Question for Competitor Vets About Keeping the "Equal Time On/Equal Time Off" Balance

[coffee-guy]

Okay - so I've been looking at the calendar and trying to map out the next year's worth of goals/cycles etc. The problem I have with running a contest cycle from the middle of January until the middle of May is that I just don't see how staying off for the same amount of time I am on is going to be possible during my next "off-season". If I'm on for 16 or so weeks "cutting" at the beginning of the year the best case scenario is to come off for 10 weeks, "bulk" for 16 while "on" and then come off for 10 weeks before starting another contest cycle. I would like to run two "bulk" cycles but I just don't want to stay on year long if I don't have to...

Does anyone have any suggestions/experiences that can help me as I know I'm not the first person to have come across this problem while trying to compete....

(Or do I just need to accept the fact that if I compete every Spring then I'm most likely going to be on more than off?)

P.S. One other "safe" option I can see is to compete in the Spring of 2007 and then compete in the Fall of 2008 etc (as this would allow for more time to be on and off) but unfortunately I just don't know that I can force myself to stay off stage that long :P

[Chadd77]

Hey fog, is your 16 week cycle really 20 if you add in your PCT time? Or are you including that in your 16 week time frame?

[coffee-guy]

Hey fog, is your 16 week cycle really 20 if you add in your PCT time? Or are you including that in your 16 week time frame?

It depends on how I do in my first set of shows - if I still need a week or two of hard dieting to come in the way I need to (like last time) then I have a few other shows in mind that I can schedule in (making it 20 weeks or so if that happens)...

None of this is considering PCT by itself since I will be running long ester compounds with the exception of the second half of my contest cycle....

[Chadd77]

If that’s the case it sounds like as soon as your body is getting back to normal levels you’ll be starting another cycle. If you included your PCT it ends up being 22 weeks until you are off everything. Witch only gives you 4 weeks off right? Not sure if it makes sense to come off for 4 weeks. But then again not sure if it makes sense for you to stay on for that long either. Defiantly giving yourself more time off is the best scenario (health wise). But I have stayed on longer then I should have in the past too so I guess I'm not one to preach! :D

[coffee-guy]

If that’s the case it sounds like as soon as your body is getting back to normal levels you’ll be starting another cycle. If you included your PCT it ends up being 22 weeks until you are off everything. Witch only gives you 4 weeks off right? Not sure if it makes sense to come off for 4 weeks. But then again not sure if it makes sense for you to stay on for that long either. Defiantly giving yourself more time off is the best scenario (health wise). But I have stayed on longer then I should have in the past too so I guess I'm not one to preach! :D

So I guess what you're saying is that I have to limit myself to one bulking cycle and one contest cycle a year - that sucks - I can't see myself making any killer gains over the next 4-5 years that way - yuck yuck yuck...

[Chadd77]

I know how you feel brother. Take a year off if you have to. I know you'll miss being up on stage but if you want to get 2 bulkers in you may have no choice.

[coffee-guy]

I know how you feel brother. Take a year off if you have to. I know you'll miss being up on stage but if you want to get 2 bulkers in you may have no choice.

I guess I just need to get this Spring out of the way before I start drawing out my entire 2008-2009 plans...

Anyone else?

(Note to self - I think the twenty-page title may have thwarted extra help :breakit: )....

[Curls4dGirls]

run HGH and slin during your "time off"

[ROCKILLER]

Think about it this way, the safer you are, the longer you will be alive to be FB's love slave.

[Lmg2701]

Why run a 16 weeker? I usually start the diet 16 weeks out but don't start the cycle until 12 weeks out....Aside from that I think that once you compete you will see that how beneficial it would be to take a year off for bulking instead of trying to compete 5 years in a row. Not to mention that as long as you don't go crazy on the junk food you can gain mass while staying fairly lean and thus making your contest diets much much easier.

[coffee-guy]

Why run a 16 weeker? I usually start the diet 16 weeks out but don't start the cycle until 12 weeks out....Aside from that I think that once you compete you will see that how beneficial it would be to take a year off for bulking instead of trying to compete 5 years in a row. Not to mention that as long as you don't go crazy on the junk food you can gain mass while staying fairly lean and thus making your contest diets much much easier.

So when I plan on doing 3 or 4 shows over a month long span I would hit my first show after only being on for 8 weeks - this isn't what I was going for...

In other words - I would only go for 12 weeks or so if I was just planning on doing one show but since I'm not I have to figure in a few more weeks - hence the 16 you asked about....