Steady State questions, testing max

Have some questions on Steady State programming. Didn't find it in the book.

Firstly, is it recommended to have some longer rest between cycles, or maybe the underloading phase gives you enough rest to continue immediately with the next cycle.

Then, when should I test my maximum for different exercises. I mean, do you choose some day between two cycles on go through all the exercises, doing each to failure?

I personally gave myself one week of 'mess around' time where I tested various things and tried new movements that I couldn’t do before the cycle. Learning fairly quickly that I gained strength and could do movements that I thought I still couldn’t do, aka low confidence . I actually felt like I was slacking off at the end of the cycle and I really wanted to add more load but I stuck with the Steady State plan all the way. The light loading phase is deceiving to say the least, I just blew through my workouts like nothing so be prepared and don’t start adding load when your body should be recouping. But if you wanted to I personally felt fine after the light loading phase so I don’t see a problem with just continuing on, I just couldn't figure out a way to test new movements and start the new cycle at the same time.

-Ricky