New(est) Training Questions

Training
281

[quote]Thy. wrote:

  1. I’m wondering maybe some type of ramping would be better for Day 2 ? Just a while ago I loved this type of work (10+ straight sets of 2-3 reps), but I see what you have said about the same weight becoming “auto-piloted” after 2-3 sets (I felt it myself as I become more and more effecient with the same weight after 4-5 sets), so I’d rather do a kind of ramping if you find it optimal.

  2. My max force set for 3 reps appears to be only +20 kg. So if I go for 5 reps on Day 3 it will be super low volume (probably 5,10 kg and unlikely +15 kg), so 3-4 sets total including the unweighted one.

Then when I continiune to ramp to 3 reps it will most likely be only 1 more set (+15 or +20 kg), if at all.

Should this day be changed somehow because of these reasons ?

(note : my gym has only a stupid hook for hanging the weight, allowing only 1 plate at a time, so I’m limited to +5 kg jumps only, besides the 2.5 kg plate.)[/quote]

  1. Ramping will always be optimal. The goal of the second workout is basically motor skill practice and strength stabiliation. What I suggest is ramping up 3 times (moving up in weight 3 times), doing 3 sets with each weight… basically something like:

3 sets with 60% of what you did on day 1, 3 sets with 70% of what you did on day 1, 3 sets with 80% and 3 sets with 85%

  1. Actually a pull-up weight includes everything below the elbows, which you have to lift… this is about 80% of your bodyweight.

So if you weigh 80kg, when doing chins with no added weight you are lifting around 64kg. With an added 20kg it means that you are lifting 84kg.

If your sets are still too low (below 5), double ramp by performing each weight for 2 sets.

282

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Fuzzyapple wrote:
CT,

Forget where I read this but what is your recommendation on dosing with fish oils? It was a value of x/Kg or x/lbs, or something on the lines of that.

Thanks,
FA[/quote]

1g per % of body fat[/quote]

What is your reasoning for this?

283

CT,

CUrrently doing your beats building phase 3 and using the various techniques you have been talking about lately and am seeing great progress. Thanks again.

My question is,

Im having a bit of trouble understanding your new recommendations for program setup.
If i were to change my routine to something centered more around the 3 exercise routine youve been talking about lately, would something set up like this be appropriate, or ami lost.

Example chest day

1.BB Bench (Flat, decline or incline) (ramping 8x3 or whatever ramp method im feeling that day)
2.Floor Press (same as above)
3.Decline Flys (ramp to 6)

am i doing to little? or is the bb bench + floor press counter productive

284

CT: going to implement your program (as per recent “perfect rep” article), i.e., specifically the rep form and rep range/ramping guidelines.

How does this routine sound - too much, too little or OK volume.

Day 1, BS , Hip Thrust, SLDL
Day 2: Weighted Pull Up, Pendlay Row, Seated Incline DB Curl (for extreme stretch)
Day 3: BB Bench, Standing Press, Decline Skull Crusher
Day 4, 7 rest
Day 5: 2 sessions, AM: Power Clean, Front Squat; PM: Conventional Deadlift, Close grip Chin
Day 6: Incline DB Press, Dips, Incline Lateral Raises (for extreme stretch)

My lifts at the moment are:
ATG Squat: 2xbodyweight
Bench: 1.6bodyweight
Weighted Pull Ups and rows: 1.5 Bodyweight
Hip Thrust and Deadlifts: 2.2xbodyweight
Standing Press: 0.85xbodyweight.

Hoping to improve these 20-30% in 6 months on your approach

285

coach how can i contact mr pierre roy?he has an e-mail?please if you know post it.i need it.merry christmas to you and in your family.

286

I have pretty much just started weightlifting and need some advice.It seems I’m lucky to have found the the best information from the start.

I’m wondering what you would consider a good starting program for a beginner using autoregulation and ramping.I know there is no best program, I would like to know is this program alright though.

3 days a week using a squat/push/pull variation each day ramping with 3 reps to a set of 6 for each exercise.

Would you recommend the 3/4 of the rep controlled and a free fall for the final 1/4 with a quick turn around for a smaller lifter as you were mentioning in the perfect rep or just be explosive for the eccentric aswell.

287

Thibs; Any thought on this? Forums - T Nation - The World's Trusted Community for Elite Fitness

288

What is the BEST things to do pre workout? Stretch, foam roll, etc. in detail please

289

Thib,

I’ve done a bench press workout on Monday which consisted of ramping to max force set of 3 reps, then 5x4 with 10kg less (I wasn’t ready for 5x5), then 1x10 with 10kg less. The last set was about 60-65% of max and it was super explosive, I think I completed it in under 8 seconds or so.

The next day and on Wednesday I have been mildly sore, but once I started benching with 60% weight, my shoulders and chest were about to rip off, especially the chest and I was forced to discontiniue. Now I’m super sore in the chest and I very rarely get sore.

