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Started by David Birchall, February 9, 2013 · 3 Replies · 251 Views
Instead of rigidly following the 4, 8 or 12 week plan of sets and reps programmatically, can I just keep attempting week 3's sets/reps each workout until I get that, then keep attempting week 7's once I get that and then keep attempting week 11's until I get mastery?
Still keeping every fourth week as a deload week of course?
Yes, of course you can, but why would that be good to your training?
To me, purchasing F1,2,3,4, is like hiring Coach Sommer to guide my training; If I am going to pay for professional advice from one of the top coaches in the world, I am going to listen and follow that advice, rigidly, to the letter! 
In the case of Foundation, and by extension GST, I have no business arguing with Coach's programming, choices of exercises, progressions, idea of what constitutes mastery, etc... I fully trust that if the programming you are suggesting was better than the one proposed, Coach would have chosen to have us follow it... (and then, maybe you'd be posting suggestions for a more progressive approach?)
Trust the top people you hire, trust their knowledge, trust the application of their knowledge, and more than anything, trust the process!
But it is a free world, so who is going to interfere with what you really do in the privacy of your training? 
You could if you wanted to, but it would make your training less efficient, and put you at higher risk for an injury. Is there any particular reason you want to train that way?
The purpose of the periodization is to give your body time to gradually acclimate to the increasingly demanding volume. You should not be doing maximal attempts on week 1 and 2. Roughly speaking, the scheduled intensity follows the pattern: medium, medium, hard, light. If you go too hard on the first two weeks, you're putting much more stress on your body. More stress (without more rest time for recuperation) leads to over-training, which in fact causes you to progress more slowly.
The programming in F1 was designed by professionals with years of experience. I would not advise deviating from it unless you have a medical reason, or the recommendation of another fitness professional.
The reps set Mastery Templates are a large part of the magic of this program.