[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
Coach,
Would you critique form and offer advice if I posted a video of my squat?
If not, no problem, thought I’d check before posting.
Thanks,
Tim[/quote]
Sure, no problem.
coach i try to send you some videos from youtube in your e-mail.they arrive ok to you?is difficult to you to answer in last question which i posted for supplements?with respect SAM
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
Coach,
Would you critique form and offer advice if I posted a video of my squat?
If not, no problem, thought I’d check before posting.
Thanks,
Tim[/quote]
Sure, no problem.[/quote]
Thanks Coach,
390 and 350 were during the same workout. 390 is my max. I watched the 350x5 video and I was not pleased with myself. I was not hitting parallel and I tended to lean foward and good morning the weight out of the bottom.
I thought hip mobility might be part of the issue. I did hip mobility exercises prior to the box squat to try to make it easier to hit parallel while maintaining form. Any other thoughts/advice would be appreciated. My squat hasn’t budged much since doing Smolov in January to April of this year and my deadlift continues to make gains. I want to bring my squat up.
390x1
350x5
Box Squat
hey coach
what is your opinion on barbell hack squats (behind the back deadlifts they are called too i believe) for bodybuilding or performance training, ie worth doing or waste of time
thanks
Coach C
I train two different muscle groups every workout I want to show you my split for each day and would like to see what you think of it, whether it’s good or bad and what would you recommend, also what would you recommend for someone who is trying to put on mass and improve strength.
Monday- Chest & Biceps Tuesday- Shoulders & Triceps Wednesday- Back Thursday- Chest & Biceps (againg) Friday- Legs.
Since I am trying to put on mass and strength I stick to low reps and heavy weight but i’m not sure on how many different exercises I should be doing for each muscle group, as well how many sets I should do for each muscle group. By the way the only reason why I did chest and biceps twice a week is because I was lacking in both of those muscle groups. Thanks
Hey Thibs, (or anyone who knows) in your book Get Jacked are stutter reps Three 1/4 movements and then a full movement for 1 rep? Or is it a single 3/4 Rep and 1 Full rep to equal 1 Rep?
Or does it vary per exercise?
Thanks Again.
Thibs,
My bench press has been stuck for quite a while, my sticking point is near the bottom. I can’t figure out what the problem is.
Here’s my lifts:
My powerlifting bench is 185x4, my bodybuilding (elbows flared out) bench is 165x5
*My bench press is quite unstable with the bodybuilding style and I’m slow as hell off the chest.
I can shoulder press 142 for a single
I can do dips with 50lbs for 5 reps (210lbs total)
I can do 16 good bodyweight pullups
I can row 90lb dumbells with a pause on the floor for 8 reps
I can do external rotations with 25lb DBs for 6-8 reps
Thank you!
Hey Coach,
Another question for you regarding twice-a-day training. Back on page 5 in response to Nicky_Boy28, you mentioned that the AM workout should be focused on neural activation while the PM workout should center on volume. After reading through all four parts of The Thibs System article, there seem to be a lot of parallels between your system and the way Charles Poliquin approaches a 2-a-day routine. The only major difference I can see is that Poliquin generally advises heavier training/hypertrophy during the AM sessions and eccentric/isolation/high rep work during the PM session. Is this where you differ in opinion or am I missing out on something key?
I can see the benefit of both, but is one approach more beneficial in building muscle than the other? Also, while I’m at it, what’s your take on throwing in a cortisol reduction/controlling supplement while using this type of program?
Thanks in advance, always appreciate you sharing your knowledge!
CT,
yesterday i did some pin presses for bench accessory, and i liked them.
for shoulders- would it be a good idea to use standing or seated presses from pins, and if so where would you suggest pins- chin, eye level, etc?
what i liked about the pin presses is that they allowed me to treat each rep as its own, focus more on each rep, instead of already thinking about rep #2 as im locking out rep #1 and so on. in other words, treating each rep like a separate athletic event.
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
CT,
yesterday i did some pin presses for bench accessory, and i liked them.
for shoulders- would it be a good idea to use standing or seated presses from pins, and if so where would you suggest pins- chin, eye level, etc?
what i liked about the pin presses is that they allowed me to treat each rep as its own, focus more on each rep, instead of already thinking about rep #2 as im locking out rep #1 and so on. in other words, treating each rep like a separate athletic event.[/quote]
Shoulder presses from pins are one of my favorite exercise. I do them both standing and seated. I normally start it at eyes levels, sometimes slightly above that. One of the best triceps exercise you can do.
CT
I think you have mentioned unilateral exercises can be useful for individuals with longer limbs when bodybuilding. I recently read the argument that athletes should always use unilateral exercises as much of sport is played on one foot so training on one foot is essential. Is this a valid point?
Also, in you opinion do one legged romanian deadlifts place too much torsion on the lower back to justify their inclusion in a program?
Thanks.
Hey CT,
I’m currently following your intermediate hypertrophy template from your HTH book for my current split (every major muscle group twice a week, typical). I really do like it, but training in a busy gym with so many supersets and 5 exercises per bodypart almost makes me feel as if, in light of your recent articles, I’m overcomplicating things for myself.
