FT Questions....

[Scott Stevenson]

Hey Joshua,

This looks like you've kind of come up with y our own FT hybrid that's based on what you know from your own training. In that sense, you'll just have to give it a go.

Also, I can't really say much about this program b/c I don't know about your recovery abilities. (You can see from FT, that I created the Volume Tiers b/c of this issue.)

(I don't have any clients doing an MR-only routine, no.)

As I mentioned in private message, I've addressed bringing up weak muscle groups a few times here on the board (and suggested you searched on the board). (Maybe you did that already and didn't erase that part of your message to me before pasting here?... )

-S

[Kabhattacharya]

Hey Dr S

Thanks for your response - yeah I did just copy and paste without deleting (Oops). I'm not sure if I'm doing this right I recall folks over at intense muscle getting pretty sensitive if the DC template was customized without expert advice and then referred to as DC. But from what I've read it seems your far more open to folks taking your principles and molding them to work within the parameters of an individual's recovery ability - so apologies if I've bastardized the program but this is what I feel works for me. Ultimately my recovery ability seems to have a high correlation with how my work week is going weeks when I'm at my desk 16-18 hrs straight I tend to opt for muscle round days which I find less draining. But when I'm sleeping well and getting my calories in - I'll opt for loading and pump days - so all in all no two weeks look exactly the same - I've gone for 3 weeks being able to do loading and volume days during the week and MR on the weekends - and then there have been two or three weeks where we've been crazy busy at work and it's been upper and lower MR days alternated through the week.

What I'm interested in finding out is do any of the other members out there regulate their workouts like this to keep pace with their life outside the gym or do you guys stick to 3 to 6 week blasts come what may before tapering off???

Thanks

Joshua

[Kabhattacharya]

Oh and before I forget Hi to all my fellow FT'ers out there - greetings from sunny India!! Dr S it's official now - FT is a global phenomenon from the US to Asia!!

[Altamir]

What I'm interested in finding out is do any of the other members out there regulate their workouts like this to keep pace with their life outside the gym or do you guys stick to 3 to 6 week blasts come what may before tapering off???

Oh and before I forget Hi to all my fellow FT'ers out there - greetings from sunny India!! Dr S it's official now - FT is a global phenomenon from the US to Asia!!

Hi!! So in response to your first question. I usually just blast from 4 to 6 weeks and then cruise. That is not to say that I don't make adjustments week to week (or training session to training session). My job is not quite as stressful as yours, so I have not had to take such measures. But I have in the past taken my training down a tier mid blast, or selected easier lifts for MRs or pump sets if I have been feeling running down.

For example at the end of my last blast my hips were just killing me. So ungodly tight and sore. So I ended to doing quad and hamstring MRs first, and then thighs. And I modified the thigh MRs so that it was less stress on my hips.

What plays I think the biggest part for me is the cruises. I feel like a new man after one, and I still make progress lowering the volume all the way down to tier 1. I would have to run the program VERY differently if I either ignored them, or they weren't part of it.

Hope this helps!

[Scott Stevenson]

Hey Dr S

Thanks for your response - yeah I did just copy and paste without deleting (Oops). I'm not sure if I'm doing this right I recall folks over at intense muscle getting pretty sensitive if the DC template was customized without expert advice and then referred to as DC. But from what I've read it seems your far more open to folks taking your principles and molding them to work within the parameters of an individual's recovery ability - so apologies if I've bastardized the program but this is what I feel works for me. Ultimately my recovery ability seems to have a high correlation with how my work week is going weeks when I'm at my desk 16-18 hrs straight I tend to opt for muscle round days which I find less draining. But when I'm sleeping well and getting my calories in - I'll opt for loading and pump days - so all in all no two weeks look exactly the same - I've gone for 3 weeks being able to do loading and volume days during the week and MR on the weekends - and then there have been two or three weeks where we've been crazy busy at work and it's been upper and lower MR days alternated through the week.

I'm for what works for folks, as Dante is, too, I think.

The advantage of running things the way I've set them up is that you have the same experience as all the other folks here (and elsewhere) doing FT, so you can compare notes, share strategies, etc.

What you're essentially doing is, if I'm following you, taking the strategies of the Intensive Cruise and what I suggest folks do when traveling (using MR workouts out - see the FAQ in the book for more on that) and applying that when your recovery is impaired. Instead of Cruising b/c of the accumulated stress of the Blast, you're doing MR-only workouts as a way to not bury yourself, given your work stress.

Sounds good to me!

What I'm interested in finding out is do any of the other members out there regulate their workouts like this to keep pace with their life outside the gym or do you guys stick to 3 to 6 week blasts come what may before tapering off???