Do you think it’s because of a combination of high reps and snappy turnaorund of the 10 rep set ?

But my real question - I bench with just outside shoulder width grip with elbows V-shaped, and my triceps are totally recovered, shoulders moderately recovered while the chest is super sore - does this mean that I’m a chest-dominant presser ?

290

[quote]Thy. wrote:
Thib,

I’ve done a bench press workout on Monday which consisted of ramping to max force set of 3 reps, then 5x4 with 10kg less (I wasn’t ready for 5x5), then 1x10 with 10kg less. The last set was about 60-65% of max and it was super explosive, I think I completed it in under 8 seconds or so.

The next day and on Wednesday I have been mildly sore, but once I started benching with 60% weight, my shoulders and chest were about to rip off, especially the chest and I was forced to discontiniue. Now I’m super sore in the chest and I very rarely get sore.

Do you think it’s because of a combination of high reps and snappy turnaorund of the 10 rep set ?

But my real question - I bench with just outside shoulder width grip with elbows V-shaped, and my triceps are totally recovered, shoulders moderately recovered while the chest is super sore - does this mean that I’m a chest-dominant presser ? [/quote]

Could be. I simply believe that the workout did cause a lot of micro-trauma and that you were not recovered from it by wednesday. I once did a workout where I used twitch reps with added band resistance and my chest was sore for 10 days, and I’m not a guy who gets sore either.

I would wait until the soreness subsides before hitting chest again, let your body recover from the intense growth stimulus.

291

[quote]denisined wrote:
I have pretty much just started weightlifting and need some advice.It seems I’m lucky to have found the the best information from the start.

I’m wondering what you would consider a good starting program for a beginner using autoregulation and ramping.I know there is no best program, I would like to know is this program alright though.

3 days a week using a squat/push/pull variation each day ramping with 3 reps to a set of 6 for each exercise.

Would you recommend the 3/4 of the rep controlled and a free fall for the final 1/4 with a quick turn around for a smaller lifter as you were mentioning in the perfect rep or just be explosive for the eccentric aswell.
[/quote]

Seems like a good start. I would also add a 4th day where you only do isolation work for body parts that might have been neglected by the main workouts.

Since you are a beginner, I recommend a controlled eccentric… not too slow, but something like 2-3 seconds down. And a fast concentric (lifting). Once you have mastered the explosive concentric (give yourself at least 4 weeks) increase the speed of the last third of the lowering phase, still keeping full control of the load. Do this for another 4 weeks. Then you’ll be able to gradually increase the speed of the lowering phase ALWAYS MAINTAINING CONTROL.

292

[quote]sam21 wrote:
coach how can i contact mr pierre roy?he has an e-mail?please if you know post it.i need it.merry christmas to you and in your family.[/quote]

Can’t do that. If he wanted to be reached by just anybody he would make his contact info easily found on the internet.

293

[quote]gsxtacy wrote:
CT,

CUrrently doing your beats building phase 3 and using the various techniques you have been talking about lately and am seeing great progress. Thanks again.

My question is,

Im having a bit of trouble understanding your new recommendations for program setup.
If i were to change my routine to something centered more around the 3 exercise routine youve been talking about lately, would something set up like this be appropriate, or ami lost.

Example chest day

1.BB Bench (Flat, decline or incline) (ramping 8x3 or whatever ramp method im feeling that day)
2.Floor Press (same as above)
3.Decline Flys (ramp to 6)

am i doing to little? or is the bb bench + floor press counter productive[/quote]

You DO NOT have to use only 3 exercises for the system to work. I said that I PERSONALLY use 3-4 exercises, mostly because that is what I’ve done for 80% of my training career. I trained for 8 years as a football player and our coach (who became my mentor) had us do 4 exercises per session.

Then I switched to olympic lifting for 6 years and again, 4 (sometimes 3) exercises were done in a workout.

So for 14 years that’s how I’ve trained. When I switched more to a bodybuilding approach I did experiment with various splits and number of exercises. I got good results with up to 6 exercises per session (If I trained two muscle groups that day) but could only train each muscle group once, sometimes twice per week with this approach.

With 3-4 exercises I’m able to train each muscle group 2-4 times per week, which represents more growth opportunities.

And this number of exercise is ideal FOR ME because of my psychological profile. I PERSONALLY don’t like to do a lot of different exercises. I prefer to increase volume (if needed) by doing more of the same stuff within a workout (I might have more variation from workout to workout).

If I am to use more variation in a session, I prefer to use various techniques and contraction types for the same basic movement pattern. For example, here is my latest bench press workout:

A. Bench press, ramped up to 405 x 3 then did 425 x 2 (took me 7 sets)
B. Bench press with weight releasers I used a fixed bar weight of 315lbs but ramped up by adding more weight on the releasers until I reached the heaviest weight I could control on the way down (turned out to be 455lbs, or 70lbs per releaser) … took me 4 sets
C. Bench press contrast: 1 set of 3 rep with 225lbs VERY explosive, 1 set of 1 rep with 355lbs also fast, repeat the contrast twice (total of 6 sets)

That was the workout… technically I only did one exercise but 4 types of contractions and a total of 17 sets.

