FST-7 Off-Season Tip: Mass vs. Proportion (The #1 Mistake)

Feb 7, 2024

By Nutrition Monsters

FST7-Tip: De grootste fout die bodybuilders en coaches maken in het off-season

When the off-season begins, most athletes and coaches make the same physiological mistake: they blindly chase the highest possible number on the scale. The 24-time Olympia-winning coach Hany Rambod puts the brakes hard in his latest video. There is a huge difference between getting bigger with pure mass versus getting bigger with the right proportions. Bodybuilding is and remains an optical illusion; it’s not about what you weigh, it’s about how you look.

"Physiologically, you can gain 5 pounds, but by doing it with the right proportions, you can look 20 pounds bigger," says the Pro Creator. Blindly chasing scale weight or obsessing over InBody scans is the biggest pitfall in the sport. The judges at a competition — or the mirror in the gym — don’t look at a number. They look at overall fullness, symmetry, and how effectively you have eliminated your weak muscle groups. Stop focusing on PRs on the scale and start building quality muscle mass in the right physiological places.

How to effectively tackle weak muscle groups

If you have a weak body part (like your arms or rear shoulders), this requires a strategic elite sports approach. Hany Rambod shares his three hard rules to force an underdeveloped muscle group to maximum growth in the off-season:

1. Strategic timing in your training week

Place your weak muscle groups right at the start of the training week. On Monday and Tuesday, your central nervous system is fully rested and your glycogen stores are completely replenished from the weekend rest.

2. Never train on an empty stomach

Make sure you never train weak muscle groups in a fasted state. Eat at least one to two full meals beforehand. Your muscles need carbohydrates and water to generate the necessary physiological pressure and pump.

3. Mind-Muscle Connection over weight

Use heavy, compound movements with barbells and dumbbells, but absolutely do not go so heavy that you have to use momentum or that surrounding muscle groups (like your shoulders during a bicep curl) take over the work. If you don’t feel the muscle contracting perfectly, the weight you lift doesn’t matter. The FST-7 system is physiologically designed to stretch the tough muscle fascia through maximum blood flow — it is not a Synthol or 'site enhancement' program to cover up poor shape.

Create the perfect physiological growth environment

To allow underlying muscle groups to fully recover and fill gaps in your physique, you need to seamlessly align your supplementation and nutrition program with your goals. Supplementation is meant to complement the biological deficiencies in your diet so your body remains in a maximum recovery mode continuously.

Pro tip from the Pro Creator: Hany Rambod developed Evogen Nutrition’s high-end supplements specifically to support this physiological guide:

Maximum blood flow and cell volume beforehand: Take a dose of liquid Evogen EVP AQ. 30 minutes before your priority training. This glycerol supplement ensures extreme hyperhydration. Combine this with Evogen EVP Xtreme/3D for the ultimate mental drive and focus to maximize the mind-muscle connection.
Uninterrupted fullness during sets: Drink Evogen Amino KEM. during your workout. This floods your working muscles with all 9 essential amino acids (EAAs) and electrolytes to immediately prevent muscle breakdown during heavy sets and maintain muscle fullness.
Quality building blocks immediately after training: Feed the targeted muscle group right after the last set with Evogen IsoJect. This ultra-pure whey isolate is absorbed lightning-fast thanks to IGNITOR™ enzyme technology for immediate muscle recovery.

Related reading

Hypertrophy vs. Strength Training: Which method suits your goal?
FST-7 Tip: Rest period and timing between your sets
Discipline & Motivation: The engine behind consistent progress

Discover our collections Ready to ditch the scale and build brute proportions and visual fullness?

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FAQ

Why is blindly focusing on weight gain detrimental to your physical health?

If you eat and train solely to increase the number on the scale, you often accumulate excess fat mass and extracellular fluid instead of pure muscle mass. This physiological fat surplus worsens your insulin sensitivity, raises chronic inflammation levels, and masks your actual muscle proportions, making you look physically 'flat' and shapeless.

Why does Hany Rambod not let athletes train their weak muscle groups fasted?

In a fasted state (without prior nutrition), glycogen stores in the muscles are low and blood flow is suboptimal. To effectively stimulate a weak muscle group, you need maximum hydration pressure and muscle pump to stretch the fascia. By eating carbohydrate- and protein-rich meals beforehand, you ensure sufficient fluid volume and ATP energy to fully load the muscle.

What is the danger of overtraining a supporting muscle group?

When the weight is too heavy, your nervous system loses the ability to isolate and control the target muscle. Your body then automatically switches to survival mechanisms, where stronger surrounding muscle groups take over the momentum (such as the shoulders and lower back during a bicep curl). As a result, the weaker muscle group experiences less mechanical tension, causing growth to stall.

How does the FST-7 system help fill in 'gaps' in your physique?

The FST-7 (Fascia Stretch Training) system specifically focuses on maximizing blood flow (hyperemia) and cell swelling during the final 7 sets. This extreme internal fluid pressure stretches the stiff, surrounding muscle sheath (the fascia) from the inside out. This literally creates the physiological space for the muscle fibers to grow thicker, which is essential for addressing genetically stubborn weak spots.

Why is Amino K.E.M. more effective in the off-season than a standard amino acid?

Many standard amino acid products provide too few active ingredients to keep the muscle bellies full. Evogen Amino KEM contains a clinically dosed spectrum of all 9 essential amino acids (EAAs) to continuously stimulate muscle protein synthesis. Additionally, it contains cell volumizers and electrolytes that optimize fluid retention in the muscle cell, perfectly aligning with Hany Rambod's off-season philosophy to stay as full and three-dimensional as possible.