when to up calories and training volume/intensity on a cycle?

**ascendant** · 10-20-2006, 02:36 PM

what i mean by this is how do you know when to up your calories and intensity/volume for your cycle? i always do both too early and end up gaining some fat initially and usually overtrain before it kicks in as well.

i just did my first frontloaded cycle with 400mg test e/wk and 240mg deca/wk, so figured by week 3, i should be good to go. my sex drive is way up, i'm getting insane pumps during my workouts, and my nips got a little sensitive (yes, i went on anti-e's), so i figured at this point the stuff should definitely be working. upped my cals and upped my volume and intensity in the gym. well, between the two of those, i gained some fat and overtrained now.

frustrating as hell cause i'm at the end of my 3rd week and it seems like frontloading didn't do me much good as even without frontloading, my cycles would usually kick in by week 4.

now, i've obviously learned from this and past cycles now that the increase in sex drive and increased pump from workouts doesn't mean jack sh*t. just wondering how you guys gauge when it's time to start increasing your calories and volume in the gym when cycling? do you wait till you start getting the weight gain THEN increase your volume and calories? just needed to hear some feedback as i obviously always jump the gun and need to obviously hold off a bit longer from now on. thanks in advance guys.

**marcus300** · 10-20-2006, 02:58 PM

The way i get round that issue is i always prime the body and the day i start my cycle i increase calories and change the training to HIT, when you prime you create an emviroment for growth and you soak all calories up for the first few weeks because the glycogen stores have been depleted, i cant maintain that kind if training for many weeks so it just fits nicely into my prime and cycle,

**stupidhippo** · 10-20-2006, 03:14 PM

good q ascendant...u have a habit of making good questions IMO.... Also Marcus... a question I havent asked u.. u change ur training while priming? I do HIT pretty much all the time and maybe it is too much while priming , or not?

**marcus300** · 10-20-2006, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by stupidhippo

good q ascendant...u have a habit of making good questions IMO.... Also Marcus... a question I havent asked u.. u change ur training while priming? I do HIT pretty much all the time and maybe it is too much while priming , or not?

My training when priming is my maintance training, nothing to intense but keeps my muscle tissue working, if your training HIT its impossible to run that system for weeks on end, if someone says they are they are not doing it correctly, i when on cycle do heavy intense work with dropsets to failure+negs, its very tasking on my body and mentally and only can keep it up for a number of weeks, when on cycle i am 24hr dedicated and i mean 24hr,

**guest589745** · 10-20-2006, 04:21 PM

I think the best way to adjust calories and training is to keep track of everything, if you are not progressing then somethng has to change.

On cycle, I am going to use calipers/mirror regularly and eat as much as possible and as clean as possible from day 1, do cardio maybe 3x a week for 30-45 minutes. If I am gaining too much fat I will back down the calories (mostly carbs) in 300-500 increments until I get to a point where I am still getting stronger/bigger but not adding excessive bodyfat. If I am not progressing well in strength and/or size, I will either add more protein/carbs and/or take 1 more day off for that bodypart from then on.

I may be missing something or not going in the perfect direction to achieve my goal but thats all I can put together using information that I have gathered.

**ascendant** · 10-20-2006, 05:35 PM

well, seems like everyones methods vary quite a bit. as for your method markus, maybe i had been training a bit too intense up until the cycle and should've done the priming as you suggested.

as far as going as intense as you suggested though, i know you take very heavy and short cycles that kick in fast. now, back in the days when you did more of a regular kind of cycle that most would do, would you still up your intensity right at the first day of your cycle or wait a couple weeks? also, with maintenance training, what is that for you? what i mean is how often are you taking sets to failure and things like that?

at this point, i took today off from lifting and sat and sun are usually my days off anyway. i'm hoping that the cycle should at least be doing enough at this point to help me get over the overtraining by mon if i just take it easy over the weekend. then on mon, i guess i'll get back into it again and hope to see some change soon. my cals are at 4400/day right now and i'm only weighing in at 195lbs at 8%bf, so i should sure as hell be gaining and still haven't yet. that's the reason i kept upping my intensity, but apparently that didn't help and wasn't the issue. seems as if i'm just still waiting for the cycle to kick in, or maybe i had been overtrained for longer than i thought.

