Are you curious about Phil Heath’s FST-7 workouts? Are you looking for a simple, step-by-step guide that shows you exactly how he uses Hany Rambod’s FST-7 training program to build size and strength? Then you’ve come to the right place.

In this comprehensive guide, I will teach you how to use Phil Heath’s FST-7 program to take your physique to the next level.

Introduction

• Part 1: Phil Heath’s Chest Workouts
• Part 2: Phil Heath’s Back Workouts
• Part 3: Phil Heath’s Shoulder Workouts
• Part 4: Phil Heath’s Arm Workouts

Phil Heath is one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. He won the Mr. Olympia competition 7 years in a row from 2011 to 2017. Of course, no one becomes a world champion bodybuilder without a great training program.

Phil Heath says that he built his physique using Hany Rambod’s FST-7 Training Program.

FST-7 is an advanced bodybuilding program that uses different high-volume and high-intensity training methods to help you get bigger and stronger at the same time.

FST-7 actually stands for “fascia stretch training.” Hany Rambod says you can stretch the fascia surrounding your muscles, and completely change the look of your physique, by using different techniques to maximize the pump in your muscles.

One of Hany Rambod’s favorite techniques is to perform 7 sets on a key exercise at the end of your workout using very short rest intervals. These 7 sets are designed to stretch out your fascia tissue to give your muscles more room for growth.

Phil Heath says the FST-7 Training Program played a huge role in his success, and he wouldn’t be where he is today without it.

Phil Heath’s Chest Workouts

Phil Heath trains his chest once per week on its own separate training day. He likes to perform a variety of exercises for his chest, including different compound and isolation exercises.

Phil almost never performs heavy barbell exercises like the bench press or the incline bench press. Instead, he likes to perform more joint-friendly exercises like machine and dumbbell presses.

Here is a brutal Phil Heath FST-7 chest workout that you can try. Check it out:

Phil Heath’s FST-7 Chest Workout

• Exercise #1: Hammer strength incline press, 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Exercise #2: 30 degree incline DB press, 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Exercise #3: Flat DB press, 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Exercise #4: Standing cable fly, 4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Exercise #5: 30 degree incline smith machine press, 7 sets of 8-12 reps, 45 seconds rest

Here is the training video:

This is a perfect example of how Phil Heath likes to organize his chest workouts. He starts the workout with two heavy pressing exercises: the hammer strength incline press and the incline dumbbell press.

Hany Rambod calls these the “base set” exercises because your goal is to train heavy and apply the progressive overload principle.

Next Phil performs some isolation exercises to really isolate the muscle fibers of the chest.

Finally Phil finishes the workout with some FST-7 sets on the incline smith machine press.

“We did 7 sets on the smith machine press and that’s where you can really see the hypervolumization of the muscle. Everything was really good, getting colder and colder up until that point.

But once we hit those 7’s, it went to super volumization mode and Jay and Phil went 3-D. You can see the chest hang on both of them.”

Hany Rambod says the FST-7 method is designed to give you an insane pump and to stretch out the fascia tissue surrounding the chest.

It’s hard to believe that his fascia tissue is literally being stretched out, but it this technique is guaranteed to give you a crazy pump.

Phil Heath’s Back Workouts

Phil Heath likes to perform high-volume back workouts using many different types of pulldowns and rows.

He almost never performs heavy barbell bent over rows or t-bar rows like Ronnie Coleman used to do. Instead, he likes to keep the weights lighter and focus on getting a great mind-muscle connection with bis back on every rep. Check it out:

Phil Heath’s FST-7 Back Workout

• Exercise #1: Lat pulldown (wide / neutral grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #2: Seated cable row (wide / neutral grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #3: T-bar row (medium / pronated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #4: One-arm hammer strength row, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #5: Seated cable rope row (high pulley), 7 sets of 10-15 reps, 45 seconds rest

Hany Rambod says his goal for this workout was to use a wide grip on almost every exercise.

For example, the lat pulldown, seated cable row and t-bar row all featured a wider than normal grip to target a different portion of the upper back. He likes to switch things up in Phil Heath’s back workouts to keep his body off balance and constantly growing.

