Coach Thib's road to be less bad at 46

Training
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Training is still going well. Definetly increased my food intake in an attempt to (re)gain some more muscle.

I’m using the protein shake post-meal and the MAG-10 pre-meal strategies.

15 minutes before my meal I have one serving of MAG-10 with an added 3g of leucine.

After my meal I drink a MD protein shake. The meal itself contains roughly 50g of protein.

Yes, that’s a total of almost 100g of protein, 3x a day and no I do not believe that is wasted (a recent study showed that 100g of protein in a meal increases anabolism more than 40g).

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103

Hey coach, two quick questions about your current workout. How many rounds do you typically do in a workout, and how long do you rest between excercises. Thanks

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Well, the way it works is that at the beginning of the block I test the maximum on each lift (for the prescribed rep number) and then use 94% of that for the work sets of each day.

I do sets until I can’t complete the selected rep number with that 94%.

For example, if 3 reps are programmed, and I can only get 2 good reps (either I do not attempt the 3rd because I know that the 2nd was the last I could do, or if I get 5 but the 3rd one was a bad grind, or if I fail on a rep), the circuit is done.

On some days I might get 10 sets on others, 3. So it’s not set in stone. I once was able to do 20 sets, but was only doing 2 exercises in the workout.

As for the rest, if I’m using the method with only one exercise I’ll typically rest 2 - 2:30 min between sets. If I’m doing it as a circuit it’s normally 45-60 seconds.

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January 19th,

Today I did a nasty arms/vanity day:

A. Barbell curl 3 x 5
B. Preacher curl machine 2 x Tuor sets*
C. Rope hammer curl 2 x myo reps**
D. Left arm cable curl (my left arm is smaller due to torn biceps) 3 x 10

E. Machine triceps extension 3 x 5
F. Rope triceps pushdown 2 x myo reps
G. Individual pulleys crossed triceps extension 3 x 8-10

  • Tuor set = 6-8 reps/rest 15 sec/as many extra reps as possible/rest 15 sec, lower the weight, as many slow concentric reps as possible/then finish with as many slow eccentric reps as possible and an iso hold at mid-range

** Myo reps = 8-10 reps (1RIR) / rest 15 sec then as many micro-sets of 3-5 with 10-15 sec of rest as possible

Also introduced Jayden to the clean and press… work in progress; his clean and military press when done separately are much better, but that was a first.

4 Likes
106

Good stuff here Coach :clap: :+1: :ok_hand:

107

Alright… for personal and professional reasons I have to go back to a pure hypertrophy program as well as a stricter diet.

I need to get back into photoshoot shape, and although I love the way that I’m training now, and I’m super happy to be able to snatch again, the training plan I’m on will not give me the look that I need to have.

Plus, whenever I train for strength I seem to be incapable of sticking to a proper eating strategy: I subconsciously still think that the more I eat, the stronger I get.

I’ll be doing hypertrophy work mostly, but nothing that I do is “typical”.

Yeah, I know that the current trend is believing that the number of reps, the training methods, tempo, etc. doesn’t matter, at the same effort level you get the same hypertrophy.

While I somewhat agree, I don’t buy that 100%. I have a hard time believing that how a muscle is working doesn’t impact results.

And my past experience with special methods tend to show that some methods give better results than others, even if the true physiological (or neurological) reason might not be known at the moment.

Methods I started playing with and intend to experiment with more are:

  • Tempo contrasts: this one has been one of my favorites for more than 20 years. It gives me an unequaled pump and always delivers good results. And to this day I don’t know why!!! Basically, you go back and forth between 2 slow reps (5050 tempo) and 2 normal reps. Normally getting a total of 8 to 12 reps.

  • Flutter reps: Dr.Darden wrote about those in the past and I never tried them before. I tried them out on biceps and loved the effect. One thing that I noticed though, is that it works best with exercises with a fairly constant tension, so machine exercises are typically more effective than free-weights.

  • Myo Reps: There are many variations of Myo Reps; but it’s essentially a long rest/pause set. Doing a certain number of reps, up to 1 rep in reserve. Then resting 10-15 seconds and doing an additional 3-5 reps. Keeping going like that (15 sec rest/3-5 reps…) until it’s impossible to get 3 reps.