i guess a good question for you guys at this point would be with the kind of cycle i'm taking right now (400mg test e/wk and 240 deca/wk), what kind of intensity level do you feel you should be doing at that point? i know i always train too intense and that's why i overtrain every other month or so. i usually push every set to failure, then i'll do partials or pause sets (3 sec break for another rep or two), drop sets, etc. maybe at this point with a cycle like this i just can't do that in every workout in the gym? maybe i should do 2 of my workouts slightly less intense a week and the other 2 use to blast the muscles with the intensity i'd usually do? it's just hard to take the intensity down from a level you're so used to, but at the same time i know it's just too much for me right now.

i think maybe another thing i need to start doing is taking time off from lifting here and there. the only times i usually take breaks is when i overtrain. i think i might start giving myself a 1 week break after every 12-14weeks of training.

**bor** · 10-21-2006, 01:37 AM

Originally Posted by ascendant

what i mean by this is how do you know when to up your calories and intensity/volume for your cycle? i always do both too early and end up gaining some fat initially and usually overtrain before it kicks in as well.

i just did my first frontloaded cycle with 400mg test e/wk and 240mg deca/wk, so figured by week 3, i should be good to go. my sex drive is way up, i'm getting insane pumps during my workouts, and my nips got a little sensitive (yes, i went on anti-e's), so i figured at this point the stuff should definitely be working. upped my cals and upped my volume and intensity in the gym. well, between the two of those, i gained some fat and overtrained now.

frustrating as hell cause i'm at the end of my 3rd week and it seems like frontloading didn't do me much good as even without frontloading, my cycles would usually kick in by week 4.

now, i've obviously learned from this and past cycles now that the increase in sex drive and increased pump from workouts doesn't mean jack sh*t. just wondering how you guys gauge when it's time to start increasing your calories and volume in the gym when cycling? do you wait till you start getting the weight gain THEN increase your volume and calories? just needed to hear some feedback as i obviously always jump the gun and need toobviously hold off a bit longer from now on. thanks in advance guys.

Start dong morning cardio, ED mx 30 mim, no clen, no ef, just 30 min, some caffein, myb hal of the aspitin and liquid l ceanitine...

Remeber you want hard storng mucsle, not fat, so dn0t woorry they're come,give i it time....the results eill come trust me

SNd if you havent already, be sure ti
check out tue diet forum!

**marcus300** · 10-21-2006, 01:40 AM

I wouldn't train intensely during pct or priming, i would just train to maintain the muscle tissue, no point in trying to gain new muscle because your not going to do that in any of them states, if you do train hard then muscle tissue loss will prob occur,

Yes your correct i do alot of short cycles but they are all not heavy ones, i also do moderate and light short cycles aswell all depends on what my goals are for the cycle and how my body is looking, so with short cycles i always start the HIT program one day one of the cycle along side an increase in calories, there wouldn't be a chance of putting fat on at the early stages of this method if you have done the prime correctly, your store will be depleted and the body will be very hungry for growth, you have created a very anabolic environment and the body wants as much calories as possible to feed growth,

A ofr doing regular cycles and when to up calories and training volume, i would say this is down to the individual and them knowing their own body's, personally i always up the intense of my training on day 1, weather am doing short cycles or regular ones, as for the increasing calories i slowly up them throughout the cycle to suit the growth,

If you use the prime and a short cycle weather heavy or light, hit everything on day 1, you cant keep that way of training up for long periods of time anyway so it suits this method, mentally you can prepare yourself to do this and it needs 100% 24hr dedication, even after the cycle as ended and your change the training program with this method you can and most do carry on gaining muscle when the cycle ends and the moderate training comes into play, i know it sounds strange but the body at this stage is really tried and needs to fully recovery so i drop in training leads to the muscles recovering more which in turn leads to more muscle tissue/mass, usually i train 5 days a wk during cycle and 3 days a week when Ive come off, when i go 3 days a wk i still carry on growing,

**stupidhippo** · 10-21-2006, 03:44 AM

Originally Posted by bor

Start dong morning cardio, ED mx 30 mim, no clen, no ef, just 30 min, some caffein, myb hal of the aspitin and liquid l ceanitine...