“What we’re doing now is using a wide bar. Sometimes close grip and sometimes a straight bar.

For this workout we’re using a straight bar with palms facing to get a slightly different angle to really thicken up the lats and get the v-taper.

We’re also going to use this bar on the low-row to get the same effect.”

Phil Heath stuck to his usual back training philosophy in this workout.

Instead of going super heavy and lifting with his ego, Phil focuses on using lighter weights and getting a peak contraction in his upper back on every rep.

“The thing that we did with Phil was really make sure we could get that peak contraction. We talked about doing a lot of the posing in between the sets.

It’s really really important to be able to psoe the muscle when it’s the most difficult pose which is right between sets.

You’re full of blood, it’s going to be a lot like you’re on stage. That’s how we build conditioning. Whether it’s before a show or after a show, we continue to use that technique a lot.”

If you are training extremely heavy on your upper back workouts but aren’t getting the results you want, then you may want to try a Phil Heath style FST-7 back workout to mix things up.

Part 3: Phil Heath’s Shoulder Workouts

Phil Heath is a big believer in high-volume shoulder workouts. He performs at least 5 different exercises for his shoulders, as he believes you need to use many different movements to get the best possible results.

Here is one of Phil Heath’s favorite FST-7 shoulder workouts. Check it 0ut:

Phil Heath’s FST-7 Shoulder Workout #1

• Exercise #1: Standing DB lateral raise, 4 sets of 8-15 reps**
• Exercise #2: Standing DB front raise, 4 sets of 8-15 reps***
• Exercise #3: Seated machine overhead press, 4 sets of 8-15 reps****
• Exercise #4: One-arm reverse cable fly (mid-pulley), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #5: Plate front raises, 4 sets of 8-15 reps*****

**Perform 5 reps with your left arm, then 5 reps with your right arm, then train to failure with both arms at the same time

***Perform 1 rep with ⅓ of the range of motion, then 1 rep with ⅔ of the range of motion, then 1 rep to parallel. Repeat for 8-15 total reps per set.

****On the last set perform several partial reps after reaching failure

*****Raise the plate to parallel, then rotate the plate clockwise and counterclockwise before lowering the weight back down. Repeat for each rep.

Here is the training video:

This shoulder workout is about as simple as it gets. Phil Heath performs 5 different exercises for his shoulders, including 1 compound pressing exercise and 4 different isolation exercises.

Phil Heath approaches his shoulder workouts in a very similar way to his back workouts. He thinks going heavy is a waste of time. Instead, he likes to focus on getting a great pump and establishing a strong mind-muscle connection early in the workout.

“We’re not going to focus on going super heavy. We’re going to focus on form. Blood is getting to the shoulders.

The lateral and anterior delts are already pumped up so we’re not going to do too many sets. We’re going to do 3 working sets and that’s it.”

Midway through the workout Phil Heath performs one of Hany Rambod’s favorite shoulder exercises: the Hoist machine overhead press.

He says this machine is very easy on your shoulders and overloads your muscles in a completely different way from a regular machine.

“What makes the hoist machine so different is you get a little bit bigger range of motion and you get your body to move with the machine. So we’re working on making sure we get a full range of motion.

We’re not going super heavy. We want to make sure we have the good mind-muscle connection so everything is firing. That way when he gets stronger, he can handle heavier weight with proper form.”

Here is another one of Phil Heath’s high-volume shoulder workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Phil Heath’s FST-7 Shoulder Workout #2

• Exercise #1: Seated machine overhead press, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #2: Standing one-arm DB lateral raise, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #3: Standing barbell front raise, 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #4: Standing one-arm DB front raise (supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #5: Seated one-arm machine lateral raise, 4 sets of 8-15 reps**

**Your training partner adds extra manual resistance on the lowering phase of each rep.

Here is the training video:

This workout was a little more straightforward than the previous one. Phil Heath performs one compound pressing exercise at the start of the workout, and then performs different isolation exercises for his front and side delts.

At the end of the workout Phil performs an interesting high-intensity technique on the machine lateral raise: Hany Rambod actually pushes down on the weight stack during the lowering phase of the exercise.

This is an interesting way to eccentrically overload the side delts to stimulate more growth.

