same next week, let alone handling a little more weight or performing a rep
more in each movement.. Keep just a little left in you so that you know there is always something there
for next time (unless you are training to total failure in line with the cautions
given later in this book). By always keeping just a little left in you, by adding
weight very slowly, and by training in cycles, then you can nearly always do
the “more.” But this is absolutely not a justification for loafing. While there
should be a slack period at the beginning of every cycle, the rest of each cycle
must involve hard work and then very hard work. For most people, however,
“hard” does not mean “killing” yourself and being unable to come back for
more.. A qualifying note here: If you can “kill” yourself, and keep coming back for
more, again and again, and your poundages are going up, then you are train-
ing within your capabilities and doing fine. Few people can do this, however,
because they do not have the recovery ability to cope with it, and do not
have the training supervision needed to push themselves so hard and often
while maintaining good exercise form. Remember to judge the effectiveness
of your training by your training poundages. So long as they keep inching
farther and farther into new territory over the final stretch of every cycle,
you are doing fine.. In the very final stretch of a cycle, when you are pushing to the hilt, cut back
or even eliminate as much as possible every demand upon your energy and
recovery reserves. is includes any little exercises you may be using, and
any out-of-the-gym physical work and aerobic activity. is temporary and
perhaps extreme conservation of energy, together with extra sleep and food,
should enable you to put more additional pounds on each of your core exer-
cises.Other interpretations of intensity cycling
. A compromise some people may want to pursue is to have two cycles run-
ning concurrently. Half of your exercises could be in the intensive stage
while the others are only just starting on a new cycle. An advantage of this
is that only half your exercises would get full-bore treatment at one time, so
your recovery system would get less of a beating than it would if all exercises
were to the hilt at the same time.