add an extra day of
recovery time, working out twice every 8-9 days. Or you could divide up
the whole-body program whereby each exercise is trained only
once a week with half the exercises in one session and the other half
on the other training day. Also try to make sure that
you get enough sleep. In the growing phase simply getting an extra
hour's sleep every night can have a great impact on how long
this growth phase lasts.
Nutrition is also very important. You won't
become really big and really strong when you have cola and fries at
every meal! You must eat nutritious foods. By now most people know
what these are: Bread, potatoes, lean-meat (fish, chicken) non-fat
yoghurt etc. etc. Try to keep out as much junk-food as possible.
For drinks, MILK is the best. It has lots of vitamins in it, and is
probably the best 'supplement' available. It's cheap and should be
drunk in fair quantities. Hardgainers should think about drinking
a litre of milk every day. Full milk would be ideal, but as always
keep an eye on your waistline, and balance muscle gains against
some small 'acceptable' fat gains. Low-fat (1% or 2%) or non-fat may
be more acceptable to those highly-conscious of what they consume.
Note also, that milk is only good if it agrees with the consumer.
There are products on sale which can help if you have trouble
digesting milk (which is most easily handled if drank by itself
when the stomach is empty).
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sport, hardgainer, bodybuilding, weightlifting, squats, exercise, overtraining, deadlift, cycle
