PCT - Routine change?

[Srt4Muscle]

currently my routine looks like this, ON CYCLE - i dont want to get into sets and reps, most are very heavy

monday- chest

flat db
flat db fly
incline db
incline db flys
decline barbell
hanging dips
ab workout

tuesday- back
wide pull ups
high row
isolat pulldown
snatch grip bb shrugs
T bar rows
weighted hyperextensions

wed- shoulders
arnolds
standing military barbell
rear delt
standing cable extensions
external rotations
seated lateral
ab workout

thurs- bi/tri
close grip pull ups, palms in
push downs
straight bar curls
reverse bench
alternating db curls
rope pull down
cable knucklebusters
weighted bench dips


friday- legs
squats
glute machine
hip abduction
iso knee leg curl
db lunges
good mornings
ab workout

double off day

coming up on PCT i was thinking of switching to a HST workout to keep strength up. i hope a EOD routine will provide plenty of rest time and keep me from over training during post. it looks like this

Full Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 1 Set x 15 Reps
Snatch-Grip Deadlifts - 2 Sets x 15 Reps
Incline DB Press - 2 Sets x 15 Reps
Hanging Dips - 1 Set x 15 Reps
Medium Grip Chin-Ups - 2 Sets x 15 Reps
Barbell Rows - 2 Sets x 15 Reps
Military Press - 2 Sets x 15 Reps
Rear Delt Fly Machine - 1 Set x 15 Reps
Dumbbell Curls - 2 Sets x 15 Reps
Skullcrushers - 2 Sets x 15 Reps
Seated Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 15 Reps
Weighted Crunches - 2 Sets x 15 Reps

i plan on changing reps each week, 15, 12, 10, 8, 5... this will put me back at high weight, low rep, sets at the end of my PCT. this way, ill be able to compare my strength from end of cycle to end of PCT. IMO this strength routine SHOULD prevent me from loosing all my gains on cycle.

opinons and suggestions are most welcome!!!!

[waynaferd]

All I would do is move the leg day up a couple days to split up the upper body a little, but I usually try to keep doing the same things in PCT in hopes all the strength and size gains stay with me. Might not be the best way but it seems to work for me.

[ManBeast]

The main key to keeping gains during PCT is to not do any "weight loss" oriented cardio and make sure you are getting above maintenance on your calories. A Nutrient Partitioner can help here for sure.

ManBeast

[Srt4Muscle]

well i guess i can put it like this, i was researching hypertrophy and muscle growth. thought to myself, ill probably lose some strength but man i want to keep this size during PCT. so started looking around and reading and found that if i change my routine, maybe i can have both. With the help of others on the board i built my current workout, its balanced and well thought out, but it doesnt purpose... i didnt build it for strength or for size or to "cut" per say. (i was planning a cutting cycle, but i dont believe in the higher reps get cut idea). i did change it up throughout the last month or 2, did sets of 8-12 for a couple weeks, followed by 5-8. then moved on to 5 heaviest i could, on some and stuck with lighter 12 reps on others. i kept the muscles guessing to say the least. ANYWAY, what im getting at is i read this article @

http://jcdfitness.com/2010/06/hypert...-is-your-goal/

heres a quote for you
"Low Frequency/High Volume Hypertrophy Training – Just about any of the popular 5-7 day splits you discovered in your favorite muscle magazine will fall under this category. While this training has its place for a select few individuals, I’d never recommend it to the average trainee. I’ve seen and read about too many people doing such routines with little to no results to speak of.

Many of the mass monsters can get away with training like this for two reasons: one is the fact they are very advanced and require a stimulus that only heavy weights plus a ton of volume can provide and the other reason is that many of them are pharmaceutically assisted. When drugs enter the game, the rules become skewed."

after which i decided since this was the kind of lifting i was doing and i would not be "assisted" anymore, it might be time to change it up.

overtraining was mentioned to me in my cycle thread, and so when i read this about HST training "The idea behind it is to take advantage of recovery and peaks in protein synthesis. The frequency in this regard is fairly aggressive with each body part getting hit 3 times per week." i was pretty much sold... instead of 1 time a week, 3.5 times a week with pretty much no chance at overtraining.

last thing, another reason the EOD thing caught my eye, was a study i read a long time ago that had to do with the immune system and recovery time. dont have any quotes for that one. maybe someone will know what im talking about. immune system needs 24 hours to fully recovery regaurdless of body part you workout. something like that...made sense when i read it lmao

[waynaferd]

Well your CNS ( central nervous system fyi) needs time to recover its not so much the body parts recovering and for that I like EOD off..

Also for mass I like the FST-7, but you will hafta lower some weights so you might lose strength. Google it for some routines and see what you think of it.

[Srt4Muscle]

Well your CNS ( central nervous system fyi) needs time to recover its not so much the body parts recovering and for that I like EOD off..

Also for mass I like the FST-7, but you will hafta lower some weights so you might lose strength. Google it for some routines and see what you think of it.

lol thats what it was nervous system, it was a long time ago i was reading about that. how come so many peope work out 5-6 days a week then?

[mattrag]

lol thats what it was nervous system, it was a long time ago i was reading about that. how come so many peope work out 5-6 days a week then?

Lots of theories are that they are losing gains in the gym. That's why if you look at people in the westside barbell gym, they all use gear, but they follow the 4days a week. They might be in the gym 7 days but under the heavy weight 4 times, making use of GPP and maybe some prehab rehab and at the most accessory lifts.
Only people actually lifting 5-6 days a week and really pushing it are either on the juice or not very big to begin with.
Also, they tend not to care about strength.

About HST. Brian suggests to stay with the same weight during pct. In is FAQ PDF he goes over how to use HST on gear and through pct.