FT Questions....

[Scott Stevenson]

Sorry if this has been asked already, 31 pages of questions is quite a lot to go through on my mobile....

Just wanted to say that I'm loving the program so far Scott- as per everyone else here, it's a breathe of fresh air...(not really, as it has me gasping really...but anyway..) great program.

Just wanted to check that I have understood the various set types with regards to exercise choice and rotation etc

Loading sets- stick with the same exercises for a cycle (3-6 weeks) and switch up in new cycle?

Pump sets- these can be switched up each week?

MR- same as above?

Sorry if I have this completely wrong, I hope I'm not bastardising the plan- just want to be sure I'm using it to its fullest effect.

Thanks again Scott

Great question, actually (regardless of whether asked before), because you bring up an important point about Loading sets.

(I'm glad your digging the program and finding it challenging, too. Someone just noted on another board that its designed in such a way that you simply must train hard, relative to the individual's ability, to execute the sets. )

So, yes, you can switch up the Pump sets and MR's, but I'd suggest logging the MR's (MR pool) so you can progress on those in general (but not if you're sacrificing form and connecting with the targeted muscle).

Loading set exercises are those you'd want to hang on to for as many blasts as possible. Some blasts might only be 4 weeks, so dropping the Loading set exercises would mean that you never even got around to a progression week on the 2 out of 3 of the groupings of Loading sets. (If calling them A, B and C, then your weekly progression would be A, B, C, A, and then done before even getting back to B and C.)

So, with Loading sets, you want to hang on those exercises, eeking out progression month after month as long as possible.

BIG TIP here: If you don't want to drop a compound exercise (lets say you love incline bench press) for loading sets, but have plateaued in terms of weight, you can keep the exercise in your rotation by:

***Adding in your Isolation exercise before (vs. after) the Compound exercise . (Or change this around.) You might go 3 mo. with the Compound exercise first and then 3 months the other way and then back to putting the compound exercise first.

***Change your rep range, too, e.g., start off with a higher reps and keep the weight the same. Let's say you're using Tier III and for Chest you set up the Incline such that you go (for the incline press - there would be an isolation set in between):

1st set: 11 reps
2nd set (probably the same weight): 7 reps

Both of these are in the 6-12 rep range. (You can set your rep range for Loading sets where you feel comfortable, but I made the suggested range somewhat wide for this reason, as well as for older guys who want to keep things above 10 reps / set).

If you plateau with the above set up, you might then do the following :

1st Set: 6-8 reps (pretty heavy weight)
2nd Set: 11-12 reps (you've dropped the weight considerably here, b/c of fatigue as well as the higher rep range).

You would then try to progress one or both of these sets in terms of weight, keeping with the pattern of a heavier weight 1st, and then a lighter one.

-S