Built for Bad: Strength Circuits Recommendation

Training
41

After seeing the results you got and reading you say “I ended up the biggest and most muscular I’ve ever been using this program”, my interest has been peaked! I would like to try it this week if I can while I’m still at my gym with unlimited access to equipment and space.

The periworkout you used allowed you to recover quickly and get good gains, but the rest of your diet obviously makes a huge difference in your body composition as well. Can you give us an insight into what the rest of your diet looked like during this time to allow you to get your leanest while most muscular? I’m aware of your eating history, but anything you can tell us about how you ate during this time would be great and very informative. Thanks!

42

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Colbstar wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]nickj_777 wrote:
@CT could you do them as a specialization phase for a month?

I really want to bring up my legs so I thought I could do this for a month in this fashion

A) Front squat in rack

B) Back squat outside of rack

C) Trap bar deadlift

D) Sumo or high pull

Thank you[/quote]

No, the purpose is to hit the whole body. Doing a circuit of lifts all hitting similar muscle groups, 5 days a week is too much to recover from[/quote]

On a similar note, CT…

If you wanted to bring up leg strength and mass, would you recommend setting it up like this:
A1. Trap-Bar Deadlift
A2. Bench Press
A3. Back Squat
A4. High Pull
A5. Push Press

My point really was that the original circuit only had one main leg pressing movement, and I wanted to know your thoughts on adding another in the circuit.

Would it be helpful at all? Or would the overall total volume just burn you out quickly?[/quote]

That doesn’t look bad, but I’d prefer a regular deadlift in that case … actually the best mix would be deadlift + front squat if you are efficient at the front squat.[/quote]

I might try that after this 6 week cycle. I’m really, really enjoying this whole program. Thank you so much again.

43

Performed this for the first time this morning! It’s about 8 hours later now and my shoulders are still wrecked, in a good way. I’ve been doing the different layer setups for the past 6 months and today just kicked my ass. I ended up setting my % lifts off of 90% of my true 1rm and it was brutal. Definitely see why CT said that he got leaner on this plan. I like to think I’m in half way decent shape, but I was sucking wind pretty good during the whole program. I never rested more than 45 seconds and hauled ass changing out weights in between sets.

Awesome plan. The way my gym is set up I had everything I needed within 20 feet. Bar on the floor for deads. Bar in the power rack for high pulls and press (ended up cleaning the weight up and then doing push presses, which allowed for less weight changes between this and high pulls.) and bar on the bench right next to the power rack. Pulldown machine 15 feet away. Can’t wait to see where this goes. Could’ve definitely gone slightly heavier but hell, it was the first day.

44

Hi ! I remembe a similar program here on T was called 5 X 5 X 5 in 25 if I rember right. 5 main lifts (squats, bench, DL, military, BB Row). As i have a very small (but effective) home gym - eveyone should - I had to use a little imagination : so I switched to squat to front squats and the military to push press. Why ? cause I could use a more or less similar weight ( still a bit more for front squats) for 3 of the 5 lifts, using the same bar. Cause I had to clean the bar from the rows to put in place for the squats and presses, I add the exercie (clean) for a 6 x 5 x 5 in 30… the idea is if you can use same weight and bar, no one will take it from U in any gym. I had to use a second bar for DL, of course- just bring it in front of your cage and you’rre ready to go. could use floor press instead of bench to use same station and bar too - or use DBs like DT said.

Coach saided that if you want to enphasise more on strenght, do 5 x 5 x 3, or even sets of 1 (but not too often or fry neural system)… so it’s pretty the same as CT program, just that CT switch rep sheme each set instead of each week for example… Guess that if switching weight all time is a problem for one, could adress that by switching weights and rep sheme each week instead (a week of 5’s, a week of 4’s, etc.) for kinda’ similar effect. Principels tha same, big compound lifts, circuit throught. I don’t have a dead squat bar, so I’ll give it a try, but with DL instead. Go someone would emphasise the legs more could use squats (any kind) AND DL (any kind) and switch bench and militay for incline press to keep total exercice to 5 … just make shure U don’t press, pull or leg’s 2 time in a row.
Qu’en penses-tu CT ? Does it make sense ?

