How to train on cycle?

D

Dairy666

New member
I tried to look for a similar topic but could not find any on the forum.

Im about to start my very first 500mg/week cycle and Im wondering how to train if I want to get stronger and also grow. Obviously I will train hard, and eat in a surplus.

What I have in mind is a 6 day ppl split or a 4 day GZCLP routine. I have attatched 2 images with the plans I have in mind for on cycle. The goal is size and strenght gain. My exercise selection is limited to a barbell and loadable dumbells + resistance bands as I only workout in my home gym. Please let me know your opinion. I am looking to follow a beginner routine because I am expecting to progress like a beginner on cycle (adding weight to the bar every week or every workout linearly)
 

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I read your plans and you stated your goals are to "get stronger and also grow" but you are a beginner so I am not comfortable telling you what to do for a workout plan.

Based on your goals, experience, available equipment, etc. I do think some of your plan may be off and need tweaking as of right now but we need to know more to help you please.

Aside from training, maybe outline your experience, knowledge and current lifting abilities on here (or make a Training Log) a bit more first.

Various community members' Training Logs can be found and yours could be added here:

canadianbrawn.com

Members logs

Bulking, cutting, whatever your doing post a log and get some feedback and encouragement from fellow members
canadianbrawn.com canadianbrawn.com


I also recommend watching a bunch of this guy's (John Meadow's - R.I.P.) stuff as he was a great guy with lots of knowledge (learned from mistakes) and would never steer anyone wrong:


There are other personalities out there for when you get more advanced but he is very good and I still learn tips from time to time.

He often explains warming up, planning the order of your training exercises to prevent injuries, number of sets & reps, diet, rest, natural vs. enhanced, etc.

Thank you & good luck,

OD
 
Dairy666 said:
I tried to look for a similar topic but could not find any on the forum.

Im about to start my very first 500mg/week cycle and Im wondering how to train if I want to get stronger and also grow. Obviously I will train hard, and eat in a surplus.

What I have in mind is a 6 day ppl split or a 4 day GZCLP routine. I have attatched 2 images with the plans I have in mind for on cycle. The goal is size and strenght gain. My exercise selection is limited to a barbell and loadable dumbells + resistance bands as I only workout in my home gym. Please let me know your opinion. I am looking to follow a beginner routine because I am expecting to progress like a beginner on cycle (adding weight to the bar every week or every workout linearly)
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Honestly, with limited equipment I would recommend 5x5.

You add weight each workout and it really forces you to learn the movements (squats) correctly.

I did 5x5 for about 7 years and progressed and got pretty strong.

There’s an app you can get for your phone which will help you track your workouts.
 
I don't train too much differently on cycle than off cycle, same basic principles although on cycle I will add slightly more volume or frequency depending on my goals, if I'm cutting the volume gets scaled back slightly bulking the volume gets increased as well as frequency, but saying that I don't train with a ton of volume either way

As mentioned a 5x5 or as I prefer phraks greyskull would be a great start for a beginner you will get a lot of frequency on the main lifts and a lot of weight on the bar in a short time frame, if you stall take it back a few weeks weight progression almost like 5 steps forward 2 back and so on
 
Dairy666 said:
I tried to look for a similar topic but could not find any on the forum.

Im about to start my very first 500mg/week cycle and Im wondering how to train if I want to get stronger and also grow. Obviously I will train hard, and eat in a surplus.

What I have in mind is a 6 day ppl split or a 4 day GZCLP routine. I have attatched 2 images with the plans I have in mind for on cycle. The goal is size and strenght gain. My exercise selection is limited to a barbell and loadable dumbells + resistance bands as I only workout in my home gym. Please let me know your opinion. I am looking to follow a beginner routine because I am expecting to progress like a beginner on cycle (adding weight to the bar every week or every workout linearly)
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If I could be honest and im sure many will agree , get ur training down pat before even considering jumping on cycle.. I made this mistake years ago Everything I gained on cycle could of been done naturally . Then I woulda had a more solid foundation to go off . But I know ur gonna do a cycle no matter what so my 2 cents is go to a gym , eat lots of carbs and proteins . So many informative videos out there, find what works for you . 50% of something is better then 0% of doing nothing. . Your in the right place my man . I wish you success [emoji120] like a great man once said we're all in this together.. cheers my man

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk
 
It’s hard to say because you say you are a beginner . I don’t wanna shot on your idea so take this as humble as possible this is coming from a caring place..
Take a few more months at least and work on your workouts , I wouldn’t be touching gear yet if I were you, if you don’t know how to do a split your only gonna get half results.

