Early in my life was when I became intrigued with developing muscles and performing well in sports. It made me concerned though that despite hearing all these benefits of exercise and good nutrition, many of the athletes and fitness enthusiasts I’d see working out just didn’t appear, in my opinion, to make much headway in achieving their performance or appearance goals. In fact, many of these individuals performed on the same level and looked the same every time I seen them. This lack of results, considering the intense amount of effort being applied, perpetuated a curiosity on my part as to why this phenomena was occurring. I was always taught that hard work produces great results; but my belief in those words of wisdom became less and less confidant as my observations increased.

"No pain, no gain"-- I was bombarded with this phrase growing up as an athlete. Aside from experiencing much of it myself (pain, that is), I’ve also witnessed a lot of pain by want-to-be athletes and fitness buffs who never seemed to see much of the gain. But, I have found many ways to make the "gain", and can now say, avoid the "pain" as well. I’m elated to hear new phrases popping up like, "It’s not what you do but how you do it that counts", or "Quality is better than quantity". I guess it’s true that wisdom is bound to prevail with time; and the tribulations of athletes past have laid the foundation for the success-producing routines of today.

Stubborn Results? It’s an Imbalance
Exercising, in and of itself, does not, nor will it ever, produce optimum results, unless adequate recuperation periods exist between training sessions.

Recuperation periods must contain various components to replete the nutrients and hormones depleted with exercise, and allow the body to re-establish proper psychophysiological functions. These include alertness, enthusiasm, and concentration; and the proficiency of the endocrine, nervous, muscular, cardiovascular and respiratory systems. If any of these systems remain in a state of reparation during training-- not yet fully recovered from previous efforts-- subsequent sessions will result in inferior performances when compared to one’s potential.

Those who are failing to accomplish their goals, whether it’s training to become a great athlete or exercising for fitness, are those who lack training balance. The only way to achieve a balanced status in training is to cycle a variety of principles which effectively stresses psychophysiological energies.

This is a scientific approach to training that transforms lackluster skills into supreme attributes.

Cycling then is the term athletes and coaches refer to when talking about the methods which properly channel energies toward goal fulfillment. Cycling is comprised of a menu of activities and methodologies (i.e., exercise routines, training programs, nutritional regimes, rehabilitation services, etc.) which are applied sequentially and/or simultaneously, each having their own specific time periods of application. When the athlete has completed each of these individual phases, he or she transitions to other routines and targets their performances for peak abilities during times of competition. After competition, athletes undergo a re-adaptation period which completes the final phase of their peaking cycle, exiting them from one phase and transitioning them into another.