Now, the exercise selection will depend on the training split you are using and your training goal.

A whole-body workout with 3-4 exercises will not look the same as an upper body or lower body workout with 3-4 exercises which will also be different that an antagonist split with 4 exercises or a body part split with 3-4 exercises.

294

[quote]MAF14 wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Fuzzyapple wrote:
CT,

Forget where I read this but what is your recommendation on dosing with fish oils? It was a value of x/Kg or x/lbs, or something on the lines of that.

Thanks,
FA[/quote]

1g per % of body fat[/quote]

What is your reasoning for this?[/quote]

I’d like to take credit, but it is something I learned from Charles Poliquin and NOBODY is more anal about keeping data of all the possible training, nutritional and supplementation parameters than him, then comparing them to body composition changes. So I wouldn’t question this recommendation.

295

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]sam21 wrote:
coach how can i contact mr pierre roy?he has an e-mail?please if you know post it.i need it.merry christmas to you and in your family.[/quote]

Can’t do that. If he wanted to be reached by just anybody he would make his contact info easily found on the internet.[/quote]
ok coach i understand this situation.i want to ask you only one question about “doubles” technique.when use this technique to improve a lift like squat or clean and snatch what are the loading parameters that we use?please give me a sample example.i hope to have a happy new year!

296

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]MAF14 wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Fuzzyapple wrote:
CT,

Forget where I read this but what is your recommendation on dosing with fish oils? It was a value of x/Kg or x/lbs, or something on the lines of that.

Thanks,
FA[/quote]

1g per % of body fat[/quote]

What is your reasoning for this?[/quote]

I’d like to take credit, but it is something I learned from Charles Poliquin and NOBODY is more anal about keeping data of all the possible training, nutritional and supplementation parameters than him, then comparing them to body composition changes. So I wouldn’t question this recommendation.
[/quote]

good enough for me… thank you

297

i read earlier in a post that calf training has never been a concern for you but what advice would you offer for someone trying to bring up calves using these principles?would any of the advice change?

there is so much conflicting info with calf training and most of it says to do a slow eccentric with a pause at the bottom,higher reps for soleus,and other info that would go against your advice?

thanks

298

[quote]d22 wrote:
i read earlier in a post that calf training has never been a concern for you but what advice would you offer for someone trying to bring up calves using these principles?would any of the advice change?

there is so much conflicting info with calf training and most of it says to do a slow eccentric with a pause at the bottom,higher reps for soleus,and other info that would go against your advice?

thanks[/quote]

We have several methods, the key is to find a way to emphasize the turnaround force production. Explosive reps are one way of doing this, but reps from a deadstart are another way.

I would recommend:

A. (activation) ankle jumps or hopping; 3 sets of max reps in 12 seconds

B. (stimulation) Standing calves raise using a controlled eccentric, a fast turnaround and an explosive concentric… starting at around 60%, ramping up to the max force load for sets of 6 reps

C. (capacity work) Seated calves raise from a deadstart, pause for 2-3 seconds in the stretched position then lift explosively… starting at 40-50%, ramping up to the max force load for sets of 8 reps

299

Coach, I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on my twice a day, 2 days on 1 day off split.

Day 1: Chest (Mostly flat BB bench, some incline BB, some flat DB, finish with flyes) and back/biceps (mostly weighted pullups and cable rows, some pulldowns, DB/BB bicep curls).
Day 2: Lower body (either squats or deadlifts, some front squats, SLDL on squat days but leg curls on deadlift days, a few leg presses to finish) and shoulders/triceps/traps (DB shoulder presses, upright rows and lateral raises, CG bench press, pushdowns and skull crushers and 2-3 sets of DB shrugs for traps).

Usually 10 sets or so for larger muscle groups and 7 or so for arms and shoulders using the same theories you’ve been preaching lately.

Just wondering if you’d change the muscle groups around a bit or if it looks fine to you.

EDIT: Also, assuming nutrition, especially workout nutrition, is excellent, do you think it would be possible to spread this out over 3 days, 1 pull (2 workouts), 1 push (2 workouts), 1 legs (maybe only 1 workout) and repeat it twice a week in a row, with only 1 day off? My strength definitely suffered when I tried doing my 2 days on 1 day off split without taking a day off, but this was while I was dieting, and strangely enough my CNS felt good or I wouldn’t have tried it, but my strength definitely suffered).

300

i want to ask you only one question about “doubles” technique.when use this technique to improve a lift like squat or clean and snatch what are the loading parameters that we use9always i train with low number for reps and i want to improve my relative strength.)?please give me your advice.