FT Questions....

[Scott Stevenson]

I have another questions for you guys

1/
Currently dieting, I ve just finished my 5th week of Blasting Period.

I'm becoming more and more tired, even when I wake up, so I think it's for me to start my first Cruise period !

So this morning I've reread religiously the chapter Simplified, Progressive Periodization Blast'n Cruise p80-84

So I'm all good with reducing volume, frequency and "TAPER"

But, my question is, can I keep my cardio sessions ?
Currently I m doing it 2x / week
Inclined walk on treadmill for 20 min / 5km/h / 7% inclined

Right after the upper loading and upper body sessions.

I've reread also the
Q: What about Cardio with Fortitude Training p123-124 but nothing special about the cruising phase.

So can I keep it after my upper body focus ? It's not very intensive but it helps recovering (in my mind) and it burn some extra calories.

I don't see any reason why you couldn't, but without knowing what your overall goal is (a number of folks are dieting to drop body fat this time of the years), it's hard to say. I would imagine that you "can" continue your cardio, but whether doing so fosters progress towards your goal(s) is probably the better question.

What you're doing doesn't sound terribly stressful, but without knowing a heart rate (and your age), a rating of perceived exertion, etc., it's hard to say.

2/
Regarding the pump sets, Scott you recommend to go for 50% 1RM, easy to handle 30 times, but when I look at the training sessions of Dave Henry (thanks to internet), his reps range are closer to 12-15 than 25+
So whats your mind about this ? Should i go lighter and burn them or heavier ? (maybe should I add extra reps with dropset ?)

Thanks again, I hope I'll be able to see you one day at Bodypower, Fibo or something else

Couple thoughts:

The load here Pump sets woudl be one that you could do 30+ reps with ONLY if you paused between reps, i.e., did the widowmaker style which is NOT an easy set. (I.e., we'd use a load that would be an ALL OUT 30 plus rep discontinuous set the FRESH, i.e., if you went into the gym and did that right off the bat as your first effort).

I'd not pay attention to what Dave's doing per se, as I have him doing some different things. (I try to keep those off the internet as much as possible to avoid these questions.) Now if you were to wake up one morning and find that you are indeed Dave Henry or his clone, we could address this...

I'd suggest using the book as your guide to do FT and if you find that you get better results from something else, based on how YOUR body adapts, then I'd use that.

(The formal talk I have at Body Power had as a final conclusion to consider the genetics of the individual you are perhaps emulating in the context of your own to figure out whether it makes sense to try to do what that person does. Dave can do things that others simply cannot, with the primary piece of evidence being that he has been one of the top IFBB pro's on the planet for a decade or so now. )

-S

[Mrbulldog]

Hey!

First off I would personally suggest modifying tiers or types of pump sets or other variables before taking an additional day off. One of the key elements to FT is frequency mixed with intensity. By taking additional days off you are reducing the frequency. You are more likely to get more out of it by lowering volume tier and keeping the 4 on / 3 off schedule.

Hey mate lost me here, what do you mean by 4 on 3 off? From my understanding you only train 4 times a week and never 3 days in a row.

The examples Scott Mentions is Mon/Tue/Thurs/Sat or Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat

Am I misreading what you are saying? So in neither of the patterns I put forward would I be taking additional days off

[Sermolupi]

I think Altamir means the basic FT pattern of 4 sessions per 7 days.
The firsr suggested set up you outline has the possibility of an extra day off at the end (it's on, off, on, off, on, on, off, off). See below. That would be 4 in 8. I think the point that was trying to be made was that if you need the extra day off you might wish to drop a volume tier. I could be wrong though.

Quick question

when running Turbo how would you set up scheduling

My current is pretty much
Lower Load\Upper Pump
Off
Upper Load\Lower Pump
Off
Upper MR
Lower MR
Off
Off or restart depending on how i'm feeling

But with Turbo would you need a rest day between Muscle Rounds? or could you in theory run as above.
Lower Load\Upper Pump
Off
Upper Load\Lower Pump
Off
Turbo MR
Off
Lower MR

[Scott Stevenson]

I think Altamir means the basic FT pattern of 4 sessions per 7 days.
The firsr suggested set up you outline has the possibility of an extra day off at the end (it's on, off, on, off, on, on, off, off). See below. That would be 4 in 8. I think the point that was trying to be made was that if you need the extra day off you might wish to drop a volume tier. I could be wrong though.

Yes, I think that's what Altamir meant.

I'm generally for folks giving FT a run at 4 sessions / week, just for the sake of comparing notes with those who have done that. This gives everyone a common reference point for discussion.

However, taking a day off when / as needed or training EOD if that works for someone is OK by me. I'm really for whatever works optimally and not at all of the mindset that everyone should be doing things "by the book."

-S

[Sermolupi]

Apologies for the double post - I meant to put this in the other thread. Scott, obviously please delete if wished... anyway:

This may all be hypothetical as I'm finding out early next week if I need shoulder surgery( but I WILL come back better either way)...

In short my legs somewhat overpower my upper body. They seem to grow whatever I do with them (especially calves- don't hate me lol). My upper body, though, is less responsive- especially my chest and to a degree my shoulders and biceps.

My thoughts are, from searching threads here, to prioritise flying movements for chest; I'm a delt presser and I've discovered I'm pretty weak on flies, which I think is revealing. So I'm planning to pre exhaust on loading days and prioritise flying movements on MR and pump days. This should also take some stress off my shoulders by reducing pressing. Ditto to make pump sets and stretches for biceps hell.