Would you suggest I drop this complicated mixture of rep ranges and exercise types you designed a while ago and begin training simple and basic as you have been advocating recently, say 3 exercises per bodypart with ramping at lower rep ranges (as opposed to all the supersetting and 10-12 rep ranges)?
While this may seem basic, your Ockham’s Razor like approach to training recently has me thinking that I am trying to do too much at once.
Thanks coach!
Justin
CT,
I really need some advice with this issue I have been having. Back Squats have been making my left groin/hip area extremely tight and causing me a lot of pain to the point where I can only squat every other week. I regularly do leg swings side to side and front to back which help but the problem keeps coming back. Any suggestions for combatting this problem? I have also done some groin stretches but they have had minimal effect.
Hey CT I was wondering what your opinion of German volume training is nowadays? Do you dislike it because it will not activate the CNS?
CT,
When looking at blood work what are normal ranges for natural testosterone levels? I know everyone is different but is there a level where muscle gain is not possible or levels that are optimal for muscle gain? I believe the “normal” range varies quite a bit so I would think some people could fall into the “normal” category and still not be at an optimal level for growth.
Thanks!
[quote]Lift76 wrote:
CT,
When looking at blood work what are normal ranges for natural testosterone levels? I know everyone is different but is there a level where muscle gain is not possible or levels that are optimal for muscle gain? I believe the “normal” range varies quite a bit so I would think some people could fall into the “normal” category and still not be at an optimal level for growth.
Thanks![/quote]
The higher the better. This is obviously evidenced by the fact that bodybuilders and athletes using testosterone injections gain more size and strength than normal individuals.
In the normal male sources differ in what they call ‘normal’ levels, some say anywhere from 300 to 800ng per dl… some 500 to 1000ng.
While 400, 500 or 600 is more often than not considered normal, levels below 800mg per dl will make it much harder for your to gain strength and size, and most of the natural (not using drugs) guys who can pile on muscle relatively easily are 1000-1200 or above.
[quote]nickj_777 wrote:
Hey CT I was wondering what your opinion of German volume training is nowadays? Do you dislike it because it will not activate the CNS?[/quote]
I never comment on other coaches’ pet programs… unless I REALLY like them and it fits with my own beliefs (5-3-1 for example).
I’m not saying that a program that I refuse to comment on is not good, just that I do not like to comment on systems that do not fit my own personal beliefs since my review is bound to be biased.
[quote]jrl41090 wrote:
Hey CT,
I’m currently following your intermediate hypertrophy template from your HTH book for my current split (every major muscle group twice a week, typical). I really do like it, but training in a busy gym with so many supersets and 5 exercises per bodypart almost makes me feel as if, in light of your recent articles, I’m overcomplicating things for myself.
Would you suggest I drop this complicated mixture of rep ranges and exercise types you designed a while ago and begin training simple and basic as you have been advocating recently, say 3 exercises per bodypart with ramping at lower rep ranges (as opposed to all the supersetting and 10-12 rep ranges)?
While this may seem basic, your Ockham’s Razor like approach to training recently has me thinking that I am trying to do too much at once.
Thanks coach!
Justin[/quote]
In all honesty, and this is something I said recently, some of my earlier stuff was presented in a way to make my own beliefs (low reps, high acceleration, high number of sets per exercise, low number of exercise) easier to get across. So I would often surround my beliefs by commonly accepted dogma. This was a mistake on my part and I now have the confidence in my system and methods required to take a non-compromising approach.
Hey Thibs,
Long time reader, absorber of information…first time poster.
I’m currently undertaking one of Poliquin’s splits that Chris S. likes:
***I should note that I am doing these with slightly higher reps for endurance purposes and not to get big, but more to maintain and lean out
Mon: Chest & Back
Tue: Legs & Abs
Weds: Shoulders & Arms
Thurs: Waterbury Complex (added that myself…helluva cardio workout)
Fri: Off
Sat: Repeat
My Q is…of the exercises I am doing, I wanted to know about non-competing exercises so I can target different areas of the same muscle. Example, for chest & back day I am doing:
- bench press
- one-arm row
- incline bench
- barbell bent over row
- pushups
Q: Should I be doing the chest-back-chest-back-chest exercises like I am above or should I go chest-chest-chest, back-back? Also, is there a better way to work different areas of those muscle groups or should I add additional workouts? I want to be sure I am maximizing my workouts as I won’t be hitting them again for 5 days so I know I can bury them. 
Thibs,
What are your thoughts on training 1-2 muscle groups a day.
For example chest/bi but doing 6 exercises 3-5 sets for chest, and 2 exercises for 3 sets for biceps.
So something along this line:
A)BB Bench Press ramp up to a max set of 3
B) Incline DB ramp up to a max set of 5
C) Incline smith 3x6-8
D) Dips 3x8-10
E) Incline DB flies 3x10-12
F) Standing cable crossovers 3x12-14
with bicep exercises tossed into between sets of chest. For back there might be even up to 8 exercises.