FT Questions....

[ARS]

Scott,

Just thinking out loud here but it seems like the diet pattern can be used to do some sort of a slow recomp (gain muscle/lose fat @ the same time). Non training days can continue to be hypocaloric, while training days can be hypercaloric.

Is this possible?

X2.....was thinking along the same lines. Makes sense........as long as you have the patience.........

[Mack Truck]

Fortitude Training.
I love it. The timing of the e-book was perfect for me.
Been "in the trenches" for 35 years and I've always consistently changed my workouts.

But I think we all tend to be creatures of habit.
I love the fact that with a good "creative exercise imagnation" it allows for some very diverse workouts.

I started with Tier 3 and just completed my 2nd full week.

I'm also a type 1 diabetic, have been for 50 years.
Any others out there?

I'll share some of the challenges we face, but at the end of the day, we all have crosses to bear.
But we can make improvements regardless. Thank goodness for that.

-MT

[Scott Stevenson]

Sounds good....thanks

You're welcome.

Awesome. Really appreciate the detailed answer.

Joe

You got it!

Scott,

Just thinking out loud here but it seems like the diet pattern can be used to do some sort of a slow recomp (gain muscle/lose fat @ the same time). Non training days can continue to be hypocaloric, while training days can be hypercaloric.

Is this possible?

Possible, yes. Likely, no.

This is the holy grail that has been perpetuated int he muscle magazines and ads for years.

This can happen basically in these circumstances (generally speaking):

Someone is entirely untrained and starting going for it.

Someone is very overweight (overfat) / obese and starts getting after it.

The stress of a novel training regimen is ridiculous, i.e., Ranger Training.

Someone is using enough pharmaceuticals to make this happen (when not doing so previously).

X2.....was thinking along the same lines. Makes sense........as long as you have the patience.........

The more advanced you are, the less likely this is to happen. If you've not really trained all that hard or consistently and are far from reaching outstanding levels of strength and muscle size (relative to what's possible for you), then this can happen of course.

[Note I'm considering this in the course of a *simultaneously* losing fat and gaining muscle. Over the long haul, gaining a massive amount of muscle and then holding it when dropping fat, and repeating, will probably yield the best results, IMO. It certainly has been tested much more in the trenches - hundreds of thousands of bodybuilders - over the course of decades of training.]

-S

[DOWORK]

You're welcome.


You got it!


Possible, yes. Likely, no.

This is the holy grail that has been perpetuated int he muscle magazines and ads for years.

This can happen basically in these circumstances (generally speaking):

Someone is entirely untrained and starting going for it.

Someone is very overweight (overfat) / obese and starts getting after it.

The stress of a novel training regimen is ridiculous, i.e., Ranger Training.

Someone is using enough pharmaceuticals to make this happen (when not doing so previously).


The more advanced you are, the less likely this is to happen. If you've not really trained all that hard or consistently and are far from reaching outstanding levels of strength and muscle size (relative to what's possible for you), then this can happen of course.

[Note I'm considering this in the course of a *simultaneously* losing fat and gaining muscle. Over the long haul, gaining a massive amount of muscle and then holding it when dropping fat, and repeating, will probably yield the best results, IMO. It certainly has been tested much more in the trenches - hundreds of thousands of bodybuilders - over the course of decades of training.]

-S

Very cool, thank you for the details answer!

[Scott Stevenson]

Very cool, thank you for the details answer!

Sure!

-S

[ARS]

The more advanced you are, the less likely this is to happen. If you've not really trained all that hard or consistently and are far from reaching outstanding levels of strength and muscle size (relative to what's possible for you), then this can happen of course.

[Note I'm considering this in the course of a *simultaneously* losing fat and gaining muscle. Over the long haul, gaining a massive amount of muscle and then holding it when dropping fat, and repeating, will probably yield the best results, IMO. It certainly has been tested much more in the trenches - hundreds of thousands of bodybuilders - over the course of decades of training.]

-S

I've tried "recomping" several times in the past few years hoping I could make it work.....it hasn't.....so I believe wholeheartedly in what you're saying. I'm 35, a lifetime natural, and I don't really think there's any reasonable expectations that I can make huge strides in muscle mass from here on out. Sure, I might fight tooth & nail for an extra pound here & there, but at my size/experience/genetic level, there's really only one way of progressing in a significant way, and I'm not interested in pursuing that route. SO....it seems like for me that leanness is a fairly linear relationship with my bodyweight. "Recomping" SOUNDS great on paper, but like you said, it's not terribly practical with someone who has been training for some time.