Remeber you want hard storng mucsle, not fat, so dn0t woorry they're come,give i it time....the results eill come trust me

SNd if you havent already, be sure ti
check out tue diet forum!

someone sure didnt read the whole thread....

markus: whatu mean by maintenance training.. cause some ppl say that in PCT u should keep the weights and intensity up while others say differently..

**marcus300** · 10-21-2006, 07:23 AM

Originally Posted by stupidhippo

someone sure didnt read the whole thread....

markus: whatu mean by maintenance training.. cause some ppl say that in PCT u should keep the weights and intensity up while others say differently..

In pct my training is different than when on cycle, it is impossible for me to maintain the HIT during pct, you cant maintain that way of training all the time, if people say they do then i am 100% sure they are not training correctly and hard enough,

Your body needs to rest and take a step back so this is the time to pull slightly back and fully recover, if the calories are right and you have trained hard enough while on cycle you can still gain muscle in this period because the body totally repairs itself,

Everyone is different in how long they can maintain that way of training but for me it just goes nicely into a short cycle, others can go longer and some shorter, the training in pct is still heavy but not as intense, no dropsets to failure just straight sets but i do push all the time, but you body would be use to being trained very hard so when you do take a set back it repairs fully and when you repair you grow.

**ascendant** · 10-21-2006, 08:14 AM

thanks for all the help guys. markus, you certainly have helped me a lot with your knowledge and suggestions. it's much appreciated. as you said though, much of this i will need to learn on my own based on how my body reacts. next time, i'll be trying your priming method and see how that works. thanks again.

**marcus300** · 10-21-2006, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by ascendant

thanks for all the help guys. markus, you certainly have helped me a lot with your knowledge and suggestions. it's much appreciated. as you said though, much of this i will need to learn on my own based on how my body reacts. next time, i'll be trying your priming method and see how that works. thanks again.

Its a pleasure,

When priming dont rush it take it easy, start with 3 low day carb and adjust if necessary, if you listen to the body and adjust while priming (if needed) you will not lose any muscle tissue, the results you will be amazed with.

**helium3** · 10-21-2006, 08:33 AM

Originally Posted by marcus300

My training when priming is my maintance training, nothing to intense but keeps my muscle tissue working, if your training HIT its impossible to run that system for weeks on end, if someone says they are they are not doing it correctly, i when on cycle do heavy intense work with dropsets to failure+negs, its very tasking on my body and mentally and only can keep it up for a number of weeks, when on cycle i am 24hr dedicated and i mean 24hr,

i also like to change my workout to suit my cycle,like you say it is not possible to continue a program like you mentioned above for long periods of time,this is why i plan the length of the cycle and tailor a lifting program to suit.the program ive been using successfully for a while is perfect for in between cycles as you dont train to total failure which avoids hammering the cns which is crucial for recovery,but it also includes working with submaximal weights for periods of time to give the joints a rest,while at the same time keeping intensity high enough for hypertrophy.

**IBdmfkr** · 10-21-2006, 08:37 AM

I don't see why you'd want to drop the training intensity at any point during the year.. the only thing that should change is the routine itself and the training "frequency". Ex. Instead of training E3D while off cycle, switch to EOD.

As far as ramping the calories, I wouldn't suggest going overboard or jumping from 2K calories/day to 5K/day unless like Marcus said you Primed your body and are sitting at a pretty respectable bodyfat %.
Otherwise I'd ramp them up slowly until you're about 1000cal over maintenance.

**marcus300** · 10-21-2006, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by I**mfkr

I don't see why you'd want to drop the training intensity at any point during the year.. the only thing that should change is the routine itself and the training "frequency". Ex. Instead of training E3D while off cycle, switch to EOD.

As far as ramping the calories, I wouldn't suggest going overboard or jumping from 2K calories/day to 5K/day unless like Marcus said you Primed your body and are sitting at a pretty respectable bodyfat %.
Otherwise I'd ramp them up slowly until you're about 1000cal over maintenance.

Because it impossible to maintain that way of training all year, i am talking very intense heavy dropsets to failure this can only be maintain for a certain number of wks the body needs to rest no matter what its taking you cant keep that aggressive way of training up, if you can your not training as intensely enough as you should.

**IBdmfkr** · 10-21-2006, 08:51 AM

That's why every 8wks or so you'd drop in a 10-14day rest period.