Love this kind of training in spring and summer (quickly done, stay lean and strong)
and back to 5-3-1 kinda more strenght programm in autumn and winter time.
thanks for the great program!!

45

CT is TOTALLY on point with this one.

I just finished my “Friday” (Day 5) of the program.

The strength circuit is perfect. In my opinion, there is nothing missing. It’s not easy, but lots of fun. During the workout, because there are so many things going on, my heart races - in a good way. I feel the powerful “charge” during my lifts. The rush. The coveted rush. Especially the last two sets of 2 and 1 for each exercise during the circuit.

One of my favorite aspects of it is that by the end of the week, on 5 major lifts, you’ll have completed a solid: 5 sets of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 rep(s) on each lift. That is AWESOME! Considering how with other methods I may have been able to get 2 sets of 5, 4, 3, 2, and/or 1 over the course of the week with these lifts. That’s just my experience, though.

All of my workouts have only lasted about 35 minutes too. It’s hard NOT to push the clock because being able to lift this heavy so easily, frequently - 5 days a week, is ADDICTING.
All of these aspects and more make this program an incredible stimulus.

Tomorrow for “Saturday” Day 6, I might do Lats/Bis and abs. Nothing crazy. I’ll see how I feel.

I love this program. Sure I’m young. But I’m just like you. I do my research. I love to train. Where the barbell lies is my 2nd home, because he’s my best friend. Just like he is yours. I eat my meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, etc just like you.

Try it out. Let us all know how it goes because I’ll be right there with you.

~Colby

P.S. I also posted this on the main Built for Bad forum post to spread the word. It’s the same message, I’m fully aware.

46

Anybody been doing BFB for a couple weeks have any updates? Curious to hear how it’s coming along.

47

Colbstar - got any progress pics? Would be curious to see how your body’s transformed over BFB.

Also CT, what are your thoughts on how advanced a trainee is (in terms of limit strength, 1.5-1.8x bench, 2-3x squat/dl, 1x OHP, etc) and impact of your BFB, HFSW, and to lesser extent layers?

Basically, we’ve been taught the stronger/more advanced you get on barbell movements, the greater the systemic impact and the lower frequency required to see improvement. So when you’re using such high frequency, is this “repatterning” the nervous system or something so that repeateadly lifting such heavy loading doesn’t cause damage?

Simplest example, traditionally we “max” out (1RM) infrequently but now we’re doing it everyday for 5 compound lifts. Granted, its a training max vs. pure max but still…

48

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]alivirk wrote:
hey CT, is it possible to replace bench press with weighted dips to account for the lack of available gym equipment (and to allow quicker transition between exercises)?[/quote]

Yes, that is an acceptable substitute[/quote]

If I don’t have the equipment to do dead squats could I do dead lifts and back squats?

49

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Colbstar wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]nickj_777 wrote:
@CT could you do them as a specialization phase for a month?

I really want to bring up my legs so I thought I could do this for a month in this fashion

A) Front squat in rack

B) Back squat outside of rack

C) Trap bar deadlift

D) Sumo or high pull

Thank you[/quote]

No, the purpose is to hit the whole body. Doing a circuit of lifts all hitting similar muscle groups, 5 days a week is too much to recover from[/quote]

On a similar note, CT…

If you wanted to bring up leg strength and mass, would you recommend setting it up like this:
A1. Trap-Bar Deadlift
A2. Bench Press
A3. Back Squat
A4. High Pull
A5. Push Press
[/quote]

That doesn’t look bad, but I’d prefer a regular deadlift in that case … actually the best mix would be deadlift + front squat if you are efficient at the front squat.[/quote]
To Noah:
As CT pointed out here…

If you were looking to do a deadlift variation (that isn’t the trap-bar/dead-squat) and a squat variation in one circuit, try a conventional deadlift and a front squat. I’m assuming that the main reason for this is to really cover the whole body. Deadlifts hit all the muscles associated with hip dominant movements hard, while the front squats are a much more knee dominant movement.

