There are a handful of tried and true weight lifting techniques that you should follow if you want to gain muscle mass. Compound movements used for weightlifting, such as the bench press, squat, and deadlift, are essential for gaining muscle mass. But sometimes you hit a plateau and you need to make some changes to shock your muscles into new growth. One technique I’ve tried that really works for me is FST-7 training. FST is an acronym for Fascia Stretch Training. Seven is the number of sets you perform using this technique. This technique was created by Hany Rambod, a trainer to many professional bodybuilders. There is much more to the weight lifting factor of FST-7 training as Hany covers various factors both in and out of the gym. For this article, I’m just going to cover the actual part of training and how I’ve implemented it into my routine and what has worked best in my own experience.

First of all, you need to understand that FST-7 training is not simply about getting a pump, although that is one of the effects that you will feel. Also, this shouldn’t be considered just a “high rep” workout. These are misconceptions of FST-7 training. The first part of all FST-7 training is training with heavy weights using straight sets. This basically works all the muscle fibers. The intention is to force the muscle to grow and also add shape by stretching the muscle fascia. I am not going to delve into the FST-7 training in its entirety. But I’ll give an example of the leg workout I did this morning.

FST-7 style training with legs:

Squats (heavy weight, parallel): 5 sets of 10, 10, 8, 8, 8

Lying leg curl: 4 sets of 10

Leg extensions: 4 sets of 10

Standing leg curl: 4 sets of 10

FST-7 leg press workout: 7 sets of 12-15 with 30 second rest periods between sets

As you can see, the leg routine above seems somewhat normal (with perhaps the exception that when I do legs, I like to alternate quad and hamstring exercises; also, I would normally do another pressing exercise like hack squats, but I didn’t t since I found out I had all 7 sets of leg presses at the end). It may not seem like as much volume as most for the legs, but once you’re done, you’re sure to feel it (and for days to come). Be sure to stretch afterwards. You can implement the FST-7 with any part of the body. In my opinion, it’s good to do this for 2-4 weeks and then switch to something else for a few weeks.