CT Prime Time

[quote]amitsapir wrote:
and also from diet wise im right now on 120garms carbs per day
{ususly from rice and 0% youogrt
and 250 grams of protein im planinig to cut the carbs of 20 grans every day intitll the copmtition is that ok?

yes im feeling sore more than ususual after practice in all of tham!

im also having trouble sleeping{but probbly due to the tren use…}[/quote]

Well from all the symptoms you explained you are definetly in an overtraining state (which is not rare when approaching a show).

Really bump up your vitamin C intake (especially post workout) to help fight cortisol. If you have access to it, phop?atidylserine and tineptine (stablon) will also help lower cortisol levels. Depending on the time you have available each day, I would split the volume even more during the day. It would be best to perform 3 sessions of 30 minutes than 2 sessions of 45 minutes. Taking a nap between two sessions.

I would decrease training volume slightly (down to around 9-12 sets for big muscle groups and 6-8 for smaller ones), working mostly in the functional hypertrophy zone (6-8 reps) or even heavier.

If you feel tired during the day TAKE NAPS!!! They will help you compensate for the lack of nightly sleep. A schedule looking like this:

7:00am: wake-up
7:30am: cardio (low-intensity, 45 minutes)
8:30am: meal no.1
10:00am training session no.1 (heaviest)
11:00am: meal no.2
11:30am: sleep for 1 hour
12:30: meal no.3
2:00pm: training session no.2 (moderate)
3:00pm: meal no.4
3:30pm: sleep for 1 hour
7:00pm: cardio (low-intensity, 30 minutes)
7:30pm: meal no.5
9:00pm: meal no.6
10:00pm: bed time

If you feel tired, increase carbs intake slightly (up to 170-180g), with 2 sessions and 2x cardio you won’t gain fat.

thank you s0 much CT on the info
im starting this from tomorow and
keep you posted:)
the show is on the 27 of this month i will lett you now how it was.
agin about 1000000000000000 thank you this schdule it what i missed!

The Thib shall continue to answer your questions tonight.

Hey Thibs! Thanks for the great answer! Are all these theories in your books? If so which 1s? LOL I wanna buy all your books now! Haha anyway, I had a little trouble understand this part.

"For size an strength I prefer a model that is a mix of wavelike periodization and conjugate periodization.

I focus on volume for 4 weeks (normally 50% of the volume is for hypetrophy, 30% is for strength and 20% is for power). This is an accumulation block.

Then I focus on strength for 4 weeks (60% of the volume for strength, 20% of the volume for powerm 10% of the volume for hypertrophy). This is an intensification block.

Finally for 4 weeks we focus on power (60% of the volume is for power, 30% if for strength and 10% is for hypertrophy). This is an explosion block. We then go back to step 1."

I dont understand what “wavelike” periodization with conjugate means.

Also I dont understand how to setup 50% of hypertrophy volume, 30% for power and 20% power. How would you divide the volume and workouts. Would it be like 2 weeks hypertrophy then a week for strength and power? Or would it be all worked simulatoneously? and if so, how? Same for the intensity phase. Man IM COFUSED OUT OF MY MIND! I also read your theory on specialization, and I want to see if i have this correct.

Mon: Quads and Triceps Volume Work
Wed: Q/T Intenisty Work
Fri: Q/T density work.
and this would follow the accum/intensification.

How many sets for Mon, Wed, Fri?

  1. For Monday, How much volume would you incorporate? What techniques would you incorporate? such as supersets? exercises How long should this workout take?

  2. Wed- For intensity, same as Monday, how many sets would you put in? techniques, such as drop sets, or would it be like 3x3, and you would have a triset or something

  3. Density- lol, same questions too, e.g as above.

And would you progress by adding sets, or increase density, or weight, or would it be seperate for each day? Such as adding a set for mon, bumping the weight for Wed, and increasing density for Fri.

I Was thinking about buying Tudor Bompa’s Periodization Training for sports, and serious strength training also. But I am really itching to buy your books, and was wondering how many books you had out, what are they called, and where I can purchase them.

ANOTHER SHIT LOAD OF QUESTIONS, BUT I KNOW U LOVE US T-NATIONERS! haha, Really though, Thanks for all your time and help. I really appreciate it.

