A short cycle for me back in 04 yeilded 25 pounds and kept about 18 of them. Again i was eating close to 5500 calories a day by week 4 and 6600 by week 8. I think body chemistry has alot to do with gains. so to assume that big gains cant be made in a short period isnt entirely true if all the components are in place like diet, sleep, a lot more sleep!, and serious in depth, muscle ripping training. I still think sleep is as important as diet. Without recovery then you just rip open cuts the whole time.