Think of building a house. When you build a house you want a strong foundation. Amd if you have a strong foundation you have an amazing house that stands a long time and can support a lot.
If your foundation is built on sand all you will do is add more sand to the foundation.
In my opinion spend some more time researching and lifting amd getting your food on point and than when you add year you will reps the rewards for years instead of losing it all when you come off.


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Too soon to touch gear.
Either build up your home gym or get a gym membership.
Work everybody part 2x a week as a beginner.
When you become more advanced I would go to each body part once a week.

You need the right equipment and spend 6 month to a year getting your workout and diet in check. You will make great gains....
Only then would I consider gear.

That is just my opinion.
 
Good advice from the fellas here. Wait as long as possible to run any hormones. Train naturally until you hit a plateau then deload and do it all over again then deload and do it all over again and do this until you truly plateau. Then run some hormones. And not 500mg a week. You don't need that much to start. Cut it in half.

As far as training. I am a firm believer in trial and error. We all have different genetics and biomechanics so no one thing works for everyone. Google and YouTube man and try everything and throw away what doesn't work and keep what does.

One thing I will say if the form you perform any exercise with it the number one most important thing. Far more important that weight lifted or anything else. If you dont lift properly you won't grow properly.

Watch all the pros from years past and even now to see what exercises are available to you and then go watch Nick Walkers training videos on how to do all those exercises correctly.
 
TinyTim79 said:
Too soon to touch gear.
Either build up your home gym or get a gym membership.
Work everybody part 2x a week as a beginner.
When you become more advanced I would go to each body part once a week.

You need the right equipment and spend 6 month to a year getting your workout and diet in check. You will make great gains....
Only then would I consider gear.

That is just my opinion.
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Thanks for the reply.

My home gym includes a barbell, ez curl bar, power rack, adjustable bench, loadable dumbells, and a lat pull down machine with a bottom & top pulley, I can do most single cable exercises on that. I also have olympic rings & resistance bands. I have over 400 pounds in weights & can buy more.

Does that sound like enough equipment? Either way my university will start soon & I will just use the weight room if I dont have the equipment for a necessary exercise. Depending on my class schedule, all of my workouts might be in my university weighroom.
 
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Lower your doses, how long have you been lifting properly? I mean with the proper diets and body fat. What’s your ultimate goals? Strength ? Zyzz physique?
 
Dairy666 said:
Thanks for the reply.

My home gym includes a barbell, ez curl bar, power rack, adjustable bench, loadable dumbells, and a lat pull down machine with a bottom & top pulley, I can do most single cable exercises on that. I also have olympic rings & resistance bands. I have over 400 pounds in weights & can buy more.

Does that sound like enough equipment? Either way my university will start soon & I will just use the weight room if I dont have the equipment for a necessary exercise. Depending on my class schedule, all of my workouts might be in my university weighroom.
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That's def enough to get big and decently strong, try running a routine like 531 boring but big for 3 months than go into the boring but big 3 month challenge, minimal equipment needed and it will get you bigger and stronger
 
Personally, I would never recommend that a beginner who is still learning how to train go on a cycle. I'm not trying to be a dick, just giving my honest opinion.

Spend some time learning to train, making strength and size gains, and when you feel like your somewhere close to maxing out your natural potential, then go on your first cycle.

Now I know many of us aren't patient enough to go that route, but at the very least I'd recommend that you wait until you've been making quality gains for a fair while (if you're not willing to wait until you've reached your limit naturally).

Now, if I've misunderstood your experience level, I apologize.
 
Bolton73 said:
Personally, I would never recommend that a beginner who is still learning how to train go on a cycle. I'm not trying to be a dick, just giving my honest opinion.

Spend some time learning to train, making strength and size gains, and when you feel like your somewhere close to maxing out your natural potential, then go on your first cycle.

Now I know many of us aren't patient enough to go that route, but at the very least I'd recommend that you wait until you've been making quality gains for a fair while (if you're not willing to wait until you've reached your limit naturally).

Now, if I've misunderstood your experience level, I apologize.
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If you can’t gain naturally, you’ll be not maximizing the gains from gear. And I bet lose it all after cycle.