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
It’s simple really …

accumulation = to accumulate; training based on performing a large quantity of physical work.

intensification = to increase intensity; training based on performing a smaller quantity of work, but of a higher intensity.

Accumulation and intensification periods will be different depending on the sport and objective. But normally …

ACCUMULATION

  • Higher number of exercises (6-8 per session)
  • Higher number of total sets per muscle group (due to the higher number of exercises)
  • 50/50 mix of basic work (big compound exercises) and isolation work for specific muscle groups
  • Working mostly in the functional hypertrophy (6-8 reps) and hypertrophy (8-12 reps) zones. Although strength/power athletes will also train in the limit strength zone (3-5 reps)
  • Hypertrophy-friendly techniques (post-fatigue, drop sets, agonist/antagonist supersets, tempo contrast, iso-tynamic contrast, 1 1/2 reps, superslow eccentrics, etc.)
  • Short rest intervals (30-90 seconds)
  • Higher total frequency of training (4-5 sessions per week)
  • More GPP work
  • Will normally use an upper/lower body split

INTENSIFICATION

  • Lower number of exercises (3-4 per session)

  • Lower number of sets (via the reduction in the number of exercises)

  • Only using compound movements EXCEPT to correct possible residual weak points.

  • Train mostly in the relative strength (1-3 reps) and limit strength (3-5 reps) zones.

  • Inclusion of high power exercises (olympic lifts, plyometrics, balistic lifts, etc.)

  • Using strength-building methods (cluster, extended sets, max intensity isometrics, eccentric overload, etc.)

  • Reducing in the total frequency of training (3 sessions per week)

  • Reduction in GPP work

  • Increase in sports practices

  • Using whole body sessions
    [/quote]

    I understand how you might use the intensification block for olympic lifting, but how would you organize an accumulation block if you wanted to use this methodology in an O-lifting routine? Most O-lifters would never go to 8 reps on the classic lifts or their close relatives, and even 5 reps is pretty high. It’s understandable to train for hypertrophy with assistance lifts (squats, presses, etc.), but during the accumulation phase where do the classic lifts themselves fit in?

CT:

What are you thoughts on “Bradford Lifts/Press”? (I hope that’s right;the combination Military Press/Behind-the-neck Press=1 rep)

It SEEMS like you could put more force and intensity into doing both seperately…but there also is something intriguing about the combination…

Thanks!

Mufasa

CT,
When planning a diet for a client do you take into consideration their insulin sensitivity? If so how do you test this (oral glucose tolerance test?)? And if not, why?

Thanks!

Well in a true Bradford press you do not perform neither a full BNP nor full military press. You press the bar just high enough to clear the head. This take the triceps completely out of it and keep the stress on the shoulders.

Great shoulder builder when performed in either the functional hypertrophy (6-8 reps) or hypertrophy (8-12 reps) zones. I wouldn’t use it for super heavy work though.

[quote]Mufasa wrote:
CT:

What are you thoughts on “Bradford Lifts/Press”? (I hope that’s right;the combination Military Press/Behind-the-neck Press=1 rep)

It SEEMS like you could put more force and intensity into doing both seperately…but there also is something intriguing about the combination…

Thanks!

Mufasa[/quote]

[quote]retailboy wrote:
CT,
When planning a diet for a client do you take into consideration their insulin sensitivity? If so how do you test this (oral glucose tolerance test?)? And if not, why?

Thanks![/quote]

Not really because I do not use any high glycemic index carbs except for Surge post-workout. And there are carbs only in the morning and around workout time. So insulin management is not really an issue.

[quote]retailboy wrote:
CT,
When planning a diet for a client do you take into consideration their insulin sensitivity? If so how do you test this (oral glucose tolerance test?)? And if not, why?

Thanks![/quote]

And I always start with carbs on the low side and gradually increase them as long as no body fat is gained.

However body fat distribution can clue us on insulin sensitity. Those who have a tendency to store fat in the love handle usually are insulin resistant.

CT,

How does one determine training age? Is it based on how much you can lift? Am I right to assume that training age can vary among bodyparts.

A lot of people spend the majority of their time benching, so would this mean someone with a 300lb bench has an intermediate training age for this lift? And if the same person neglected posterior work, then would their lower body training age be a beginner? Thanks.

