Help Upper lower FT split

[Scott Stevenson]

Thanks for the reply Scott.

I really enjoyed that podcast.  The dive into the individual responses from the Damas study was particularly interesting and is especially applicable in my current training ‘dilemma’.  Time to make the adjustment to the program discussed above and see how it goes for me I think!

As you suggest, even if the benefit from moving the pump work to the load day of the same body part is purely an improvement in the way it ‘feels’ to me, if that results in me training harder, it’s probably a good thing.  I’m mindful of deviating from the plan as it’s laid out, but have to be honest with myself in terms of  how my current work commitments impact on training days.

Yes, you have have to make due with the schedule that life and priorities allow, for sure.  

And there is the possibility, too that diminished loading / effort / reps / stimulus during Pump sets might actually be such that the overall stimulus is reduced, but thereby more optimal given the frequency and how you personally recover.  

Honestly, I suspect there are probably various combinations of frequency and volume that might balance out to the same rte of gains for a given individual.  E.g.  A higher (weekly) volume, lower frequency might pan out the same as a lower volume, higher frequency (fewer sets, but more stimulating d/t being fresher for each) for someone.

Ps.  Slightly off topic and just something that comes to mind from the discussion of training variety in the podcast (and just me thinking out loud really).  With the different set types you have created, i imagine that even if an individual had a strong preference for once per week body part “bro split” style training for whatever reason, your fortitude training set types could be a very good way to build a session.  For example, the chest day could look something like - Incline dumbbell press (loading set), flat machine press (muscle round) and cable fly (pump set).  Your volume tier system could also be applied.  This does run the risk of getting into the realms of junk volume I guess, but probably no more than what the typical “bro split” style trainers are currently doing anyway and at least this way, there is good variety in the stimulus type.

Cheers, Ad.

That's totally on topic, actually and one way to combine things for sure. I have wondered if there could ever be a kind of interference effect (as seen with the greatly disparate stimuli of resistance vs. endurance exercise) if one were to do heavy loading on the same day as really high rep work, but I think any sense of that might be mistaken for what is actually a phenomenon of simply doing too much on a given day, e.g. trying to bang out a couple widow makers after doing a good bit of heavy work.

And, it could be that some grow better (in some vs. other muscle groups) from high vs. lower reps, such that the Set Types that are least effective for a person might not add to the growth stimulus and/or mostly cut into recovery.

But for most, I suspect (and this is why I set up FT in this way) that you're covering all bases in doing heavy, moderate and "lighter" training (with varies set type configurations). There's something to say for this approach when you look at fiber type specific growth (a very little literature points in this direction) for heavy vs. lighter rep training, so there's that.

-S