As I mentioned above, doing this is essentially what I have folks do when traveling, so lots of folks do this. In you case, its just your job, not the travel that gives you a good reason to switch to MR's only.

Oh and before I forget Hi to all my fellow FT'ers out there - greetings from sunny India!! Dr S it's official now - FT is a global phenomenon from the US to Asia!!

Yes, this is pretty cool!!! Keep spreading the word over there. I know from the Sheru classic that BBing is VERY popular, at least in some parts of India.

-S

[dens228]

Scott,
Now that I'm pretty much utilizing Tier 1 I've actually come up with a quick question I never thought of until today while doing my workout.

For Tier 1, day 3, It's MR lower body day but pump sets for quads and hams.
Are these two supersetted, or should there be a rest in between quads and hams??

[Kabhattacharya]

Thanks Altamir

So my basic set up is 3 variants of upper body loading with lower body pump (exercise rotation) three of lower body loading and upper pump (exercise rotation) and three of upper MR and lower MR so an upper will always follow a lower but depending on how I'm feeling on a given day I might go with loading or MR - if that makes sense

I absolutely love the MR - I've done DC before but this new approach to discontinuous reps is novel. It's letting me use weights that I never could (I just did bent over rows with 225 and didn't hit failure till rep 23) - and it felt light similarly it let me hit 225 on the flat smith and I didn't hit failure till rep 19 (previous best on the flat smith was 245 for 5 to failure). I finish the workouts drenched in sweat and tired but I don't feel fried and depleted. I'm absolutely all for MR workouts. I'm pretty sure at this rate I'll end up with poundage a I used to barely move for 4 to 5 reps and surpass them in MR format. With DC style rest pausing whenever I hit failure on my first rest pause set that was pretty much it - I'd be lucky to get another 2 reps on the second RP set and maybe one or two on the third. But the MRs which let you use a brutally heavy weight but work within yourself and allow brief breaks to recover are like a godsend - and getting in 20+ (ideally 24) reps with a weight you could only do for 8-10 as a straight set is an incredibly empowering and confidence building feeling. Not to mention the pump from MRs are insane! I've never really gotten pumps from heavy weight low rep training but now I find myself getting amazing pumps. Personally I've found during the 5 deep breaths between MR "mini sets" if I squeeze and flex the muscle it makes for an even better post exercise stretch.

Anyway - thanks for your response I appreciate any and all help senior forum members can offer

Best

Joshua

[dens228]

I'm with you, I've always loved the MR's sets for the same reason, hitting a pretty heavy weight for high reps. With my new found love for the pump sets utilizing the various intensity techniques I find the loading sets pretty plain and boring! LOL

Thanks Altamir

So my basic set up is 3 variants of upper body loading with lower body pump (exercise rotation) three of lower body loading and upper pump (exercise rotation) and three of upper MR and lower MR so an upper will always follow a lower but depending on how I'm feeling on a given day I might go with loading or MR - if that makes sense

I absolutely love the MR - I've done DC before but this new approach to discontinuous reps is novel. It's letting me use weights that I never could (I just did bent over rows with 225 and didn't hit failure till rep 23) - and it felt light similarly it let me hit 225 on the flat smith and I didn't hit failure till rep 19 (previous best on the flat smith was 245 for 5 to failure). I finish the workouts drenched in sweat and tired but I don't feel fried and depleted. I'm absolutely all for MR workouts. I'm pretty sure at this rate I'll end up with poundage a I used to barely move for 4 to 5 reps and surpass them in MR format. With DC style rest pausing whenever I hit failure on my first rest pause set that was pretty much it - I'd be lucky to get another 2 reps on the second RP set and maybe one or two on the third. But the MRs which let you use a brutally heavy weight but work within yourself and allow brief breaks to recover are like a godsend - and getting in 20+ (ideally 24) reps with a weight you could only do for 8-10 as a straight set is an incredibly empowering and confidence building feeling. Not to mention the pump from MRs are insane! I've never really gotten pumps from heavy weight low rep training but now I find myself getting amazing pumps. Personally I've found during the 5 deep breaths between MR "mini sets" if I squeeze and flex the muscle it makes for an even better post exercise stretch.

Anyway - thanks for your response I appreciate any and all help senior forum members can offer

Best

Joshua

[Kabhattacharya]

Another one for you experienced / innovative lifters out there

My apartment gym is decently stocked for upper body movements but with respect to lower body except for squats what other compound movements for quads could I do beside smith squats???

Thanks!
Joshua

[Kabhattacharya]

If my last post wasn't clear apologies I meant what are the alternative lower body compound movements I could do using a smith machine besides traditional back squats