FST-7, is anybody here ever use that program

[adilevy]

EZ-bar curl 7 x 8-12 (rest 30-45 seconds between sets while sipping water - more on this next
month)
I don't typically like to use very high reps, because too often you will experience general fatigue
and get short of breath before you have built the maximum pump in the muscle. I also don't like
the weight to be too heavy and limit the reps any lower than eight, because this is when you see
form breaking down and ancillary muscles kicking in and robbing the target muscle of the proper
stimulation. You can think of the ‘7' set as blowing up a balloon. We keep the rest periods fairly
short, because as you pump up the muscle, a little blood escapes in that time. You can think of
it as blowing up a balloon with a slight leak in it - even though the balloon is being inflated, some
air is escaping. The key is to build on the pump sets by set, exponentially, so that it reaches its
maximum state by the final set. If the rest periods were too short, you wouldn't have enough
energy to do justice to the seven sets. Another question I often get is, should the weight be
constant as the seven sets go on? It can be, but it's perfectly fine to reduce the weight one or
two times as needed to stay in the proper rep range. There may also be times when you need
to increase the weight, but this happens less often.
How often can I train bodyparts this way?
Generally speaking, this type of training is too traumatic on the larger muscle groups to use
more than once a week. Due to the sheer volume of muscle cells, soreness tends to linger too
long to allow for more frequent workouts. For instance, Phil Heath recently completed a back
workout and was sore for four days. Since he is supposed to be training back and chest twice a
week in preparation for the Arnold Classic, this threw him off his schedule somewhat. The
higher than normal amount of microscopic tears in the muscle caused by FST-7 training
necessitates a bit more recovery time than standard training protocols. However, smaller
bodyparts like arms and calves certainly can and should be trained twice a week. This gives you
twice as many opportunities to stretch the fascia in what are often exceedingly stubborn
3 /

[adilevy]

bodyparts. Here's a sample split that displays how you could arrange this:
Day one: Biceps and triceps, calves
Day two: Legs
Day three: OFF
Day four: Chest and triceps
Day five: Back and calves
Day six: Shoulders and biceps
Day seven: OFF
This is

[adilevy]

Which exercises are best suited to the ‘7' sets?
Certain exercises are more appropriate than others for the ‘7' sets. The big compound free
weight movements like squats and deadlifts usually are poor choices, for two reasons. For one
thing, they involve several other muscle groups and don't do a good job of isolating a target
muscle. Also, they require technique and balancing, which tends to break down if one attempts
to perform multiple sets in such a short time span. Machines are a good choice in many
instances because they keep you in a fixed plane of movement and thus make it easier to
isolate a given muscle. Those with selectorized stacks also make it very fast and convenient to
increase or decrease the resistance as needed. Here are some suggested movements that I
have found work very well:
Back width: Machine pullovers (Hammer Strength, Nautilus) or cable pullovers
Back thickness: Seated row machines with chest support
Chest: Pec deck or peck flye machine*, cable crossovers
*I find that the pec decks with the pads for the elbows usually work very well for shorter trainers,
5 /