Barbell Barbell Cycle Selection

[Adachi]

This leads me to think that a pre-planned cycle would be closest to a safe bet for you. It is possible you could make slightly faster progress on the options before it, but they have the tradeoff risk of being more likely to have you hit a wall.

You've got Reload. The real gem in Reload is the cycle design. Fabio and Pavel really worked out and tested how to have the best chance of success. So from my perspective, a cycle (general) is the best option for you, and Reload (specific) because it is tested and worked out, is a high percentage shot for you.

The workout examples in Reload are just examples, don't get hung up on them. So here is my fish offering. Do the pre-cycle tests in Reload, and set up your week this way. Day 1 floor press heavy, Day 2 deadlift light, Day 3 no barbell, Day 4 floor press light, Day 5 deadlift heavy, then two days off. Trying to give you the most recovery after DLs throughout, but you may see a better way to do that.

Now that my hypertrophy block is over, I'm having fun on a focused strength block.

Press (and accessories) 2x a week
Squat (and accessories) 2 x a week

Basically an upper / lower split, 4 days a week.

It lasts 8 weeks.

So, I can have a testing day to figure out the actual numbers, but ...

Hypothetically, it might look something like this ...

Imaginary, Made up, RELOAD Cycle​

​	M​	T​	W​	Th​	F​	S​	S​
Week #​	FLOOR PRESS​	deadlift​	​	floor press​	DEADLIFT​	​	​
1​	115​	235​	​	115​	235​	​	​
2​	120​	235​	​	115​	250​	​	​
3​	125​	235​	​	115​	265​	​	​
4​	130​	235​	​	115​	280​	​	​
5​	135​	235​	​	115​	295​	​	​
6​	140​	235​	​	115​	310​	​	​
7​	145​	235​	​	115​	325​	​	​
8​	150​	235​	​	115​	340​	​	​

​

TIME COST:
and, assuming 3 minutes rest between sets, and rounding up to include execution of the set, I'm looking at 4 minutes per set/day which, at 5x5 is about 20 minutes/day, 80 minutes/week.

maybe a worst-case scenario is something like 5 minutes between sets with an extra minute in there for execution.
so 6 minutes*5 sets are 30 minutes a day, 120 minutes per week.

 

[Steve A]

​

TIME COST:
and, assuming 3 minutes rest between sets, and rounding up to include execution of the set, I'm looking at 4 minutes per set/day which, at 5x5 is about 20 minutes/day, 80 minutes/week.

maybe a worst-case scenario is something like 5 minutes between sets with an extra minute in there for execution.
so 6 minutes*5 sets are 30 minutes a day, 120 minutes per week.

Good reality test. I don't think you are likely to need 5 minutes on light days or at all on the floor press.