[Scott Stevenson]

I've tried "recomping" several times in the past few years hoping I could make it work.....it hasn't.....so I believe wholeheartedly in what you're saying. I'm 35, a lifetime natural, and I don't really think there's any reasonable expectations that I can make huge strides in muscle mass from here on out. Sure, I might fight tooth & nail for an extra pound here & there, but at my size/experience/genetic level, there's really only one way of progressing in a significant way, and I'm not interested in pursuing that route. SO....it seems like for me that leanness is a fairly linear relationship with my bodyweight. "Recomping" SOUNDS great on paper, but like you said, it's not terribly practical with someone who has been training for some time.

If you believe the above bolded, then it will very very very likely be true.

What do you think would happen if you dedicated the next 5 yr to adding 50lb of bodyweight and increasing your core, compound major lifts by 20+% over your lifetime lifts?...

Even at 50% of that weight being muscle (25lb), if you were to diet down over a year and retain just ⅔ of it (15lb), this would be a huge leap forward. I think such a thing could be possible, but I don't know your history.

-S

[ARS]

If you believe the above bolded, then it will very very very likely be true.

What do you think would happen if you dedicated the next 5 yr to adding 50lb of bodyweight and increasing your core, compound major lifts by 20+% over your lifetime lifts?...

Even at 50% of that weight being muscle (25lb), if you were to diet down over a year and retain just ⅔ of it (15lb), this would be a huge leap forward. I think such a thing could be possible, but I don't know your history.

-S

That was a wake up call.....thank you.

Ever since my back surgery in Jan 2011 I've felt like I've been training solely for maintaining what I have. I train harder than ever, but the big mass builders (heavy back squats, heavy deads, etc) are just not an option anymore. It's not impossible to work around that issue though.......and you're right.......as usual. FT has reinvigorated my outlook on training.....I feel like I have something to work towards now. I don't feel like I'm just going through the motions.

Maybe I'll start a journal............

[Scott Stevenson]

That was a wake up call.....thank you.

Ever since my back surgery in Jan 2011 I've felt like I've been training solely for maintaining what I have. I train harder than ever, but the big mass builders (heavy back squats, heavy deads, etc) are just not an option anymore. It's not impossible to work around that issue though.......and you're right.......as usual. FT has reinvigorated my outlook on training.....I feel like I have something to work towards now. I don't feel like I'm just going through the motions.

This is so cool to read.

FYI, I've had a few clients (and friends) who had back issues who found that the MR's allowed them to do exercises with the spine loaded (DL variation and squat variations) when they couldn't before.

What they were finding was that the sets of 4 allowed them to load the muscle before the spine issues (e.g., facet joint arthritis) would flare a limit set performance. I.e., the unloading between sets of 4 in the MR was likely (again, my guess) for the joint to relubricate and decompress.

Over the long haul, there was no exacerbation of symptoms, but these people could do things like SLDL's when they couldn't in the past, and rebuild glute size. All three of those that I'm thinking over were / are in their mid / late 40's.

I'm not saying try to blast through pain, go against Docs orders or what have you, but this was something that actually first came to my attention when a stubborn friend just decided to give the MR's a go with very light weight (doing a SLDL). She found that she could go heavier and heavier (she was VERY happy) and got up to previous working weights this way.

Thereafter, other's tried it out (one of whom is a member here - I can ask him to chime in if you like) and had the same kind of experience.

-S

[ARS]

This is so cool to read.

FYI, I've had a few clients (and friends) who had back issues who found that the MR's allowed them to do exercises with the spine loaded (DL variation and squat variations) when they couldn't before.

What they were finding was that the sets of 4 allowed them to load the muscle before the spine issues (e.g., facet joint arthritis) would flare a limit set performance. I.e., the unloading between sets of 4 in the MR was likely (again, my guess) for the joint to relubricate and decompress.

Over the long haul, there was no exacerbation of symptoms, but these people could do things like SLDL's when they couldn't in the past, and rebuild glute size. All three of those that I'm thinking over were / are in their mid / late 40's.

I'm not saying try to blast through pain, go against Docs orders or what have you, but this was something that actually first came to my attention when a stubborn friend just decided to give the MR's a go with very light weight (doing a SLDL). She found that she could go heavier and heavier (she was VERY happy) and got up to previous working weights this way.

Thereafter, other's tried it out (one of whom is a member here - I can ask him to chime in if you like) and had the same kind of experience.

-S

That's a very interesting perspective on the MR sets. You've got me thinking now. I suppose I could give it a try and just be SUPER cautious. I need to really pay attention to that internal "brake" and shutdown a set when form begins to breakdown. When I was younger (and more stupid), that "brake" didn't work as well. I would always get myself into trouble when pushing near failure on those exercises. With MR sets, you're not taking short pauses (under weight) in between reps to squeeze out the last few. Hmmm...