But I'm curious what other strategies might be employed. Clearly it's not just a case of more frequency for chest and shoulders as I've tried that and that's just left me with shoulder pain. And yes, technique is an issue but it's one I'm aware of and working on.

The alternative is to do something like the old Skip Hill protocol (day 1 chest/back, 2 legs, 3 back/chest, 4 delts and arms) but I really enjoy FT and think it's thought through in a way I've not seen elsewhere. So, pennies for your thoughts guys... thanks in advance.

[Scott Stevenson]

Apologies for the double post - I meant to put this in the other thread. Scott, obviously please delete if wished... anyway:

This may all be hypothetical as I'm finding out early next week if I need shoulder surgery( but I WILL come back better either way)...

In short my legs somewhat overpower my upper body. They seem to grow whatever I do with them (especially calves- don't hate me lol). My upper body, though, is less responsive- especially my chest and to a degree my shoulders and biceps.

My thoughts are, from searching threads here, to prioritise flying movements for chest; I'm a delt presser and I've discovered I'm pretty weak on flies, which I think is revealing. So I'm planning to pre exhaust on loading days and prioritise flying movements on MR and pump days. This should also take some stress off my shoulders by reducing pressing. Ditto to make pump sets and stretches for biceps hell.

But I'm curious what other strategies might be employed. Clearly it's not just a case of more frequency for chest and shoulders as I've tried that and that's just left me with shoulder pain. And yes, technique is an issue but it's one I'm aware of and working on.

The alternative is to do something like the old Skip Hill protocol (day 1 chest/back, 2 legs, 3 back/chest, 4 delts and arms) but I really enjoy FT and think it's thought through in a way I've not seen elsewhere. So, pennies for your thoughts guys... thanks in advance.

Do you mind posting pics?... I've learned over the years, it's often good just for context and perspective with these kinds of questions to see just how horribly unmanaged you are.

So firstly, I'd give it time. Balancing a physique is very difficult and takes a while - we're talking years, here, in many cases.

How long have you been training with the above changes?...

What are your physique goals?... This is important, too, as perhaps your legs are where you'd want them, they will be covered (if you compete in Mens physique) or you have a weight class to fit under (classic bodybuilding)?...

So, as opposed to training less frequently (aka Ken's strategy), with FT you do have the option of adjusting Tiers for different muscle groups, which means your'e not sacrificing frequency, but rather simply shifting your recovery resources towards the muscle groups you wish to prioritize. Of course, do consider that if you DO want more size on your legs in he long run, you're slowing this process.

Also, in the contest of recovery, you can set your diet up such that you're intentionally focusing food and days off around upper body training. For some, this means having a day off before training the muscle groups you want to focus on is most important (for training intensity / performance). For others, eating really well AFTER training (including the day after) the muscles you want to focus on is more important. You'd have to figure this out for yourself to some degree.

So, without knowing your dietary strategy overall and where you fit into the above, this could generically be something like:

ONE OPTION:
Day 2: Upper Loading, lower pump (GREATEST FOOD INTAKE)
0ff Day
Day 1: Lower Load: Upper PUMP (Larger food intake here, too, if you feel needed to recovery from for pump sets)
Off Day:
Day 4; Upper MR (GREATEST FOOD INTAKE)
Day 3: Lower MR (Greater food food intake here, but not as much assisting in upper body recovery)
Off Day
---REPEAT---

If you feel you can train UPPER MR's just as well if the day before is Lower MR, then you might consider making the DAY AFTER UPPER MR's (e.g., a Sunday after training UPPER MR's on Saturday) into a large "re-feed" day.

There are other ways to construct this (some like to put Day 1 and Day 2 of FT in a row, without a day off in between), but this is the general idea dietarily. Same would go for what you have to do on those days you train / after you training. Ideally, you can rest / recover / nap after training the muscle groups you are trying to bring up.

Of course, if you have shoulder surgery, this will all go on the back burner for a bit.

-S

P.S. I didn't see the double post, so it's all good. (I'm guessing you erased it.)

[Sermolupi]

Scott, thank you first of all for the extremely detailed reply.

I'll be competing in classic this year (182lb weight limit for my height), after competing in men's physique last year. My eventual goal is to reach the nationals (uk) in the under 198lb bodybuilding class.

I have actually only switched to FT during this prep (yes, I know...), so I haven't had enough of a chance to 'tweak' it yet.

I've also yet to formulate a post show dietary strategy - this has cetainly informed it, though.

2 recent pictures are supposedly too large: I'll see about adjusting them now

[Sermolupi]

    Photo 1

---

    Photo 2

Be gentle!!

[thethinker48]

Hey Scott,

I think it would be really cool if you could be a guest on Dr. Rhonda Patrick's podcast and discuss everything from muscle hypertrophy, IGF and longevity and a plethora of topics relating to health and performance. Wonder if emailing her this request might serve any use. She might be hesitant in talking to a human anatomy chart with a PHD tho

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

[Scott Stevenson]

Scott, thank you first of all for the extremely detailed reply.

I'll be competing in classic this year (182lb weight limit for my height), after competing in men's physique last year. My eventual goal is to reach the nationals (uk) in the under 198lb bodybuilding class.

I have actually only switched to FT during this prep (yes, I know...), so I haven't had enough of a chance to 'tweak' it yet.

I've also yet to formulate a post show dietary strategy - this has cetainly informed it, though.

2 recent pictures are supposedly too large: I'll see about adjusting them now

Hey Bud!

You're welcome!

I just looked at the pics, too. I don't think there's any issue in having larger legs, esp. if the goal is to compete as a 90kg bodybuilder.

-S