  • I also like to randomly add isometric holds at the position of highest tension at the end of a set, regardless of the method I used.

I see myself doing a form of hypertrophy layer:

On a single exercise:

Layer 1: Ramping to a 5RM
Layer 2: 1-2 sets of Myo Reps at around 80% of the 5RM
Layer 3: 1-2 sets of Tempo Contrasts at around 60-70% of the 5RM
Layer 4: 1-2 sets of Flutter Reps at around 50% of the 5RM

3 Likes
108

One thing I’m trying out…

My left bicep is significantly smaller than the right one. That is due, mostly, because I tore the outer head years ago.

But it has worsened, to the point where I almost have no bicep at all on my left side and cannot get ANY pump or mind-muscle connection.

I reason that it is a combination of accumulated scar tissue and nerve damage.

As a last resort, I decided to try daily local injections of BPC-157 (healing peptide).

Didn’t have much expectations because the injury is very old (it’s not like I’ll regrow the torn section) and I’m not even sure if BPC can heal nerve damage.

Well, after a week I noticed an improvement: for the first time in years I was able to get a pump in my left arm and actually had a decent mind-muscle connection.

I don’t know if it’s the BPC or simply something that is due to local inflammation (although I’m using an insulin pin and BPC isn’t pro-inflammatory, quite the contrary). Anyway, I’ll keep doing that for a month to see what happens.

5 Likes
109

January 22nd

Ok, today was probably the biggest pump I ever had. Although it might be because I spent the previous 3 months doing performance and strength work, which gave me almost zero pump and the contrast was dramatic.

Anyway, today was a push workout:

A. Machine lateral raises 2 sets of Flutter Reps
B. Machine shoulder press 3 sets of Tempo Contrast
C. Standing lateral raise machine 2 sets of 12-15 reps
D. Converging machine chest press 2 sets of Flutter Reps
E. Seated cable flies 3 sets of Tempo Contrast
F. Dips machine 2 sets of Tempo Contrast

Note: Triceps are done with Biceps on an arm day.

4 Likes
110

This is super cool. Thanks for sharing this!
A few questions if you don’t mind.

  • For the tempo contrast, are you training to failure on most of these sets or leaving some reps in the tank?
  • How do you plan to periodize a Hypertrophy plan like this - adding volume, reps, increased intensity, weight?
  • Also, for Hypertrophy, if the effective reps model is accurate, then is there really any need to ever periodize training or have progressive overload for Hypertrophy? Why can’t we just always go to failure or a low RIR and have enough stimulus to make progress? I’ve always wondered this and would love to get your thoughts
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I reach a point where I could not complete another slow rep, but might have one more normal rep in me.

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Likely organically by trying to add weigh when possible. I don’t see myself doing more sets, it’s very draining work.

Also, I might throw in or rotate some other methods. Honestly, this is like. 6 weeks blitz to get into photoshoot shape, so I’m not really periodizing anything

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I believe that this model has a lot of things right, but it’s just a theory and my experience has shown me that different types of methods and contractions can lead to different adaptations.

Greg Nuckols wrote a great objective critique of the effective reps theory. I think that it does a lot of good to simplify training and get people to train harder. But it’s not all inclusive and does not apply to everything… but it catches on because it makes things so simple that even dumb bros can sound smart by reciting it’s principles LOL

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114

It seems hard to apply effective reps theory to deadlifts.squats.olympic lifts or anything like that …

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And stuff like tempo contrasts, flutter rep, 1 1/2 technique, or even superslow training which has a different rate of fatigue than normal reps.

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In general (not just with training), I think direction is often more important than perfection.

If all the effective reps model does is tell us we actually have to work hard to see results, it’s awesome.

I think issues can arise if we try to fit every training technique into the model in a binary “it works or it doesn’t” manner. Of course we can observe a spectrum of results and effects in the real world, so we know better than to do this, but it’s tempting in internet discussions.

I’m feeling awfully philosophical this morning.