I see no reason to drop intensity personally as you'd begin to experience atrophy. Just my experience, I'd never go back tot he Weider training program.

**marcus300** · 10-21-2006, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by I**mfkr

That's why every 8wks or so you'd drop in a 10-14day rest period.

I see no reason to drop intensity personally as you'd begin to experience atrophy. Just my experience, I'd never go back tot he Weider training program.

8 weeks of that way of training???? well thats along time, infact am amazed you can keep that up, normally you would last around half that, am thinking your not training as intensley as i am thinking off,

Well mate whatever your doing its working

but id love to train you and am sure you would last half that time

BG · 10-21-2006, 09:02 AM

Originally Posted by I**mfkr

That's why every 8wks or so you'd drop in a 10-14day rest period.

I see no reason to drop intensity personally as you'd begin to experience atrophy. Just my experience, I'd never go back tot he Weider training program.

I just tried that with my w/o partner and it worked great. He definity over trains, but finall relized after seeing it work for and gave it a try. He took 8 days off, came back 5th week of cycle and already hit the max's he had reached in the previous cyle.

**IBdmfkr** · 10-21-2006, 09:04 AM

Markus, lol.. well I only train E3D so I get plenty of rest, as far as intensity goes I'm pretty sure it's on a bit higher level than you're thinking it is.

My last run was 6wks then 10days off.. this one I am shooting for 8wks.

I do two different routines.. First being on Odd weeks, other routine being on Even weeks. So technically on a 6-8wk routine I only do each routine 3-4 times and progressively get stronger, but seem to grow more in spurts.

BG · 10-21-2006, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by marcus300

8 weeks of that way of training???? well thats along time, infact am amazed you can keep that up, normally you would last around half that, am thinking your not training as intensley as i am thinking off,

Well mate whatever your doing its working

but id love to train you and am sure you would last half that time

Ide love to see a layout of 1 week of your training. I was going to ask when this discussion was going on in the vets forum, but I didnt want to interupt that incredible thread.

**helium3** · 10-21-2006, 09:10 AM

i think its hard to say how "intense" you train without showing someone,so the written word loses its acuracy,all i can say is that i couldnt train at "my" full intensity for long periods,its impossible.but every 8 weeks i take a week off which is known as strategic conditioning,allowing recovery and rest after really heavy poundages.no-one on here can really say they train harder than anyone else for sure.

**helium3** · 10-21-2006, 09:16 AM

back to the question.i dont alter my diet on or off much,just an increase in carbs and protein,i dont go over 4000-4500 cals as i dont believe its necassary some might not agree,but you have to take into account how hard your job is and the of your speed of metabolism etc and workout what works best for you.

**marcus300** · 10-21-2006, 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by BigGuns101

Ide love to see a layout of 1 week of your training. I was going to ask when this discussion was going on in the vets forum, but I didnt want to interupt that incredible thread.

When on cycle i normally do the Dorian approach to training, his camp told me to hit it extreme but it wont last for long, usually it just falls nicely into a short cycle, i mentally prepare myself while priming and i think to myself its only for roughly 4 weeks so i am fully dedicated and motivated enough, i would train early morning and late afternoon (life is on hold) very heavy dropsets to failure first wk then pre-exhaust dropsets to failure 2nd wk, the mental pressure is immense, i even get up during the night to feed during this time, you have to take advantage of the environment you have created and hit it so hard and i mean everything hard, I** is correct you grow in short bursts so go with the flow while you in a growth spurt go like hell when you not pull back but then its still heavy and hard just not that intense,

BG · 10-21-2006, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by marcus300

When on cycle i normally do the Dorian approach to training, his camp told me to hit it extreme but it wont last for long, usually it just falls nicely into a short cycle, i mentally prepare myself while priming and i think to myself its only for roughly 4 weeks so i am fully dedicated and motivated enough, i would train early morning and late afternoon (life is on hold) very heavy dropsets to failure first wk then pre-exhaust dropsets to failure 2nd wk, the mental pressure is immense, i even get up during the night to feed during this time, you have to take advantage of the environment you have created and hit it so hard and i mean everything hard, I** is correct you grow in short bursts so go with the flow while you in a growth spurt go like hell when you not pull back but then its still heavy and hard just not that intense,

Excellent, I dont believe Im training hard enough. Time to turn it up, thanks.

