and overhead press, squat and bent-legged deadlift—are done the same day,
so you have sufficient rest days in between “hits.” If in doubt, take an extra
day or two of rest. Experiment with less frequent hard training for the big-
gest exercises. For example, squat and deadlift intensively only once every
ten days. See if that helps you to keep adding weight each session.RULE
Use small poundage increments
. e closer you get to the limits of a given cycle, the more important it is to
add only a very small increment when you increase the poundage of a top
set. e typical minimum jump of pounds is out. An exception here is
if you are performing some big-poundage, extremely short range exercise,
where you can keep going with relatively large increments.. Add pound next workout and you should still get your target reps, espe-
cially in the big exercises. You may even be able to keep pounds a week
coming for quite a while towards the end of a cycle in the very big exercises
such as the squat and deadlift. In smaller exercises like the curl, add half a
pound a week, or two -gram discs.RULE
Boost your diet
. It is at the end of a cycle—when you are pushing yourself to the hilt, and
wanting to do it again and again—that you must be absolutely certain you
are not compromising on your diet. Boost your diet. Hike up your intake
of animal protein—make it specific, like the addition of two cans of water-
packed tuna a day, or two protein shakes you can easily digest. Such a pro-
tein boost will also give you a calorie boost. But all trainees do not need a
boost in their caloric intake in order to keep gains coming.. If you cannot afford to gain any bodyfat, then compensate for the protein
boost by clipping calories from your fat and carbohydrate intake so that you
end up with a diet having the same calories as before but with about
grams of additional protein. And make sure every scrap of food you eat is
high quality.. If you are not already doing so, take a broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral
supplement. Your micronutrient needs may increase at the end of a training
cycle. But taking a multi vitamin-mineral supplement may not be enough.