‘’I agree with you.
 
Dairy666 said:
Thanks for the reply.

My home gym includes a barbell, ez curl bar, power rack, adjustable bench, loadable dumbells, and a lat pull down machine with a bottom & top pulley, I can do most single cable exercises on that. I also have olympic rings & resistance bands. I have over 400 pounds in weights & can buy more.

Does that sound like enough equipment? Either way my university will start soon & I will just use the weight room if I dont have the equipment for a necessary exercise. Depending on my class schedule, all of my workouts might be in my university weighroom.
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Sounds like you can make due with that.
But the benefits of the gym would be things like leg press, hack squat, calve machines, preacher curl, pull down etc...
Again you can make it work with what you have, but as you become more advanced, and really want to hit isolation moves... a gym will always be best... unless you are ready to dump $25,000 or more into equipment.

That being said use what you have, you can still get a good workout in.
It's a personal preference for me to have a lot of various equipment at my disposal...
But you can get most of your compound moves in and some isolation... so you can make it work.
 
Bolton73 said:
Personally, I would never recommend that a beginner who is still learning how to train go on a cycle. I'm not trying to be a dick, just giving my honest opinion.

Spend some time learning to train, making strength and size gains, and when you feel like your somewhere close to maxing out your natural potential, then go on your first cycle.

Now I know many of us aren't patient enough to go that route, but at the very least I'd recommend that you wait until you've been making quality gains for a fair while (if you're not willing to wait until you've reached
Click to expand...

TinyTim79 said:
Sounds like you can make due with that.
But the benefits of the gym would be things like leg press, hack squat, calve machines, preacher curl, pull down etc...
Again you can make it work with what you have, but as you become more advanced, and really want to hit isolation moves... a gym will always be best... unless you are ready to dump $25,000 or more into equipment.

That being said use what you have, you can still get a good workout in.
It's a personal preference for me to have a lot of various equipment at my disposal...
But you can get most of your compound moves in and some isolation... so you can make it work.
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Yeah I understand what your saying, the more advanced I get, I will have to choose different exercises.
 
I absolutely agree that everyone should train natty for a while before opening the anabolic door which is very hard to shut, and for many, ruins training naturally forever. But let's be honest... Who here has come close to achieving their natural peak before doing their first cycle? I sure as hell didn't. Nor did most people I know.
 
Here is what I did my first 2 years lifting weights after I stopped taekwondo.

-No Juice

-took one body part each day, 1 to 2 exercises and did them ( low reps and heavy ... what ever you could do for 5 reps ... near failure) till i could barely move the body part ... cause it hurt hurt too much
-went through all the body parts on each day using basic exercises that trained multiple muscle groups ( squat, pullup, dips, squats, calve raises, deadliftss. over head pressing exercises.
-if I was till significantly sore in the muscle I had to trained that day ... I would skip a day start back where I stopped the previously day.
-if I came to a point where everything hurt to much to train i would take one to 2 days off for recovery


food
-Ate like a son of a bitch, actually forced fed myself
-Food consisted mainly of meat eggs oysters shrimps salmon pork (didnt like beef except) hamburgers)
-very few carbs, a few potatoes only when fatigue starting to set in, oatmeal, rice
-hate veggies but did eat a lot of brocolli and spinach salads with lots of garlic dressing ( fat is good, hard to digest and fewer calorie per mg than carbs )
-slid in a lot of protein shakes (frozen blueberries yogurt milk, 3 scoops of powder) = 75 grams protein a shot)


Results

In year and a half went from 220 to 260, not all muscle but a huge difference in size and strength. I went from lifting nothing to doing 300lb benches easy, 350lb rows, 450 lb squats and 500lb deads. People would come up to me and ask me what I was taking, I laughed and said I am taking a kick ass beating in the gym, eating a lot food and sleeping a lot). I worked my ass off to get there but had a long way to go. After all this I started thinking about using AAS's
 
Stavros said:
I absolutely agree that everyone should train natty for a while before opening the anabolic door which is very hard to shut, and for many, ruins training naturally forever. But let's be honest... Who here has come close to achieving their natural peak before doing their first cycle? I sure as hell didn't. Nor did most people I know.
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Natty first time training yields really good results I didn't start plateauing until 3 or more years in
 
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