A setup might look like this:
A1. Conventional Deadlift
A2. Bench Press
A3. Front Squat
A4. Push Press
A5. High Pull

50

[quote]Colbstar wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Colbstar wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]nickj_777 wrote:
@CT could you do them as a specialization phase for a month?

I really want to bring up my legs so I thought I could do this for a month in this fashion

A) Front squat in rack

B) Back squat outside of rack

C) Trap bar deadlift

D) Sumo or high pull

Thank you[/quote]

No, the purpose is to hit the whole body. Doing a circuit of lifts all hitting similar muscle groups, 5 days a week is too much to recover from[/quote]

On a similar note, CT…

If you wanted to bring up leg strength and mass, would you recommend setting it up like this:
A1. Trap-Bar Deadlift
A2. Bench Press
A3. Back Squat
A4. High Pull
A5. Push Press
[/quote]

That doesn’t look bad, but I’d prefer a regular deadlift in that case … actually the best mix would be deadlift + front squat if you are efficient at the front squat.[/quote]
To Noah:
As CT pointed out here…

If you were looking to do a deadlift variation (that isn’t the trap-bar/dead-squat) and a squat variation in one circuit, try a conventional deadlift and a front squat. I’m assuming that the main reason for this is to really cover the whole body. Deadlifts hit all the muscles associated with hip dominant movements hard, while the front squats are a much more knee dominant movement.

A setup might look like this:
A1. Conventional Deadlift
A2. Bench Press
A3. Front Squat
A4. Push Press
A5. High Pull[/quote]

Correct. Long limbed lifters might actually get better leg development from front squats than back squats anyway

51

How much does exercise order matter? Is it OK to put explosive (and more technical) exercises first?

52

[quote]SirValeq wrote:
How much does exercise order matter? Is it OK to put explosive (and more technical) exercises first?[/quote]

trust me, you are going to want to do the heaviest exercise first.

53

[quote]StevenF wrote:

[quote]SirValeq wrote:
How much does exercise order matter? Is it OK to put explosive (and more technical) exercises first?[/quote]

trust me, you are going to want to do the heaviest exercise first. [/quote]

Yep. I do front squats, floor press from pins, power hang cleans, push press, weighted pull-ups. I do have to take a sip and relax in between cleans and PPs, cause those power moves are energy draining. But I’ll still keep the heavyest first (F Squats). I manage to do it 20-25 min., so I guess I’m ok

54

I don’t see dead lift in this program. So, can i change dead-sguat for dead lift?
Dead lift
Bench press
High pull
Military press
Lat pulldown

Can i ask, millitary press and high pull are exercises for same musles, shoulders or i’m wrong?

Sorry for bad english.

55

CT, 2 quick questions. 1) do the rest periods have to be 30 sec. or can I go from one set to the next as long as I feel recovered? 2) What would you use as a substitute for the high pull?

Thanks!

56

Okay, so after reading through tons and tons of comments… I had some questions answered, but more have arisen.
I’m not taking PLAZMA due to my lack of funds… That said, I completed week 1 with out a problem…
My questions are:

  1. Should I only do the program 3 days of the week(Mon, Wed, Fri) and add beach work on Tuesday and Thursday? Or continue as is?

  2. Should I be adding 5 - 10lbs to my 1RM per week and then calculate the percentages for the ascending weights? Or add 5 - 10lbs on every circuit?
    Thanks

57

[quote]Mateus wrote:
CT, 2 quick questions. 1) do the rest periods have to be 30 sec. or can I go from one set to the next as long as I feel recovered? 2) What would you use as a substitute for the high pull?

