Volume

[banjobounce]

I was just wondering if it is okay to add some volume to the program.

I am used to getting in about 30 sets per bodypart spread throughout the week, and I'm kind of afraid to cut the volume down too much, as I feel I may lose some insulin sensitivity/ gain fat a bit too fast.

Also, I understand the concept behind increased frequency, but if I am used to getting 15 sets for a bodypart per session, is the 7-8 that I am getting per session on a loading day still going to be enough to stimulate hypertrophy, muscle protein synthesis, etc?

Thanks. The program looks awesome, but I am a bit nervous about these issues.

[nick xynias]

I hope scott doesn't mind me chiming in here...
I felt the exact same coming from hitting each bodypart with high volume and frequency during the week. Trust the book, and trust the process - when you take that 1 set to absolute failure, the pain and muscle recruitment is beyond anything else. You get a different drive knowing there's just one all out balls to the wall set you have to complete. Where as if I was to tell you to do 3 sets of 10, you definitely wouldn't be going all out on all 3 sets.
Also recent studies have actually shown that 1 set of 10 with a drop set is more beneficial to muscle hypertrophy than 3 sets of 10 - i'll have to actually find the study but I can definitely tell its working. Plus when you have guys like Scott and Jordan Peters doing this type of training and they have physiques and the brains to match, it sorta makes you realise that 'hey, these guys must know what they're talking about'

Just jump, trust the process, and if it doesn't work for you then it doesn't - but I really think you'll be surprised how much you'll grow!

[Altamir]

I'll add a little bit as to your concerns about "lose some insulin sensitivity/ gain fat a bit too fast." You will not find a more metabolically challenging body building based program out there than FT. A very large majority of people I know, including myself, when they first switched to the program (without adjusting calories), either went from a bulk to a recomp, or had to add additional calories to keep weight on. Nick has got it spot on. Just jump into it, trust the process, and I would also REALLY advise against starting out at tier 3. You're already in a mind set that you need more volume, but tier 3 is not only a meat grinder, but also a bit confusing to some folks first running the program. Stick with the basics, get your feet planted in the program, and go from there. You MAY end up at tier 3 and come back to this thread and call me a wuss but I can almost promise you'll have been better off starting at a lower tier and working your way up.

[Scott Stevenson]

Thank you, Gentlemen.

I wish I saved a post on instagram I was tagged on a few weeks ago. A bodybuilder who had been used to a massive number of sets training to failure followed FT and put on around 10kg of stage weight in a year. He noticed he didn't stay in single digit BF% range where he was used to (while not growing), but simply adjusted his diet and made progress that he was quite happy with.

-S