Pierre Roy, the former coach of the national weightlifting team (back when they actually won medals!) is the originator of the accumulation/intensification blocks.

During an accumulation block we would perform 5-6 sets of 4-6 reps, even on the competition lifts. He called that “specific bodybuilding”.

However I personally feel that performing a high number of sets of 3-4 reps with arounf 80% would be more effective.

[quote]Yoda-x wrote:

 I understand how you might use the intensification block for olympic lifting, but how would you organize an accumulation block if you wanted to use this methodology in an O-lifting routine?  Most O-lifters would never go to 8 reps on the classic lifts or their close relatives, and even 5 reps is pretty high.  It's understandable to train for hypertrophy with assistance lifts (squats, presses, etc.), but during the accumulation phase where do the classic lifts themselves fit in?  [/quote]

Hi CT,
I don’t know if you saw it or not, as I posted just after you left last night, but I had a question about your “Rapid Fire” neck training article. Would you modify the program at all for someone who was training for football as opposed to a race-car driver? And if so, what would you change? Thanks!

In faith,
WS

CT, wondering if you missed my post. Would you mind going into detail on this “wavelike conjugate” method? How does one have 50% volume for size, and the rest for strength and power? Is this a microcycle or mesocycle? How would one go about making a wavelike cojugate periodization?

CT 2 more qustions about the
help you gave me plese.

1)does 2 aerobics sessios aday wont make me loose mass intill the show?

2}do you think a3 days on lifiting and 1 off is agood choice? or shuod i lift every day initll the show with no rest?or day on lifiting ,day off lifting will be better?

[quote]Xfactor88 wrote:

I dont understand what “wavelike” periodization with conjugate means.
[/quote]

Wavelike means waving volume and intensity back and forth. In a linear periodization scheme intensity gradually increases during the whole cycle while volume gradually decreases.

With wavelike periodization (or undulating periodization) intensity increases rapidly, then is lowered, then brought back up, etc. and volume also fluyctuates, but not always in direct proportion to the increasity variation.

Conjugate means using more than one type of training or training more than one physical capacity within the same training block. Since strength work, hypertrophy work and power work are used during all phases, it is a conjugate rather than unilateral model.

And back to wavelike, as my earlier graphic showed, the importance of each training method is "waved during the cycle.

[quote]Xfactor88 wrote:
Also I dont understand how to setup 50% of hypertrophy volume, 30% for power and 20% power. How would you divide the volume and workouts. Would it be like 2 weeks hypertrophy then a week for strength and power? Or would it be all worked simulatoneously? and if so, how? Same for the intensity phase. Man IM COFUSED OUT OF MY MIND!
[/quote]

Don’t be, it’s quite simple really. And don’t let the percentages fool you. They are not exact proportions… they are simply meant to indicate what is the focus of each phase.

An easy way to plan this is to divide the week into training units of 30 minutes. For example, each week you have 4 workouts lasting 1 hour each. So each workout has 2 units of 30 minutes each.

So that gives us 8 units per week.

Now, if you want to spend 50% of your volume on hypertrophy work, that means that out of those 8 units, 4 will be devoted to bodybuilding/hypertrophy training. So you can either have 1 hypertrophy unit per session (30 minutes per workout) or 2 hypertrophy units twice per week (so 2 full workouts devoted entirely to hypertrophy).

25% = 2 units. So let’s say that you have a phase in which 50% of the training time is for hypertrophy, 25% is for strength and 25% is for power.

Hypertrophy = 4 weekly units (2 hours)
Strength = 2 weekly units (1 hour)
Power = 2 weekly units (1 hour)

A sample schedule might look like this:

Monday: lower body 30 minutes strength, 30 minutes hypertrophy

Tuesday: upper body 30 minutes strength, 30 minutes hypertrophy

Thursday: lower body 30 minutes power, 30 minutes hypertrophy

Friday: upper body 30 minutes power, 30 minutes hypertrophy

Generally speaking 30 minutes is enough to perform 3 exercises when working for hypertrophy and 1-2 exercises when working for strength or power.

[quote]Xfactor88 wrote:
I also read your theory on specialization, and I want to see if i have this correct.