Part 4: Phil Heath’s Arm Workouts

Phil Heath is known for his unbelievable arm development. For many years he had the best biceps and triceps in the professional bodybuilding circuit.

Phil’s arms are so far ahead of his body that he doesn’t even train them most of the year! Phil waits until the last 2-3 months before his contest before he starts training them, and they immediately blow up in size.

Still, when Phil does train his arms, he uses the FST-7 Training Program. Check it out:

Phil Heath’s FST-7 Arm Workout #1

• Exercise #1: Standing one-arm DB curl (supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #2: 30 degree spider ez-bar curl (wide / supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #3: Standing cable rope cable curl (between the legs), 7 sets of 8-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
• Exercise #4: Standing cable rope pushdown, 7 sets of 8-15 reps, 30 seconds rest
• Exercise #5: Lying ez-bar extensions (behind the head), 4 sets of 8-15 reps
• Exercise #6: Standing cable straight bar pushdown (supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps

Here is the training video:

This FST-7 arm workout is as simple as it gets. He performs 3 exercises each for his biceps and triceps using a variety of different isolation exercises.

During the workout Phil uses some unconventional exercises, such as the 30 degree spider curl for his biceps. Here is Hany Rambod describing this exercise:

“What we’re doing now is doing spider curls using a cambered bar. You don’t want the angle to be too high or too low.

You want to be right in the middle at that 45 degree angle. It keeps you from swinging and using too much momentum.”

Of course, Phil makes sure to use the FST-7 method for both his biceps and his triceps. Here is Hany Rambod talking about his two exercises:

“This is going to be our FST-7 set using the rope curl. We have to really work on filling in the forearms and the lower arm.”

“We’re doing the pushdowns FST-7 style. That means 30 seconds rest, 7 sets. We’re going to come down and push out at the bottom to work the lateral head of the triceps.” 

Here is another one of Phil Heath’s FST-7 arm workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Phil Heath’s FST-7 Arm Workout #2

• Exercise #1: Standing ez-bar curl (wide / supinated grip), 7 sets of 10-12 reps**, 30 seconds rest
• Exercise #2: Supine cable curl (wide / supinated grip), 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Exercise #3: 30 degree spider ez-bar curl (narrow / supinated grip), 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Exercise #4: Cable rope pushdowns, 4 sets of 10-12 reps****
• Exercise #5: Smith machine bench press (shoulder-width grip), 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Exercise #6: Bench dips, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Exercise #7: Overhead rope cable extensions (high pulley), 7 sets of 10-12 reps, 30 seconds rest

**Perform 10-12 regular reps, then perform 3 reps with extra manual resistance on the lowering phase, the perform 5 partial reps in the bottom position of the exercise

****Train to failure, then perform several partial reps in the stretched position

Here is the training video:

This is another straightforward arm workout. Phil performs 3-4 exercises each for his biceps and triceps, and he makes sure to use many different types of exercises to overload the different muscle heads of the arms.

As usual Phil Heath focuses on getting a great mind-muscle connection, rather than just stroking his ego with heavy weights that he can’t control.

“It doesn’t matter how much weight you lift. Your body doesn’t realize if you’re lifting 100 pounds or 200 pounds.

It’s how much resistance you feel. Because of the fact it’s just a matter of how your muscles perceive the resistance.”

The truth is Phil Heath doesn’t train his arms very hard, but then again he doesn’t have to. His arms are so far ahead of the rest of his body it’s absolutely crazy!

Still, if you are looking for a great arm workout or two then you can’t go wrong with Phil Heath’s FST-7 arm workouts.

Verdict | The Phil Heath FST-7 Training Program!

Phil Heath dominated the bodybuilding stage 7 years in a row, and he says he couldn’t have done it without Hany Rambod and his FST-7 Training Program.

Phil likes the FST-7 program because Hany focuses on getting a great pump and performing each exercise with perfect control.

If you are looking to switch up your workouts then you have to give the Phil Heath FST-7 Training Routine a shot. It may be just what you need to take your training to the next level.

“Being Negative and Lazy is a disease that leads to pain, hardship, depression, poor health and failure. Be pro active, and give a damn to achieve success!”

Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your strength training journey!