Thanks![/quote]

  1. If performance can be maintained you can take less than 30 seconds. But from experience, it can catch up to you and even though you think you are performing well you might be suboptimal

  2. Power clean variatiom, power snatch variation… really you can use any lift you want during BfB circuits as long as:

  • The 5 lifts cover the whole body
  • You keep the same lifts for the whole training block
  • They are compound movements

So for example one could do:

  • Bench press
  • Front squat
  • Push press
  • Deadlift
  • Chin-ups

or…

  • Incline bench press
  • Back squat
  • Military press
  • Sumo deadlift
  • Pull-ups

or …

  • Weighted dips
  • Dead-Squat/Trap bar deadlift
  • Incline bench press
  • Power clean
  • Barbell row

or …

  • Decline bench press
  • Power clean
  • Behind the neck push press
  • Power snatch
  • Chin-ups

You get the idea…

58

Thanks CT!

59

Hello CT I’m ecstatic my gym is reimbursing me for a trap bar and I finally got one (unforuntately dead squat too pricey for this commercial gym). Using what you’ve written and the modifciations to built for bad this past year I was wondering if I could get your thoughts on this routine. It combines everything I like and seems great on paper. But I don’t just want to feel good but also to significantly improve physique!

Due to commercial gym constraint I think will have to break into 3 exercises, followed by 2 exercises (which you said was fine for strength/size gains):

Warmup/Activation: Ring work, jumps

Circuit 1

  1. Trap Bar Deadlift from deficit (squat emphasis)
  2. Incline tilt bench
  3. Weighted ring chins

Circuit 2
4. Snatch grip high pull from hang (bar starts on floor)
5. Weighted ring dips

This let’s me use one powerack and one barbell at all times. Adding weight is a piece of cake too.

Frequency wise: 5 days on 2 off? Or intersperse rest days?
Intensity: In the past the triples, doubles and singles have been challenging and I might “lighten” up some workouts to adjust.
Rep scheme: For more physique focus do you think a higher rep bracket would help or hurt - 6/5/4/3/2 or even 10/8/6/4/2. Not trying to be creative but just genuinely curious about different rep waves you’ve experimented with and what would fit into the BtfB format.

Any thoughts appreciated…

60

found this on google and is good testament to the program

LiftingHeavyThings

Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Built for Bad: Strength Circuits

Intro
For me, the only reason to have a blog is to share some insight or experiences. Maybe help others to give something a go or to provide a bit of encouragement to someone. So with that said I want to share a bit on my experiences with the Built for Bad - Strength circuit.

First of all, a bit about me. I’ve been lifting weights for a long time now but previously wanted to have a Men’s Health style physique than a ‘big man’ one (I presume you know what I mean) What I know now though is that I was bullshitting myself for years and wasted so much time pissing about with small weights for no gains. I’m not suggesting that it was complete waste of time as my muscle mass did increase and I was ‘toned’ (not shredded) but I certainly didn’t see the types of gains I could have had I applied a little bit more thought to what I was doing and to the diet/supplement side of things.

Several factors got in the way of me achieving greater things but none was more important than my own self-delusion. I say this because I was fooling myself into thinking I was doing good work, when in reality I was coasting along. Time changes everything though and I have slowly come around to the realisation that I’m not going to get any bigger and better if I don’t apply myself fully to the task. So, out went the half-assed approach to diet and in came the researched based alternative and alongside that, out goes the 15 rep* approach to lifting and in comes the volume based approach.

*Nothing wrong with the 15 rep approach until it’s all you do. Variation is the key to success (I thinkâ?¦)

So around 18 months ago I started reading up on Mike Mentzers HIT (High Intenstity Training) approach and that led me to Dorian Yates. The problem I had with Mike’s programmes was that I didn’t have a lot of the equipment he was talking about in my gym. Dorian’s on the other hand was a bit more approachable from that perspective and also, take a look at him in his heyday, that man was a monster!