Really cool to see your hypertrophy approach, Coach! It’s fun to see different ways you work methods to align with both your goals and your gym “personality”.

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Yeah i agree …in the end we all have to figure out what works for us through trial and error…

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January 23rd

Today was a pull workout. Now, contrary to the push workout where I don’t do the triceps (only chest and delts), on my pull workout I do biceps. The reason is that my biceps are my weak point, and because I want to hit my biceps as often as possible while doing the BPC-157 local inject on my lagging biceps to see if it can catch up.

So I’m doing biceps on pull days and on arm days.

A. Straight-arms pulldown 2 sets of flutter reps, 2 sets of tempo contrast

B. Rear delts on reverse pec deck 2 sets of flutter reps, 2 sets of tempo contrast

C. Single-arm high pulley row 3 x 6-8

D. Rope upright row 3 x 6-8

E. Preacher curl machine 3 x 6-8, 2 sets of tempo contrast, 2 sets of flutter reps

F. Rope hammer curl 2 sets of flutter reps

G. Single-arm cable curl (left arm only) 4 x 8-10 reps

One thing I noticed is that my chest and delts are still freaking swole from yesterday’s workout. Honestly, it’s been a very long time since I’ve had this feeling.

5 Likes
119

Thank you, I appreciate your insight on that. Thanks for the Greg Nuckols article suggestion - I just read it - great article.

It’s interesting because in that article he also mentions that the evidence supporting longer rest times between sets to create more Hypertrophy isn’t necessarily true for everyone. I kind of resonate with that because I hate taking long rest times between sets :joy: I feel like it really depends on how well adapted the person is to recover between sets…

Also another point on Hypertrophy. I feel like my gains stagnate a lot if I do the same thing for more than a few weeks. I make way better progress when I switch some things up, whether it’s rep schemes, intensifiers, style of training, etc. I don’t know if that’s just my Neurotype or if there’s something to it.

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My take on this topic, and I’ve talked about this in many seminars, is that studies use mostly beginners.

And even the subjects who are not beginners in the sense that they have been training for some time, I still qualify them as beginners because it’s mostly recreational lifters who never trained hard enough to stimulate gains.

People like you and I; those who are hardcore lifters, don’t want to put their own program on hold to train on what is typically a very basic, beginner program for 6-10 weeks.

Why is that important? Because what we call central fatigue; the main reason why longer rest periods are touted as being superior by reducing the strength of the neural drive (thus reducing fast twitch fibers recruitment) is caused by afferent signals of pain, discomfort and unusual effort/perceived effort.

Basically, if something feels hazardous for your health, your body will inhibit its capacity to do it by reducing the neural drive to the muscles.

In beginners, this protective mechanism is a lot more conservative and kicks in more easily. But as you gain more experience of hard training, your body knows that the sensations felt during a hard set is not going to do you harm so the protective mechanism known as central fatigue becomes harder to trigger.

It’s kinda like working in a very loud factory: the first few weeks the noise really bothers you and fatigues you like crazy. But after a few months, you become accustomed to it and it stops making you tired. The stimuli is still there, but the brain doesn’t react the same way.

For example, I once trained a pro football player (offensive lineman) and in the last phase of training we were working on the capacity to maintain a high. level of force with only 40 seconds of rest (the time between plays).

So we did 5 sets of 5 with 45-60 seconds of rest.

The first week looked like this on the bench:
420 x 5
60 sec of rest
420 x 2
60 sec of rest
365 x 5
60 sec of rest
315 x 5
60 sec of rest
275 x 5

By week number 4 he was doing 420lbs for the five sets of five with only 45 sec of rest!

I’ve also trained Crossfit athletes who would get their PR on a lift during an EMOM (so less than 1 min of rest between sets, adding weight every set) and even on a ladder (adding weigh every set, but with like 10-20 sec of rest).

Heck, I’ve even had a female Crossfit athlete hit her PR on the snatch (185lbs) right after a 400m sprint!!!

3 Likes
121

Quick question: do you have a recommendation as to the best way to use both Surge and Mag 10 during a training cycle? I have been using Surge for the past year but am new to using Mag 10 and would appreciate any input you might have on this combination. Thanks!