Q:  I’ve been training hardcore this last month, running BFT in the gym and have gotten massive gains in strength and some amazing size. How long can I do it and how many exercises per body part?  Anything else I should know to optimize this?

A:  Ahhh…the demon training!  We love it. But don’t stay doing it long. It is really exhausting for the body and should only be done on a good cycle. It isn’t for the natural. Also, you need to eat really well. It doesn’t work as well if you don’t eat well. Get at least 5000 cals a day. Also, you need to get ample rest between workouts. This is the worst kind of soreness you can get. I’d say about a month is as long as you should go.  Remember, this isn’t HIT training. You should do about 3 exercises per body part and it’s kind of like one giant drop set per exercise. Warm up well, but once you get to the set, let the games begin! You should feel pretty gone by the time you get to the end of that first set.  Trevor Smith says you shouldn’t do squats or bent over rows because your wind goes before your strength, but some disagree with that concept. If you’re in good shape cardio-wise, go for it, because Squats, at least, are the best exercise in the world. But, I see his point and you can get this workout in and all the benefits without squatting. It’s a personal hair-splitting preference.  Use a partner on this kind of workout too. You didn’t say if you did. So your sets should be like this:  Set 1 – go to failure in the 6-12 rep range (choose a weight that will allow that) + 2-4 assisted reps. Then drop 30% of that weight and go to failure + 2-4 assisted reps, then drop another 30% and go to failure + finish with those 2-4 assisted reps.  I’d say 5-6 weeks max on this program if you’re a superstar.