I flew through two maybe three HITâ??s last year and made incredible gains. Not in size really, but in strength. I ran out of weight to use in my own gym (in work) so had to find newer ways to hit the volumes I was now capable of lifting. Alongside these programs I started to really but some effort into getting the right supplements (which is why I started my twitter account @savvysupplements) so that I could recover and perform day in day out.

After the last HIT I did I started to move away from websites like bodybuilding.com and muscle and fitness as they just didnâ??t seem to be giving me what I needed to improve. This is where T-Nation comes inâ?¦.

Before T-Nation I was a semi-interested lifter. I thought of myself as advanced but I was really an amateur who knew good form but nothing about shifting serious weight. I am still this, but now I have a greater respect for lifting heavy objects and then putting them back down. Anyway, T-Nation led me to Christian Thibaudeauâ??s Built for Bad program, which is what I wanted to talk about in the first place.

Build For Bad

Below is my progress chart, with original notes, that I kept over the 6 weeks program and you can see that there was a steady increase in most exercises except for the High- Pull and the Military Press. The numbers arenâ??t important for you. They mean a hell of a lot to me because it was a killer to get there but you may be able to lift more or less and you should tailor this to you at all times. What is important is the progression each week:

Week: each new line is a weeks progress. Only problem exercise so far is the military press.
Olympic bar unless stated otherwise, Any Dumbbell weights = lbs not KG

Starting weight = 82kg

Trap bar
1550 (not counting bar)
1705 (weight only)
1805 (90 From Wednesday)
11105
11205
1125

Machine press
1490
1495
14100
14110 (10=lbs)
14115
14120

High pull
1340 (try 45 next week)
1345
1550 (need to pull more with Shoulders, too much leg right now)
Missing A week, repeated the 50
1355 (didn’t make it past this. Another week and maybe, next go round will get more)

Military press
1235 (warm up = 303, too much. Lower warm up and hit 40 next week).
1235 (need to get shoulders warmed up more, lots of cracking)
1237.5 (day one barely made it. Check the rest of the week)
1140 (get to 40)
Repeated 37.5 week
1240
1245

Lat pulldown
11100
11110
11120
11125
11130
11135

One of the articles in T-Nation said that you should be able to lift 2.5 times your body weight for a deadlift so that = 205kg. As you can see I am some way away from that, but I will be aiming to hit that one this year. Just need to practice, practice, practice!

Coach CT says in his programme notes that he was the biggest heâ??s ever been after this and I can attest to this fact. I have never been bigger. None of my old shirts fit me and several of them are bursting at the chest so if I wear them and draw my shoulders back the buttons are either popping off or are holding on for dear life. Annoying, because I now have to buy new shirts, but great, as its visual proof that I am huge in comparison to my old self.

Thatâ??s the good part. The bad part is that this is a tough programme. Its five days a week of maximal effort for 6 weeks. That puts some stresses on the body and in my case the mind. Looking at my numbers, theyâ??re not huge so I think my body was up to the task over the course of the programme, next time I do it Iâ??ll be starting from a heavier weight so the body may need some extra fuel to get through. It was the mental aspect that really got me as I was doing the same thing, day in day out and it was hard. Your mind needs new experiences in order to keep interested so 6 weeks is a long time to be doing the same thing over and over again. Keeping yourself focussed throughout is the key to lifting heavier weight I think. This is something I will be preparing myself for the next time.

I train in the morning so Pre-workout for this was:

Bulk Powders â?? Complete Pre-Workout Advanced
Bulk Powders - Pure Whey protein.

Final Thoughts

To wrap this up neatly, this is a tough workout, but you will be very happy with the results overall. What I also found is that I gave things like my biceps and triceps a much needed rest over the 6 weeks as this is all about compound movement so isolation exercises are off the table to focus on overall strength and size. That is almost reason alone to try this out as you may well be suffering the same problems I was with grip and pain in the forearm flexors.

Give it a go and you will be happy with the results. I promise!