Cycle of 12-10-8-6 on NO-EXPLODE and then....

...what?

It hit me today... I've been working out and reading up for a while now and I usually design some clever workouts for myself but strangely I feel uninspired... As the title says, I finished a (successful) cycle of 6 weeks on NO-EXPLODE that made me gain 5 LBS of muscle (fat percentage remained equal). I did some major acheivements aswell in terms of lifting, such as: benching 270 lbs 4 times and dipping 10 times with two plates attached to my waist.

I am currently on a "strategic" workout stoppage, for 7 days. How do I get back in action smartly, and continue the mass gains? Frankly the post-creatine period is making me anxious. I cant do 12-10-8-6 anymore...I cant do over 10 or straight tens as I will have to decrease weight and this will feel like setback... The only combination I thought could work (and worked in the past) is 15-8-8-15. But do I keep the same routine?

Here is my routine for the past couple months:
MONDAY: Chest-Biceps
TUESDAY: Legs-abs
WEND: OFF
THURSDAY: Back-Triceps-Calves
FRI-OFF
SATURDAY: Shoulders-Core

OFF DAYS: 1 x HIIT and 1 x Hockey

Thanks guys, all relevant input repped!

I'd go with 8-8-8 with the highest possible weight

After a whole jar of No Explode, I usually do less intensive workout and more cardio oriented exercises for at least 2 weeks. Then, I start another cycle. You will notice that it will get even better as soon as you'll get back on that stuff.

They say the best workout is the one you're not doing.

If you want to continue mass gains while cutting off the creatine (and caffeine that's in NO-Explode), you will have to shock your body by training differently.

Right now you're hitting each muscle group 1x/week in the upper rep range. One thing you could try is full body workouts 3x/week using a 5x5 rep-set scheme and only incorporating compound movements. I experienced pretty solid strength and size gains with this routine.

Day 1:

Squats: 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Barbell Row 5x5
Barbell Curl 5x5

Day 2: Rest

Day 3:

Standing Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift or Power Clean 5x5
Close-Grip Bench Press 5x5
Weighted Chin-ups 5x5

Day 4: rest

Day 5: rest or repeat


Read this article by Chad Waterbury about program design. Some pretty good info.

MUSCLE WITH ATTITUDE - Essential Waterbury: Program Design

Sorry to say but No-Xplode is full of shit. You're much better off taking caffeine pills instead, while sipping down some gatorade mixed with creatine. Sure as hell will cost you less than 70$ a container.

No Ex se vend 45$ chez GNC à Plattsburgh avec la carte or. Ça revient moins cher que de commencer à mélanger les 3 ingrédients séparés.

I don't know if you plan on ever starting a cycle of creatine again and i'm assuming you want to continue to build mass/strength.

If i got that right, what i would do is continue to perform 12-10-8-6 reps (of course as heavy as possible) and try to incorporate some eccentric training. It's really the best way to bust plateau's and since you're obviously strong, you should see some results. Just add about 40% more weight after your last set and try to squeeze 2-4 reps while stressing the "negative" motion for 4-5 seconds.

I hope that helps *tu*

tks for the input guys

I think I'm gonna give Bo182's advise a try. I did hear about Bill Starr's 5x5 routine before. As a muscle shock, this program sounds like the real deal.

after further research about low sets and compound movements I found this very interesting interview with Chad Waterbury about how neuroscience backs claims that those 2-3 final reps that everyone barely pushes out, might be after all useless...