One of the most often overlooked training principles is that of cycling. Also known as Periodization, cycling is perhaps your greatest tool to continued gains in the gym. It also works great on the diet, whether you're trying to gain mass or lose body fat. Either way, changing things up, in a strategic way, can really give you an edge in your bodybuilding and/or body shaping efforts.

There are varying degrees and flavors of cycling. There are microcycles, mesocycles, and macrocycles. I'll define these by way of examples.

Microcycles are characterized by their shortness of duration and their frequency. A microcycle might best be understood by thinking in terms of days whereas a macrocycle might be thought of in terms of months.

• Microcycle => Days
• Mesocycle => Weeks
• Macrocycle => Months

Your training split could be thought of as a microcycle. You don't train the same body parts, using the same exercises, sets, reps, and weights every day; you cycle your workouts. Generally speaking, a 4 day split routine really is nothing more than a microcycle of 2 workouts followed by a day (or two) of rest. Guys on a "Hardgainer" program might have a microcycle that consists of a 3-way split, cycled over the course of a week (legs on Monday, chest and arms on Wednesday, and back and shoulders on Friday, for example).

I personally cycle my nutritional supplementation, too. Every Thursday and Sunday, I lay off them completely, even if on a heavy phase.

A mesocycle may be one where your general workouts change over a 3 to 6 week period. I almost never have the same workout, but I keep the same split and generally keep the same or similar exercises (it's the weight, reps, and sets that vary); however, after about 6 weeks, my mind (and probably body) starts to get bored and I need a change (as you know, all progress – and failures – start at the brain). Such a change is actually positive on a few counts.

First, the aforementioned mind problem. Second, the body has little time to adapt to a workout if it's changing every 3-6 weeks. Finally, your muscles are better stimulated (think "all around") with a variety of exercises, sets, reps, and weights. Different muscle fibers may come into play with different workouts.

Finally, a macrocycle could be thought of as a pre-contest, contest, and post-contest training (if you're a competitive bodybuilder or VERY serious about your bodybuilding). Generally, bodybuilders train for many months, attempting to add mass; then they get into contest mode, where they're shoring up small weaknesses while stripping themselves of as much body fat as possible. Then, there's the post-competition training and dieting, where they might go on a break and then resume with their pre-contest program.

Personally, after every 3-6 weeks, I like to take off a week from weight training. I don't become a couch potato, of course. I don't want to see all my hard work vanish. What I do, however, is take a week off from the gym. I may go on several bike rides or hikes. I take along my hobbies, too. For example, I like photography. I will carry my trusty digital SLR with me on a hike up Half Dome.

Every year, I also take off a month from "regular" training. I might take up some "Caveman Training" or some body weight exercises. I may take up some very low volume powerlifting. Nothing that will kill my joints (the idea here is to rest the body and mind, let them heal from nagging injuries), but just experience something different.

• Building Muscle in 30 Minutes a Day – Advanced Training Building muscle in 30 minutes a day Yesterday we talked about basic training principles and gave you a workout routine to follow that would build muscle in only 30 minutes a day every other day. Today, we're going to discuss various methods for increasing your workout intensity. There are many......
• My New 4-Day Split Alert, or at least long-term, readers of this site will note that I typically advocate a 2-way split, working out 3 times a week. My routine in the past has always looked something like this: Legs & Arms Chest & Back & Delts I'd work the first on Monday and......
• Top Ten Muscle-Building Tips I know we're all in a hurry to get big, lose body fat, and otherwise enhance our athletic performance. In that light, I'm starting a series, a Top Ten if you will, on getting things done better and faster. The first part of this Top Ten is all about building......
• The Main Advantages Of Three Day Workout Routines by Paul Atkins F.B.O. If you've ever read about simple three-day workout routines and found them to be regarded as a wonderful format for bodybuilding and losing weight then continue on reading below. This article's purpose is to highlight the key factors as to why a three day workout routine......
• Muscle-Building for Teens Here's another answer chosen as "Best" at Yahoo Answers. The question was,  I'm a 16 yr. old male. My body type is kind of hour-glass shaped ( My body is femenish ) I weigh 140. My body has no definition what-so-ever. I want a nice, muscular body. The pecs, abs......

• Morphing How the Original Greats Trained Hence the timeless logo of FatManUnleashed.com, the brain is without a doubt the optimal muscle when it comes to growth. Public opinion on the frequency of working out has changed quite a bit over time. Steve Reeves employed the whole body workout method which didn’t allow for training more than......
• Supplement Cycling for Success Supplements can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on how you use them.There are so many excellent supplements that we can utilize while weight lifting and body building. There are clearly advantages and some disadvantages in all of them. Truly its important to realize that too much of......
• Super Fast Fat Loss Most exercise programs only look at how many calories you burned during your workout. This is why traditionally we are taught that we have to do long, slow, boring and tedious workouts like jogging or cycling if we want to lose fat. This is however NOT the case!EPOC ? is......
• The Zero Percent Cap Gain Rate In 2008, the (long term) capital gains rates dropped. If you are in the 10% or 15% marginal bracket, your capital gain rate drops from 5% in 2007 to 0% (yes, zero!) from 2008-2010. For those in the 25% bracket or higher, the rate remains 15%. In 2011, these rates......
• Inspirational story: How I Got Fit Without Going To The Gym These days it's difficult to open a newspaper or read a magazine without coming across an article about the worldwide obesity crisis and its health implications. And, I think its probably pretty safe to say that a lot of us have, at some point in our lives, struggled with......