Feeling amazing, looking amazing @aldebaran my French friend.
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This morning 84,1kgs before morning poop. Soon under 84, it will be the first time in 2 years, but I’m confident I’m more muscular (legs especially), aesthetic, feeling better and stronger.
Ate a bit of McDonalds yesterday because I didn’t take the time to cook, but still stayed at 2600
Looking super lean today, I’ll do some progress pics tomorrow. I wonder what I’ll look like if I push to 80!
When I did my shoot 2 years ago I was 80-81, but I looked at past pics and I’m pretty confident I look better, really
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Many sets of low reps is (are?) cool.
Did you ever do a little explanation/write up of the French Contrast stuff? I saw the posts in your log but I’m not sure if I ever knew what exactly was going on.
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I never thought someone would care about this ahah but I’ll end up writing something about it so here you go
French contrast was invented by Gilles Cometti (1949-2007), a doctor in exercise science. He was always fascinated by strength and conditioning, and was one of the most prominent figures in his field. Some of his writings or findings are controversial, but he laid down the base of many techniques and scientific principles of exercises. After the old sovietic scientist, he was the first to really investigate exercise science.
He’s one of Thibaudeau’s actual inspiration, who devoured one of his old books when he was young.
French contrast is based on the old Bulgarian complex, and was digged up and popularized by Cal Dietz and Ben Peterson in their book Triphasic Training: A systematic approach to elite speed and explosive strength performance (I can’t wait to buy and read that one)
French contrast is a blend of contrast and complex training. The goal is to work different metrics of the strength-speed spectrum at the same time to improve power and power endurance, with four exercises that use the same plane and motion.
- Post-activation potentiation via a heavy movement. Lifting, and especially lifting heavy will cause a phosphorylation of the sarcomeres. Meaning that the muscles responsible for the contraction will react faster to calcium and as such will be 5 to 20% more sensitive to the neural stimulus.
The key is to amp up the muscle without tiring it, or else the benefits of the PAP are lost. So here we use a heavy coumpund for 2-3 reps at 80-85%. We can get creative here. For instance using olifts up to 95%+ without problem as long as we’re sure not to fail. Or use something different than auxotonic repetitions like we can use isometrics at critical angles (for instance 3 secs iso quarter squat) or even pure eccentrics.
So we can do: squat variations, lunge variations, deadlift variations, olympic lifts, bench press variations, press variations, pull-up variations, row variations.
- A plyometric movement. We go to speed-strength or speed here for sets of 3-5 repetitions. A classical bodyweight movement is the go-to, even if we can use something else, like for instance Reactive banded rows, as long as we stay in the speed-strength or speed continuum.
So we can do: jump variations, push-up variations, pull-up variations, row variations
- A weighted plyometric movement. Now we rise to strength-speed for sets of 3-5. The simplest thing to do is simply to use the same movement as previously but with weight. But we can also use ballistic movements with balls or the smith-machine, or olympic lifts…
So we have: weighted jumps, ball throws, bench throws, olympic lifting, prowler pushing or pulling…
- An assisted plyometric movement. Finally we use an overspeed movement for 3-5 repetitions. Anything in the same motion but assisted to generate more speed than we could on our own.
So here we can use: band-assisted jumps, band-assisted push-ups, Band-assisted pull-ups or rows, sprinting, band-assisted sprinting, slope sprinting, bounds…
As with all power methods, quality primes over quantity, so we use 4-6 minutes of rest here and 3-6 rounds.
For instance for vertical lower body power, we could do:
- Back Squat x 2 at 85%
- Box Jump x 5
- Squat Jump x 5 with 20-30% of max back squat
- Band-assisted Vertical Jump
For for horizontal pressing power we could use:
- Bench Press x 2 at 85%
- Plyo Push-Up x 5
- Med Ball Chest Throw x 5 with 15-25 lbs ball
- Band-assisted Plyo Push-Up x 5
This method is a favorite of American S & C coaches for team sports like American football, Hockey, Rugby etc…
It was used as a “hit it and quit” method just before starting the season for a few weeks, but as its popularity grew, some coaches used it for long periods like Joel Smith in baseball for many weeks which noted that his athletes had developped significant power endurance as well as power, and that after a while, his athletes were actually generating peak power sometimes on their fourth sets!
Some research has stated that it was most likely more efficient than regular power work in the context of S&C, and at least less time consuming and as efficient.
One could very do only French contrast for his session and call it home. You could add some easy work or conditioning to it, which is what I did.
First time I heard of this was by John Meadows, so I investigated. First time I tried, I did plyo push-ups at a never reached height. You can literally feel the effects set to set.
I did it for 4 weeks and I noticed improvement in my Box jumps (I almost touch the ceiling now, and I do now on assisted jumps) as well as very noticeable squat speed out of the hole
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Now those band assisted jumps make a little more sense.
