Coach Thib's road to be less bad at 46

Training
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Ok, you are gonna laugh. I, once again, changed my plan.

YES, even a solid coach can be afflicted by programing ADHD!!!

If anything, a knowledgeable coach might be more at risk of it because we know a lot of methods and system and we want to find the absolute best approach for each situation.

I love the complexes, but for some reason, it just didn’t feel right for me right now.

So I’m now attempting more of a Bondarchuk-type programing where I stay with a certain group of exercises and methods (repeated at every workout) until I either start to regress or until I do the block of exercises/methods 20 times, whichever comes first. After which I’d switch to a new block of exercises and/or methods.

For this block I’ve settled for:

Squat with weight releasers x 1+2 (1 rep with an extra 110lbs on releasers, follow by two normal reps) working up to the heaviest weight I can do in good form.

Muscle snatch from blocks x 3 reps, working up to the heaviest weight I can do in good form

Bench press with Slingshot x 3 reps, working up to the heaviest weight I can do in good form

Barbell curl x 6 reps, again, working up to one heavy set

Triceps pressdown x 6 reps, to a top set

I’m going to try to do this everyday, sometimes twice a day. I might throw in some remedial stuff for the shoulders here and there.

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Coach,

This is really cool - thanks for sharing your current training. I find myself logging on every day to see what you’re doing!
For this particular Bondarchuk type method - how will you measure regression, e.g., a few workouts in a row of decreased strength?

Also if you begin regressing in one of the movements but not the others, will you just change the exercise you are regressing with or change all the exercises?

Thanks!

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It has to be a tendency. Since the workouts are repeated quite often, there might be some fluctuation in performance.

In the past, when I had a regression of 6% in 3 consecutive workouts I would take 3 days off and changed block.

I only look at the 3 main lifts of the workout and for a 6% regression to be official" it needs to affect at least 2 of those exercises.

When I conclude that there is a regression, I change every exercise in the block, including the minor movements.

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That’s super clear and makes sense. Thanks for explaining! Looking forward to seeing how this block goes for you

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Hey Coach, I couldn’t be more interested in your new Bondarchuk workout, its something that sounds like it would fit into my workout profile. Just a couple of questions about it.

  1. are you working with the same weight on each exercise for the entire 20 workouts (or until you regress) example using 315lbs for each squat

  2. how long approx should a workout like this take? Is it more performance based where max rest is taken between sets / exercises or is something where only minimal rest is required? I’m curious as you said it’s something you plan on doing daily or even multiple times daily.

Thanks for sharing this, I’ve learned so much from your logs! They teach me as much as any article I have ever read.

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@KingRagnar

Here is how I use the 6% drop off method. I wasn’t sure if I was going to explain it as it is pretty out there and complex. But I figure that it might interest you.

First I establish the maximum load (for the selected reps) on all exercises (did that yesterday).

Then I calculate 94% (a 6% decrease) in each of these loads.

These 94% loads become my daily weight (what I use for every workout).

I change the block when I can no longer do the 94% load or if I perform the session 20 times.

The way the sessions are organized is as follow:

  • The “big exercises” (squat with weight releaser, muscle snatch, bench with slingshot in this case) are done as a circuit, with some rest between stations.

  • After a proper warm-up, all exercises are loaded with the 94% load

  • I go through all 3 exercises as a circuit, for the selected number of reps. I keep doing the circuit until I reach the point where I can’t complete a set for the selected number of reps. The goal is to get as many circuits in as possible.

  • Once the big work is done. I do the same thing with the minor work.

Notes

  • The 6% drop-off and the circuit nature is not from Bondarchuk. It’s from Jay Schroedder. Bondarchuk tended to use each exercise block for a pre-determined duration

  • I change the exercises block when I cannot do a single good set with the 94% weight for 2 of the big exercises in a given workout.

  • If I can’t hit the 94% load for even one set on ONE exercise, I lower the load a bit for that exercise for that session

  • Why the circuit format? First to save time. I’ve done this before and if you do each lift individually it can get very long on some days (I once was able to get 15 sets on an exercise). But, mostly, it is so that each exercise has an equivalent fatigue curve. If you do the exercises individually and get something like 10 sets on the first movement, the 2nd will receive a much lower stimulus (the 3rd, even more so) because of the accumulation of fatigue.

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Yes, I explained it further in the post above.

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Thanks for sharing this method and your process! This is really cool and unique. I definitely want to try this in the near future.

-I like this because it seems like there is kind of a built in auto regulation with it - days where you are feeling good you’d be able to get more circuits completed, and days that are lower energy would be less circuits completed.
-I like the strength training in circuit format - seems efficient and like it keeps the mind fresh during the workout.

Quick question - what would you say the main improvements are from doing this workout method, e.g., strength, Hypertrophy, etc.? I feel like you would build quite a bit of strength doing this, but you would also accumulate a lot of effective reps to stimulate Hypertrophy too…?

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Well, it’s first and foremost a strength program.

But, as you mentioned, because the weekly workload can be very high and full of “effective reps”, there will be some growth (which is part of the adaptations that makes you gain strength on this program).

The last time I used a similar approach (back then it was bench press, safety bar squat and seated rows) I did gain significant muscle mass as well as strength. I stopped because at one point my work capacity improved so much that the daily volume became ridiculous and too much time consuming.

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Thanks Coach. Well if there is any reason to have to stop a program, having too much work capacity is a darn good reason I’d say :slightly_smiling_face:

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Well, to be fair, I always had a very high tolerance for low reps, near maximal lifting. I once did 100 sets of 1-2 reps on the bench press with 90%+ in a workout and did another 70 in the PM.

