How to Address Lacking Areas with FT

[Stewilliams]

Hi all, I couldn't think of a more appropriate title and not sure this one fits. Apologies in advance for that.

I have returned to Fortitude Training and just finished my first blast. 

I really enjoy the programme, however, I can sense that it doesn't improve my arms and delts like other programmes do.

Have any of you ran a hybrid version which has worked? I am thinking of dropping to Tier 1 for my next blast, whilst also adding a separate arm and delts session ~4-6 sets for triceps and biceps + ~2-3 sets for side and rear delts.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to incorporate more progress in these muscles, without neglecting other body parts?

Thanks,
Steve

[Scott Stevenson]

Hey Steve!

Welcome back!  (The board's pretty slow these days - not as exciting as IG, of course.)

Here's the FT FAQ (Stickie here in this forum if you need to come back to it).  The "How to bring up weak muscle groups" answer addresses your question(s), I think, at least as a first strategy:

FT Most Frequently Questions asked here on the Forum

Long and short of that is that, given you didn't mention the things that you might have tried within FT, you might not have fully exploited the program to it's fullest extent (before creating a hybrid). 

As far as your proposal,  you can definitely train some muscle groups at one Tier Level and others at another (higher) Tier.  (This is definitely an intended use of FT, so not a hybrid per se.)  However, more volume isn't always the answer (as noted in the answer in the FAQ thread.)

I'll try to check back here in the next few days to see if you've got follow-up questions and how you're coming along!

-Scott

[Stewilliams]

Hi Scott, thank you for your advice.

I have made some changes to arm training. I have bumped them to Tier 2 and will see how I get on with that!

Upon honest reflection, I was attached to a combination of arm exercises and liked doing them together in a specific order, however, I am not particularly strong on bicep and tricep movements so a shift in mindset is certainly required!

One thing I forgot to include is that I am working around a shoulder injury, which is why I am struggling to hit them as part of traditional FT. I cannot generate the intensity required to really challenge them, so was opting for volume to compensate.

I'm thinking instead that I could:

A) Opt for rowing variations on back thick' which target the rear delts more.
B) Swap my Loading and MR sets for delts to pump sets, whilst I rehabilitate the injury. 

If this continues to aggravate things, I could simply do some shoulder rehabilitation work improving ER (as limited) and possibly bump my back training up a tier. The latter may be unnecessary (thank you spell check), but psychologically will enable me to feel content with the situation 
- Steve

[Scott Stevenson]

Hey Steve!

You're welcome!

Well I think the first thing could be to address the injury directly.  (It sounds like it's been a while?...)

Do you have a diagnosis?...

-S

[Stewilliams]

I've had a physio diagnose it as a "torn anterior deltoid". It doesn't seem correct to me though and feels more like a tendonosis/impingement. 

Pain doesn't feel localised to one particular area and there is no visual tear, nor was there a "moment" I felt the injury occur.

I'm in the UK so getting a scan etc is not something covered by insurance. I could pay for one but not sure what a diagnosis would really offer. Same recovery steps apply, rest, rehab drills and a slow build of loading on joint.

- Steve

[DangerousDave]

I've had a physio diagnose it as a "torn anterior deltoid". It doesn't seem correct to me though and feels more like a tendonosis/impingement. 

Pain doesn't feel localised to one particular area and there is no visual tear, nor was there a "moment" I felt the injury occur.

I'm in the UK so getting a scan etc is not something covered by insurance. I could pay for one but not sure what a diagnosis would really offer. Same recovery steps apply, rest, rehab drills and a slow build of loading on joint.

- Steve

How did your training adjustments go? Is your shoulder any better?