Then you do not get the “mental toughness” part.
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12/04
One-Arm barbell Row
Rack Pull
Banded Pull-Up
Meadows row
Banded Pull-Over
V-Ups
Hammer Preacher Curl
Concentration Cable Curl
Did a PR on the rack pull (12 x 405)
Last two reps did a number on my abs, but I stopped before rounding or something. my abs and obliques were on fire afterwards!
Long (almost 2 hours) but good session! It’s nice doing it with 2 partners. Also i coach them so I work on my cues and all ahah, see what works and doesn’t
Weighted this morning 85 on the dot. Ihat’s disappointing! Probably the pizza and extra cal from yesterday, or the bad food that I ate on friday and saturday depsite staying on 2600 cals
So that’s it, zero processed food, zero cheat, nothing! I did my fasted cardio this morning and some more walking tonight.
Seen some old photos from 3-4 years ago, and I sensibly look the same. I think I am 3-4 kilos heavier than 2 years ago, when I had the same level of leanness. So that’s good! But yeah it all went down to my legs (which I don’t mind), and perhaps a little bit on shoulders, chest and low back
I just feel I have been spinning my wheels for years. Tired of this! So now, no more enjoying life and the process, I go hardcore and we’ll see what happen. Let’s get truly shredded!
Friday I ate a pizza. It was the horrible leg day. I just ate intuitively for the first three meals. i checked my macros at the end of the day, and suprise I was at 2600 cals, 270 carbs, 80 fats, 180 prots! Damn, so I don’t eat too bad intuitively!
But still, I want to get things to the next level. Let’s get real.
Have been sleeping pretty bad these last three days and it shows on the pictures here:
Low back/love handles still there. It will be the last upper body fat to go away. Still very far from having quads separation
Didn’t really work today, I have trouble doing my project for school. hard to get back to school stuff after two months off! I’ll wait for my tutor to come back
I just feel tired. I’ll diminish cafeine tomorrow. But I don’t care. I want to be shredded. If not now, when? When I’ll have a wife and children and all? Nope, they’ll come first!
So let’s destroy the freaking gym and kitchen for a few weeks
I have to stop fooling myself
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For what it is worth, I think you look great. Getting leaner would not be an improvement aesthetically IMO. But what do I know - it that’s what’s make you happy go for it. Thing is, I have a feeling it won’t…
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Thank you. Yeah I’m pretty sure it won’t but I’ll have most likely learned something and produced nice pics!
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Looking freaking jacked. That shoot is going to look awesome.
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Love those upper back veins. So sick
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Your back is looking great as always. If you call those love handles then mine must still have the door attached to them!
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@simo74 @wanna_be @jdm135 thanks guys! The back is good already, and I have some veins on my serratus.
A month ago I was a tiny bit leaner (when i did the crazy back pcitures)
I was eating more but I was moving way more! Doing cardio at the end of session, Crossfit sessions in the morning, hikes…
So yesterday I increased my steps to 12 000 a day, keeping fasted cardio at 15 mins this week but will increase by 5 mins every week. Will probably add some cardio/boxing at the end of the 3 easy days
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Congratulations. There doesn’t seem to be any rules on where the bar should hit on rack pulls. If I go knees or above, I can get to that 500lbs mark without concern. From my ankles to below my knee I have to stay around 400lbs. I hurt myself from a low rack pull as I was lowering the bar under control. So now as I lower, I get above my knees and then push it out with my legs and let it hit with minimal control. I was going to half-ass it today since I already did a session this morning. I just may do some pulls now!
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What’s funny is the few times I’ve tried a rack pull I was significantly weaker than a normal deadlift. Idk if it was a form issue or just a new lift issue or I just found a weak spot in my deadlift.
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Yeah I don’t do over knees because I feel it doesn’t have much carryover to me then because I’m not bent-over enough. My weakness is below the knees anyway in the deadlift. But I can see how it could be useful, as it destroyed my core! (which is also a weakness of mine)
Most likely a blend of all? 
How do you usually fail your deadlifts? How high are the rack pulls?
I almost never do them but I can see myself doing them more to reinforce my core and traps (whole traps and rhomboids are torched right now, as well as obliques and lower back)
If I can break the ground I can pull it. I’ve failed numerous times and I’ve never failed after breaking the ground.
I can’t remember on the rack pulls honestly. It was elevated for sure, but by how much I’m not sure. I remember I looked it up to see what was common height though.
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Yeah I’m the same, either my back will round, or I will fail at like 5 cms from the floor top
So I’m guessing it’s more that you weren’t used to the exercise!
I haven’t deadlifted in a long time. I quit while I was making great progress, I have some excuses but they are just that lol. BUT I just started doing RDL’s and my first real day with them my back was sore for a day or two lol really surprised me
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We underestimate the value of isometric… I do snatch-grip RDL when I want to work upper back and traps strength ahah
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