**guest589745** · 10-21-2006, 10:16 AM

I think I**mfkr and marcus both have good points.

Im trying to put together another routine for myself that I will be using after I rehab for about 3 months

after my surgery.

One thign I am finding personally, is the more time I take off, the more I seem to grow when I do hit the weights again. It is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for me to find the precise amount of rest for each bodypart that I require to achieve optimal growth. I am leaning more towards the way I**mfkr trains, not becauase he;s big and I am thinking what works for him will work for me but, training every bodypart every 6-9 days I think might be best for me. It is just sooooo hard for me to not lift, I think I am being lazy an shit.

I**mfkr and marcus: Would you guys both be willing to help me in a few months to develop a "rough draft" of a program for me to follow using basic info from me regarding what I think feels right for my body (and using your knowledge to add/change what you think may work) ? I dont mean frequent consultation or anything that would be overly time consuming for you guys but, a little added advice maybe?

**marcus300** · 10-21-2006, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by Skullsmasher

I think I**mfkr and marcus both have good points.

Im trying to put together another routine for myself that I will be using after I rehab for about 3 months

after my surgery.

One thign I am finding personally, is the more time I take off, the more I seem to grow when I do hit the weights again. It is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for me to find the precise amount of rest for each bodypart that I require to achieve optimal growth. I am leaning more towards the way I**mfkr trains, not becauase he;s big and I am thinking what works for him will work for me but, training every bodypart every 6-9 days I think might be best for me. It is just sooooo hard for me to not lift, I think I am being lazy an shit.

I**mfkr and marcus: Would you guys both be willing to help me in a few months to develop a "rough draft" of a program for me to follow using basic info from me regarding what I think feels right for my body (and using your knowledge to add/change what you think may work) ? I dont mean frequent consultation or anything that would be overly time consuming for you guys but, a little added advice maybe?

yes will be a pleasure

**guest589745** · 10-21-2006, 11:13 AM

Awsome, it's gonna be a while but thanks, can't wait.

**stupidhippo** · 10-21-2006, 11:16 AM

will u guys make this public? cause I definetly would be interested in it also... see what u guys think up for skull.. and probably absorb sumin from it to myself.. As for I**'s recent progress I for one am pretty impressed, he has grown massively in the last year if judging his avatars. And we all know ur knowledge about training is good marc...

**IBdmfkr** · 10-21-2006, 02:02 PM

Skull.. ofcourse bro, you know you can PM me anytime like always

Stupidhippo.. thanks bro, keep in mind I am in no way saying my way of training or theories (which are somewhat new to me) are more correct than lets say Marcus's.. Actually he has been a huge help to me in cycling and the way I train, extremely smart guy and has been around much longer than myself.

That being said, I just try to put the information out there for people to see with no BS behind it and no smokescreens, then they can take it as they will and use it to see if it suits them. Everyone is different and must find what works for them.
Although obviously I do think HIT training is superior to most other forms of training that I've tried as far as how fast an athlete can progress, and most people don't have the genetics to train as often as they'd like to think they can with the proper intensity to maximize growth.

**marcus300** · 10-21-2006, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by I**mfkr

Skull.. ofcourse bro, you know you can PM me anytime like always

Stupidhippo.. thanks bro, keep in mind I am in no way saying my way of training or theories (which are somewhat new to me) are more correct than lets say Marcus's.. Actually he has been a huge help to me in cycling and the way I train, extremely smart guy and has been around much longer than myself.

That being said, I just try to put the information out there for people to see with no BS behind it and no smokescreens, then they can take it as they will and use it to see if it suits them. Everyone is different and must find what works for them.Although obviously I do think HIT training is superior to most other forms of training that I've tried as far as how fast an athlete can progress, and most people don't have the genetics to train as often as they'd like to think they can with the proper intensity to maximize growth.

very true words by one of the most educated bodybuilders on this site,

PS, you have help me plenty aswell, i love reading your experiences as you grow bigger and progress

**magic32** · 10-21-2006, 03:44 PM

Ditto Marcus, oh and a big vote for Smiler too. He should be promoted to an officer here. That guy is great!

M.

