What about Kevin he is the full guinea pig, yet you dont hear much from him.
Does he follow the pulse feast or pulse fast? Do you guys still do reps of 3 or do you do more for the compounds?
So much to learn hope you dont mind me asking this stuff.
Maybe Kevin should make a thread it would be good to hear from the both of you
[quote]Alex Raymond wrote:
As for my training, coach Thibaudeau has me and Kevin doing a new training method. So far, it hurts like hell and Im getting incredible pumps!!! I won’t write everything down, but it consist basically of building a pump and creating a blood flow as much as possible in the muscle, stretching the fascia, by doing super high partial reps. Then, you switch to more conventional compound movements, with lower reps, to really tear up the envelop.
[/quote]
Thats pretty cool! How do you feel recovery wise after this? I tried something similar at the end of my workouts for awhile a month or two ago where id do a few max rep circuits than do 4-6 sets of accentuated eccentrics, under the same theory. But my problem was I was too fatigued after the circuits to do anything close to what id consider heavy (for me) and would just end up grinding reps. It would just ending up negatively effecting my workout the next day.
@Liam M: Well, since we came back home to Montreal, Canada, me and Kevin haven’t train together all that much, but I know that right now were both following the same training technique, which consist of creating as much pump as possible in the muscle with partial super high reps, then fininshing it off by tearing the fascia with full reps.
On the 2nd training of the day, we always do 8 sets of 3 reps of bench press, deadlift and front squat. Those sets are mainly to add volume, so on the last couple sets only we go to 80% of our 1RM.
As for Kevin starting to write, it’s in the works, donT worry guys…in the mean time feel free to ask, I’ll pass it on to him!
@kjmont: Well, the trick is to use fairly light weights, since the pump is the purpose. Doing sets of 25-30 partial reps, for lets say a side lateral, I’ll use maybe 20-25 lbs, while normally I could use a lot more than that, but since Im building a pump towards the last few sets (where you add full reps) and towards the compound movements at the end, using heavier weight and lower reps to tear the fascia, my goal is not to fatigue myself, just to bring as much blood to the muscle cells. Otherwise like you said, you’ll end up burning yourself out! But still, it’s tough to handdle!
Hey, Alex!
I’ve been reading the thread. Its very cool that you take the time to answer everyone’s questions. I can’t wait to start adding some more muscle, but I’m focusing on losing the last of my gut right now.
Keep up the good work!
@iamthesamurai: Thanks for following the tread buddy!!! Im pretty much like all of you guys, the only difference is that I made a lot more mistake during the years, from which I’ve learn, sometimes the hard way! If I can help you guys avoid those mistakes, I’ll gladly will! Nice approach about building your physique, mind as well start with a strong tight fundation, then add layers of muscle as you speed up your metabolism.
Thanks for the feedback Alex! I’m going to use it as soon as I can train again (probabily starting sometime next week).
So you’re saying CT has been experimenting with something new. sounds interestig, but I’m not going to apply that until he details more about it.
Oh, I once asked Thib but he didn’t answer (so I tought maybe you can) how can I bring up my armwresteling strength? It didn’t count so much but my partner just told me that sometime near summer they’re going to have an armwresteling tournament at their school and he asked me to help him via training. Now I have some Ideas like grip training, forearm training and maybe rotator cuff work but I have no idea wich to apply or how to structure his training.
BTW, say hello to Kevin and I was wondering for how much time is he training? I know that CT trained for a total of 12 years (in quite a few domains) and that you’ve been training for 13 years (and you also did other sports like football and handball - congrats for that).
[quote]Alex Raymond wrote:
@iamthesamurai: Thanks for following the tread buddy!!! Im pretty much like all of you guys, the only difference is that I made a lot more mistake during the years, from which I’ve learn, sometimes the hard way! If I can help you guys avoid those mistakes, I’ll gladly will! Nice approach about building your physique, mind as well start with a strong tight fundation, then add layers of muscle as you speed up your metabolism.[/quote]
Thanks, Alex! I’ve learned a lot and I’m always learning more. Keep it up, man!
hey alex im starting a bodybuilding routine today any advice you could give me about working out and about the diet? what kind of diet am i supposed to follow btw keep up the good work
[quote]Mirwais wrote:
hey alex im starting a bodybuilding routine today any advice you could give me about working out and about the diet? what kind of diet am i supposed to follow btw keep up the good work[/quote]
Dude, this is the kinda question that annoys people. There are a billion articles on this site about nutrition and training. Try reading some of them.
hey i have a kidney disease and my doctor told me not to take any kind of supplements so how am i supposed to follow their nutrition plans when all do is advertise supplements? i got the programs down but what about their dieting programs i obviously havent found any? so could you please show me one that doesn’t involve supplements
Nutrition for Newbies, Part 1
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1793585
Nutrition for Newbies, Part 2
dude holy crap thanks where did you find these?
[quote]Alex Raymond wrote:
@Jaynick77: I know exactly how you feel man!!! It’s been couple of months now since my operation, and besides direct bicep work, my strenght is pretty much back to 95%, at least physically… But the fear of hearing something pop again is always there, every ache or pain I get scared a bit!
Id say that the fear is going away slowly, but Im sure it will never be back like before, that was the most pain I felt in my life, hands down!!! Lots of warm-up sets, stretching, massages, and a bit of luck is my strategy!!!