Mon: Quads and Triceps Volume Work
Wed: Q/T Intenisty Work
Fri: Q/T density work.
and this would follow the accum/intensification.

How many sets for Mon, Wed, Fri?
[/quote]

Yes correct,except that monday would be intensity work, wednesday volume work and friday density work. And the rest of the body is worked either on 1 or 2 other days.

[quote]Xfactor88 wrote:

  1. For Monday, How much volume would you incorporate? What techniques would you incorporate? such as supersets? exercises How long should this workout take?
    [/quote]

For the intensity workout:
2 exercises per muscle group (sometimes up to 3). One in the limit strength zone (3-5 reps), 1 or 2 in the functional hypertrophy zone (6-8 reps).

No need for special techniques, just heavy lifting. Although cluster training and rest/pause can be used.

[quote]Xfactor88 wrote:
2) Wed- For intensity, same as Monday, how many sets would you put in? techniques, such as drop sets, or would it be like 3x3, and you would have a triset or something
[/quote]

Wednesday would be the volume day:
3 exercises per muscle
1 exercise in the functional hypertrophy zone (6-8 reps)
1 exercise in the hypertrophy zone (8-12 reps)
1 exercise in the strength-endurance zone (12-15 reps)

Techniques such as slow eccentrics, supersets and single drop drop sets can be used.

[quote]Xfactor88 wrote:
3) Density- lol, same questions too, e.g as above.
[/quote]

For density:
3 exercises performed as a giant set. 1 in the hypertrophy zone (8-12 reps), one in the strength-endurance zone (12-15 reps), one in the endurance-strength zone (15-20+).

Repeated 3-4 times.

[quote]Xfactor88 wrote:
And would you progress by adding sets, or increase density, or weight, or would it be seperate for each day? Such as adding a set for mon, bumping the weight for Wed, and increasing density for Fri.
[/quote]

For intensity strive to add weight. For volume try you can either add intensity techniques (supersets, drop sets, etc.), add reps (within the prescribed zone) or add weight (within the prescribed zone). For density try to reduce workout time while keeping the workload the same (taking even less rest between sets and less rest between supersets).

Staying with the periodization theme of the evening…

Would you continue to use accumulation/intensification blocks during a fat-loss period, or would you stick with a basic routine that preserves strength?

Also, is there any one specific program or template of yours that you would recommend for such a fat-loss period?

Thanks.

[quote]amitsapir wrote:
CT 2 more qustions about the
help you gave me plese.

1)does 2 aerobics sessios aday wont make me loose mass intill the show?
[/quote]

If you are using anabolics it shouldn’t be a problem. If you are lean enough, you should stop cardio 7 days before the show anyway. So 7 days of two a days won’t kill you. Especially if the intensity is low (treadmill 3.0 mph, 12 degrees incline). You should be able to talk while doing your cardio.

Many top pros do up to 2 cardio sessions of 1 hour per day right up to the show with no problems. But remember to stop it 7 days before the show.

[quote]amitsapir wrote:
2}do you think a3 days on lifiting and 1 off is agood choice? or shuod i lift every day initll the show with no rest?or day on lifiting ,day off lifting will be better? [/quote]

At this point listen to your body. Take a day off when you feel like you will not be able to do any good in the gym.

[quote]leon79 wrote:
Staying with the periodization theme of the evening…

Would you continue to use accumulation/intensification blocks during a fat-loss period, or would you stick with a basic routine that preserves strength?

Also, is there any one specific program or template of yours that you would recommend for such a fat-loss period?

Thanks.[/quote]

Read my article “Lifting for fat loss” in the archieve!

and also how this split division sound to
you:

day1-chest and biceps didivided to 2 sessions-9-12 sets 6 big movmnet 3-5 isolation movmnet for chest and isolation for biceps mostly dumbles.

day2}back and abs:9 12 sets all compuond movments in first session and 9 sets of abs in the secend sessions

day3-legs{my best body part}12 sets isolation becuse i need the seperation
and 12 sets upper chest and shulders in the evening

this 3 day cycle day number 4 will be just to areobics and posing?and repeat cycle.

and also a3day fusid 100ady mg will be good
to take the water out the days befroe the show?or its to much?