**ascendant** · 10-21-2006, 07:06 PM

Originally Posted by I**mfkr

That's why every 8wks or so you'd drop in a 10-14day rest period.

I see no reason to drop intensity personally as you'd begin to experience atrophy. Just my experience, I'd never go back tot he Weider training program.

as far as reasoning for dropping training intensity, i do tend to do that while not on cycles. the problem is that your body can recover faster while on a cycle, so you can hit it harder. while off a cycle however, your body has a hard enough time maintaining what it gained from a cycle, let alone gain any more. i've tried in the past to continue training after a cycle like i did while on one and all i ever do is overtrain when trying to do that. i personally just can't physically handle the same intensity while off a cycle as i push myself to while on one.

so, while on the cycle, the training was to gain size by really hitting the muscles hard. in between cycles, you're just attempting to maintain what you gained from the previous cycle and carry it on to the next. i don't think dropping the training back slightly during those times would cause the muscles to atrophy at all. you'd simply be bringing the intensity back to a level that your own bodies hormonal levels can recover from.

my new plan from now on is actually to cut up between cycles and of course during cycles, bulk. that way, i can prime my body with the carb depletion/loading phase as markus suggested and take advantage of my bodies overloading of glycogen during the initial period of coming off the depletion/loading phases. so, even though i ease back my training while off cycles, i up my cardio and take advantage of that time to cut up. so, about 1/3 of my year will be spent cutting and about 2/3rds will be bulking. think that should be good to keep me lean year round.

now, that's not to say i think markus's method is better. i just think that a method similar to his is what will work better for what my body responds to. by the way, i grow in spurts as well as you had mentioned in one of your posts. any clue as to why that is? not sure if you're the same as me, but you won't gain anything at all for several days, then within the course of one day you'll suddenly gain 3-4lbs? well, that's how it works for me. never understood it, but not gonna complain.

**marcus300** · 10-22-2006, 01:49 AM

Originally Posted by ascendant

as far as reasoning for dropping training intensity, i do tend to do that while not on cycles. the problem is that your body can recover faster while on a cycle, so you can hit it harder. while off a cycle however, your body has a hard enough time maintaining what it gained from a cycle, let alone gain any more. I've tried in the past to continue training after a cycle like i did while on one and all i ever do is overtrain when trying to do that. i personally just can't physically handle the same intensity while off a cycle as i push myself to while on one.

so, while on the cycle, the training was to gain size by really hitting the muscles hard. in between cycles, you're just attempting to maintain what you gained from the previous cycle and carry it on to the next. i don't think dropping the training back slightly during those times would cause the muscles to atrophy at all. you'd simply be bringing the intensity back to a level that your own bodies hormonal levels can recover from.

my new plan from now on is actually to cut up between cycles and of course during cycles, bulk. that way, i can prime my body with the carb depletion/loading phase as markus suggested and take advantage of my bodies overloading of glycogen during the initial period of coming off the depletion/loading phases. so, even though i ease back my training while off cycles, i up my cardio and take advantage of that time to cut up. so, about 1/3 of my year will be spent cutting and about 2/3rds will be bulking. think that should be good to keep me lean year round.

now, that's not to say i think markus's method is better. i just think that a method similar to his is what will work better for what my body responds to. by the way, i grow in spurts as well as you had mentioned in one of your posts. any clue as to why that is? not sure if you're the same as me, but you won't gain anything at all for several days, then within the course of one day you'll suddenly gain 3-4lbs? well, that's how it works for me. never understood it, but not gonna complain.

This is how the body grows naturally when we are baby's and teenagers, if you look at any growth chart in these months/years you will see this happen, naturally this is how all of us grow, the body grows in spurts then levels off then grows again, this is why alot of Pro's prime before they cycle so they create that environment for growth, if you link the prime with a cycle and GH the results are fast growth straight from the start but it doesn't go on for ever it slows down and levels off, this is why i find short cycle better for me to grow and maintain, it suits my training style and how i grow i just implement all the compounds what will help the state my body is in for growth, i find no reason to try and grow more when the body tells you not to, i come off recover and prime again and get ready for the next growth spurt i will create

**igorotsp** · 10-22-2006, 02:18 AM

Marcus300 you make a lot of good points of about priming before a cycle. I want to know what do you mean by HIT????