Hope everything comes back to normal my friend, or at least close to…[/quote]
I’ve been following CT’s HP Mass program and my body feels pretty good now that I’m done with week 6. I’ve seen some good progress and my shoulders and knees have never felt better.
In one of the pages you mention doing some ramping with your bicep exercises. Does that look similar to what CT posted in his HP Mass program where you ramp up to your MTW and then do wave loading from there with each week adding addiional sets? Are you able to post the bicep ramping with rep count and weight %'s?
Hope your Jamaica trip is cool. Do you get an itch to train while you’re on vacation or is it a welcome break for you?
Hey Alex, a quick question about your diet. How do you cook your veggies? I guess the easiest thing to do would be to throw a bag of frozen ones in the microwave lol. Just wondering what you do. As always, thanks for keeping us up to date on everything and spending so much time in here.
@Jaynick77: Well buddy, not really, because of my arm injury and operation Im limited with the movements I feel comfortable with. For example, preacher curls with the E-Z bar are fine for me, since my wrists are slightly turn inwards and I don’t have to suppinate, which is the most difficult and painfull thing for me right now. Other dumbell exercises, where I keep my wrist straight the hole time are fine too, like incline curls or hammer curls.
As for the weights and reps scheme, this differs from workout to workout, depending how I feel that day. You see, numbers are exactly that, only numbers, and I try not to put too much emphasis on them. Normally I’ll try to do a total of 15 sets, but on a sluggish day that could very well be 12 or on a good day, up to 20. Reps are kept in the range of 3-5 for most exercises, but I’ll throw in some max reps, partial reps and higher reps, like 12-15. Actually right now, Im doing sets of partial reps with very high reps, then finish it off with 10 complete reps with a lighter weight at the end.
Yes (Yeah mannnn!!!, for those of you who ever went to Jamaica…lol!), I had an awesome time with the wife thank you! But I’ve got to admit, normally I only drop down to one workout per day instead of 2, but at this super luxurious resort, the average age was 60, so the gym consisted of two inclinable bench, dumbells up to 45lbs and barbells up to 80lbs. I still was able to train 5 times during my week there, but it was a challenge just to find enough exercises and resistance to have decent workouts. Then again, I kinda needed the rest, so it’s all good, I enjoyed the sun, a bit of food, some funky drinks and of course, my beautifull partner in crime!!!
@tuper06: For years, I did exactly that man, frozen veggies was easy, fast, and the next best thing besides fresh ones. But now that I don’t work 60hrs a week no more, I have time to cook them fresh.
I personnaly throw some onions, zucchinis and green peppers in a pan, cook them for couple minutes, then throw in either some chicken breast, some fish or some beef in it. Some Miss’s Dash, and either a bit of salsa or hot sauce. I eat that mix twice a day, with a source of complex carb or not, depending if it’s my high carb or low carb day.
If you have a busy schedule and don’t have time to go to the store often and cook your meals one by one, then I would suggest staying with the frozen kind, that way you won’t waste the fresh veggies and won’t loose time over cooking and shopping for them.
I hope you had a great time in Jamaica, Alex; I’m sure you deserved it!
In fact one of my goal is to go to somwhere in US by the age of 25 (a dream form my childhood).
I was wondering who does your carb cycling in one week? (like how many days do you have high and how many low?)
Keep up the good work.
Gaby 2700: Well it depends of my overall look. Before my trip to Jamaica, I wanted to tighten up a bit, so I was doing 2 low carb days, where pretty much all my carbs were taken peri-workout, followed by one high carb day. I also allowed myself one cheat meal a week, normall pizza, my personnal favorite!!!
Since I came back though, I do one day low carb, one day medium carb and one day high carb. If for some reason I want to tighten up again, I’ll switch back to a 2 low-one high scheme. For now, since I train twice a day and still weigh close to 245lbs, I don’t really push it with the cardio. If and when I hit a plateau, then I’ll introduce cardio, maybe 3 times a week, and bump it up gradually depending what my goals are.
I think that the trick is not to use all your tools at once, diet, cardio, fat burners, adding training sessions. That way, untill you stop progressing, there’s no need to change everything all at once. Diet alone will go a long way. If you start doing cardio 5 times a week, 1 hour each time, what will you do next, when you want to lose even more, do 6 times 1h30 hour per week??? Also, you risk loosing muscle mass, so by starting you cutting phase early, it alows you to shed the fat slowly, while incresing your metabolism at the same time, preventing excessive muscle loss.
[quote]Alex Raymond wrote:
I think that the trick is not to use all your tools at once, diet, cardio, fat burners, adding training sessions. That way, untill you stop progressing, there’s no need to change everything all at once. Diet alone will go a long way. If you start doing cardio 5 times a week, 1 hour each time, what will you do next, when you want to lose even more, do 6 times 1h30 hour per week??? Also, you risk loosing muscle mass, so by starting you cutting phase early, it alows you to shed the fat slowly, while incresing your metabolism at the same time, preventing excessive muscle loss.[/quote]
Alex,
Thanks for sharing–that is very logical and informative. A topic like that (“Not using all your tools at once”) would certainly make a great article for this site.
Keep pushing hard man!