| Over the years, there have been countless numbers | | | | weeks of light workouts.If you take this 3 to 4 week |
| of people getting exercise with the use of weights and | | | | cycle after your week off, the recovery time your |
| weight machines in an effort to increase strength and | | | | muscles will have had will allow for you to |
| muscle size. They know that training with resistance is | | | | progressively add more weight to each exercise than |
| the only way to accomplish this goal.All too often | | | | you were using before you hit your plateau.Now keep |
| however, after a certain period of time, their progress | | | | in mind that this cycle will eventually come to another |
| seems to come to a halt. Suddenly they find that they | | | | plateau, and you will once again have to take a week |
| can't add any more weight to their exercises, even by | | | | off, and then begin another 3 to 4 week recovery |
| 1 or 2 pounds without their repetitions going | | | | cycle. By using this method you can make good gains |
| down.Often when this plateau is reached, it is just | | | | in your exercise routine that will really add up in the |
| assumed that they have reached their maximum ability | | | | long run.Now while this sounds like "periodization", there |
| in strength and from there on out they perpetually | | | | is actually one difference with "intensity cycling". |
| continue to do the same exercise routines using the | | | | Periodization is where you start with an exercise |
| same weights and the same amount of | | | | routine of light weights using high repetitions, then after |
| repetitions.Well this plateau not only can be overcome, | | | | 3 to 4 weeks you increase the weights used and |
| it can be shattered! The first step is to understand | | | | reduce the amount of repetitions and even the rest |
| why this plateau occurs. When you exercise with | | | | periods between sets and the rest periods between |
| resistance and progress by adding small amounts of | | | | exercise days. Essentially you continue to vary the |
| weight each week to each exercise, at some point | | | | weights, repetitions, routines, and rest periods every 3 |
| (usually between 3 to 6 weeks), you will reach a point | | | | to 4 weeks to prevent the muscles from adapting to |
| of approaching overtraining.At this point your muscles | | | | one weight and repetition scheme.With intensity cycling, |
| simply can not progress because they need a period | | | | whether you are on your all out cycle or your |
| of rest for full recovery. This is where intensity cycling | | | | recovery cycle, you always stay with the same |
| comes in. Once that plateau is reached, you need to | | | | repetition schemes and also the same rest periods |
| take one full week off and not exercise with weights | | | | between sets and the same amount of rest days |
| at all. After your week off, reduce the weights used | | | | between exercise days. You also stay with the same |
| for each exercise, and keep the repetitions the same | | | | type of routine throughout both cycles and the same |
| as you were using so you will not reach fatigue.This | | | | routine for repeated cycles. Intensity cycling is excellent |
| workout should be done for around 2 weeks, then | | | | for muscle gains because if you exercise all out all the |
| start progressing back to where you were when you | | | | time, it will always end up in overtraining.Jim O'Neill gives |
| hit your plateau. You should take about 1 to 2 weeks | | | | you tons of valuable information on the subjects of |
| to get back to using the weights you were using for | | | | weight loss, fitness, and nutrition to make it easy for |
| each exercise when you hit your plateau after the 2 | | | | you to live a healthy lifestyle. |