**marcus300** · 10-22-2006, 02:22 AM

Originally Posted by igorotsp

Marcus300 you make a lot of good points of about priming before a cycle. I want to know what do you mean by HIT????

Heavy intense training, while on cycle i go all out, very heavy intense dropsets to failure and pre-exhausted dropsets to failure,

weather you do short cycles or long or even medium priming is a good addition to any cycle, it creates growth so take advantage of it and use it.

**IBdmfkr** · 10-22-2006, 02:54 AM

Marcus covered it all..

**helium3** · 10-22-2006, 04:02 AM

Originally Posted by ascendant

as far as reasoning for dropping training intensity, i do tend to do that while not on cycles. the problem is that your body can recover faster while on a cycle, so you can hit it harder. while off a cycle however, your body has a hard enough time maintaining what it gained from a cycle, let alone gain any more. i've tried in the past to continue training after a cycle like i did while on one and all i ever do is overtrain when trying to do that. i personally just can't physically handle the same intensity while off a cycle as i push myself to while on one.

so, while on the cycle, the training was to gain size by really hitting the muscles hard. in between cycles, you're just attempting to maintain what you gained from the previous cycle and carry it on to the next. i don't think dropping the training back slightly during those times would cause the muscles to atrophy at all. you'd simply be bringing the intensity back to a level that your own bodies hormonal levels can recover from.

my new plan from now on is actually to cut up between cycles and of course during cycles, bulk. that way, i can prime my body with the carb depletion/loading phase as markus suggested and take advantage of my bodies overloading of glycogen during the initial period of coming off the depletion/loading phases. so, even though i ease back my training while off cycles, i up my cardio and take advantage of that time to cut up. so, about 1/3 of my year will be spent cutting and about 2/3rds will be bulking. think that should be good to keep me lean year round.

now, that's not to say i think markus's method is better. i just think that a method similar to his is what will work better for what my body responds to. by the way, i grow in spurts as well as you had mentioned in one of your posts. any clue as to why that is? not sure if you're the same as me, but you won't gain anything at all for several days, then within the course of one day you'll suddenly gain 3-4lbs? well, that's how it works for me. never understood it, but not gonna complain.

this makes sense to me,ive started to cut down as i head towards my next cycle in this way i have the beginings of a good prime,then all i have to do is adjust carb loading de-loading etc as i get closer.it will help me to stay lean more of the time.

the only thing id say is that cutting too early could compromise some gains if you are still recovering,so once recovery has taken place i would then start to cut steadyly for the few months upto my cycle.

**marcus300** · 10-22-2006, 04:28 AM

Originally Posted by helium3

this makes sense to me,ive started to cut down as i head towards my next cycle in this way i have the beginings of a good prime,then all i have to do is adjust carb loading de-loading etc as i get closer.it will help me to stay lean more of the time.

the only thing id say is that cutting too early could compromise some gains if you are still recovering,so once recovery has taken place i would then start to cut steadyly for the few months upto my cycle.

The prime should start when fully rcovered, prime by carb cycling but nothing to drastic until you know how the body responds, start with 3 days low 1 day high and adjust the low day carbs to suit yourself, dont go over 7 days this will trigger the starvation response and muscle tissue loss will occour, you have to listen to the body and adjust as you go along, no drastic dieting just carb cycling

**helium3** · 10-22-2006, 04:32 AM

Originally Posted by marcus300

The prime should start when fully rcovered, prime by carb cycling but nothing to drastic until you know how the body responds, start with 3 days low 1 day high and adjust the low day carbs to suit yourself, dont go over 7 days this will trigger the starvation response and muscle tissue loss will occour, you have to listen to the body and adjust as you go along, no drastic dieting just carb cycling

thanks markus,im curious as to how cardio fits into the priming stage?

**marcus300** · 10-22-2006, 04:41 AM

Originally Posted by helium3

thanks markus,im curious as to how cardio fits into the priming stage?

do what you do noramlly when maintaining, the carb cycling will create the anabolic enviroment fat loss is a bonus, its about creating that state for growth spurt

Thread: when to up calories and training volume/intensity on a cycle?

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Rate This Thread

Display

when to up calories and training volume/intensity on a cycle?

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

Posting Permissions