This probably comes from my training in weightlifting where we would routinely do two 2-hours sessions per day.

I think that if you put 90% on the bar and ask me to do as many singles or doubles as I can go for 5-6 hours (well, I’ll die of boredom first).

What got me in today’s workout was the circuit nature. My overall conditioning is fairly poor at the moment. So I go winded and tired because I ran out of strength. But that affected my strength performance. Had I rested like 90 sec between exercises, I’d probably still be working out. So when I train this way I typically set a set limit not to exceed.

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100 sets of 90%+?? And then more in the PM?? Sounds like an apex cluster workout :rofl: that’s absolutely crazy and impressive that you were able to do that! Is that indicative of having a genetically high ratio of fast twitch fibers or some other genetic predispositions?

It’s funny because I know someone who can do extremely high volume of reps with lighter-medium loads but if he tries to go 90%+ he burns out super fast. And this guy of speaking of played football and was used to lifting heavy weights.

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I think it’s an acquired trait. I’ve always been an excessive person. When I’m into something I’m really into something.

Add to that a naturally low level of self-esteem and the need to be respected led me to excessive training practices the moment I started.

I remember when I started weight lifting (at 12) I would train in the morning before school, at lunch break at school, after school (when I didn’t have football) and then again in the evening at home!

I did that throughout high school. Stupidly enough I really limited my gains by eating the following on most days:

Breakfast: 2 bowls of kid cereals
Recess snack: 2 “specials”… the cafeteria sold a bag of chips and a candy bar for 1$, they called it the special. I would eat 2.
Lunch: 2 pastries (1$ each)
Snack on way back home: 1 bag of soft candy (they were 1 cent each, so I’d get a bag of 100 for a dollar)
Supper: What my mother made, which was a normal mean (my only meal with a decent amount of protein)

And in the evening I’d eat cookies, pastries or other similar stuff.

It’s a wonder I didn’t develop diabetes!

When I got to college my training became more sane because I followed the football team’s training program.

But when I got into weightlifting, I’d often train 2h twice a day, doing tons of sets of 1, 2 and 3 reps.

When I trained at the national center, I would drive 2h in the morning to get there, train for 2h in the morning, 2h in the afternoon, then go train a group of figure skaters and then drive 2h back home in the evening. I’d do that 5 times a week.

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January 13th

Today was supposed be an off day. But we got snowed in and all our activities got canceled: Jayden’s karate and Madyson’s gymnastic classes were canceled and we also had to postpone our trip to an indoor amusement park.

This is to give you an idea… 2 days ago we barely had any snow accumulation!

image0 (1)

So what to do when you are stuck at home? Train!

Jayden and I both did two workouts.

I started with my regular workout (posted a few posts back) in the AM and in the PM I redid the bench and biceps 94% for max sets.

Jayden did the following:

AM
Floor press 5 x 5
Military press 5 x 5
Barbell curl 4 x 8

PM
Deadlift 3 x 5, 3 x 3
Clean-grip high pull 3 x 5
Horizontal row (first time we did these) 4 x 5 + 10 sec hold on the last rep

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Wow that’s some serious dedication with all of that driving to the National Training Center. Being “excessive” by nature, as long as you’re able to channel that time and energy into something productive seems like a key ingredient to success - likely why you’re one of the best coaches (The Best :slightly_smiling_face:) in the world!

It’s interesting you mention diet - diet has been such an important aspect in my life. My performance and progression as an athlete and sprinter was night and day when I began focusing much more on my diet. I see so many athletes that completely overlook this aspect.

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Well, to be honest, it was a poor decision on my part that led me to stop weightlifting!

For the 4ish months I did that, I actually got weaker! In retrospect I think that the long drives (which were really bad for my knees) and eating less (because I didn’t have time) were the reasons, not so much the program.

For example, prior to going training at the National Center my best squat was 550lbs x 5 and 600 x 1. I also front-squatted 485. At the end of my 4 months there I could only squat 450 x 5! And most of my “strength lifts” went the same direction.

My competitive lifts (snatch, clean & jerk) stayed the same. So one could argue that my technique did improve, but my strength loss balanced that out and my performance did not increase.

And then I bombed at Nationals…

That’s when I decided to quit. I figured that after all of that I did not improve, I probably did not have what it took.

Ironically, I hit my best snatch more than year after I stopped training for weighlifting. I was training “Westside” plus some olympic lifting on dynamic effort day.

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That’s bang on. I’ve been shocked more than a few times by how poor the diet of many of the pro athletes I worked with were.

I remember an NFL all-pro RB (at the time) whose pre-workout meal was cheese and his post-workout meal was diet Red Bull!!! The dude was 6’2" and over 230 lean and he didn’t even lift in the off-season because it made it too big… genetics are amazing!

Even the best are leaving some performance (and performance longevity) on the table by neglecting proper nutrition.

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Today might be a off day as I have a live online presentation and these things tend to completely drain me.

It’s weird, but I find that one hour presenting online drains me as much as a full day of in-person teaching. I think that it might have something to do with the fact that it doesn’t feel like I’m presenting in front of people and that I need to amp myself up to be the best version of me.

So we’ll see about a training session. I might be on an adrenaline rush and still be able to train well.

But I find that amping yourself up and stress leads to tighter muscles, especially in the flexors, which can mess up lifting mechanics.

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Totally agree with this. I don’t know why but interactions on remote video conferences that go over an hour and you have to prepare hours in advance for burn me out also. I never understood why this is the case.

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That would be an interesting and relevant study to conduct.

The blue light emission compounded with having to artificially amp yourself up might have something to do with it.

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