New Methods Results

Bigger Stronger Leaner Christian Thibaudeau Coaching
1

I was just reading among a couple of the threads and i realized that alot readers (myself included) have been incorporating Thibs new training methods that he used with Darryl for his contest prep (High performance training).

I honestly could not have asked for better guidance and new training ideas, and i have been having great results using all of these new methods (circuits, NC workouts, concentrated spec, eccentricless training, etc.)

I wanted to share my results from the past 7 weeks of incorporating these methods, and i was also curious as to how others are liking these new training ideas as well?

just as an example, in the past 7 weeks my: (all 3 rep maximums)

incline bench press - up 50 pounds
bench press- up 30 pounds
leg press- up 150 pounds
squat- up 40 pounds
military press- up 25 pounds
weighted dips- up 30 pounds
deadlift- up 45 pounds
rack pulls from above knee- up 80 pounds

haha, im not going to list EVERY exercise, but these are some of the ones i feel i have made the most progress in. i have been using circuits, multiple pressing days, MANY nueral charge workouts and techniques,etc. And every training session i use 3 scoops each of Anaconda/MAG-10/ Surge workout fuel.

this might be a little silly, but i really am extremely excited at the progress i have been able to make. Just wanted to hear if anyone else is enjoying this as much as i am. all of this happened btw, and i also LOST 2 pounds in the mix!

Thanks to Thibs, T-Nation, and everyone who was involved in the live spills and what not.

2

Dayne, I have been following the new training methods from the live spill for about 7 weeks. I have never seen these kinds of gains. I am dieting for a show (2 weeks out) and am struggling to make weight because the training has gone so well. I should come in over 10lbs heavier than I did last year, which is incredible considering I haven’t put on any serious weight over the year because I play Jr hockey.

I did have a bit of a problem with the concentrated specialization phases because of soft tissue problems that seem to flare up but the gains have definately noticeable. I have stayed around the same weight since I started with these methods and have dropped a significant amount of bodyfat.

As for training I my early session consisted of an activation exercise, followed by 3-5 exercises of ramping sets of 5 reps. Followed by a max rep circuit of 4-6 exercises. I used 1 scoop workout fuel, 1 finibar, 2 scoops anaconda, 2 scoops MAG-10 and some extra leucine thrown in. My later session would be an eccentric-less prowler session with 1 scoop Surge workout fuel, Anaconda,and MAG-10.

Off days I have been doing a neural charge with one scoop Anaconda, and tyrosine post workout.
I havent been keeping much of a strength log, but I could not be happier with the change in my physique over the last couple of months which I attribute to Thib’s training methods and Anaconda protocol. I can’t wait to see what comes next and how my gains come along when I start eating again lol! Good to see these methods are working for other T-Nation members as well!

3

Funny that you guys would post results here - today I was thinking of doing the same.

Hit 350 close grip bench (16" grip) at END of my pressing WO today. 1/2 way to my goal. Started at 300 close grip, standard bench PR before was 340 so now I have passed that and that’s after doing an activation exercise, military and push press before doing 2 waves 3-2-1 bench.
(Yeah, that’s probably some girls warm-up set, but it’s good for me! :stuck_out_tongue: )

Similar periWO as colin and NC WO on days off, basically 6 days a week sometimes 7 with 2 or 3 WO’s being NC. Push / Pull / Legs format.

Hit all time PR in Squat Tuesday and I’m old!

A sincere thanks to Coach Thib!

As for a question -

Thibs - my push press has stalled at 260, but bench continues to progress. I have been following one of your pressing WO’s but am curious about how to freshen up current pressing so that I can get past this newest plateau.

Would I just use NC WO’s for a few weeks, back off to 70-80% 1 RM on pressing WO’s and be really explosive then go back to heavier loads with same exercise selection or would you have another pressing WO suggested?

Thanks!

M

4

Its awesome to hear that you guys are making great results as well!

@ colin: i totally feel you on the whole soft tissue thing. my shoulders (left to be exact) kind of get tender with the concentrated loading for pressing, but thats what i have been doing since my triceps and delts are a weak point for me.

what i did PERSONALLY was go ahead and have 3 pressing sessions, but i would have them saturdays, mondays, and wednesdays. that way i was still frequently training the high performance muscles, yet had that extra day inbetween to train something else/ do a neural charge to help me recover.

the other two days i have a foundation day and a leg performance day. its also funny to see that with the nueral charge workouts, i have been able to make these gains and lose bodyfat ALL WHILE doing HIIT hill sprints 3 times a week. thats the only cardio im doing, but the NC workouts TREMENDOUSLY help me recover from the HIIT and the intense training sessions. also, im pretty sure having 3 scoops of Anaconda, MAG-10. workout fuel each workout REALLY helps out.

5

[quote]Mutsanah wrote:
Funny that you guys would post results here - today I was thinking of doing the same.

Hit 350 close grip bench (16" grip) at END of my pressing WO today. 1/2 way to my goal. Started at 300 close grip, standard bench PR before was 340 so now I have passed that and that’s after doing an activation exercise, military and push press before doing 2 waves 3-2-1 bench.
(Yeah, that’s probably some girls warm-up set, but it’s good for me! :stuck_out_tongue: )

Similar periWO as colin and NC WO on days off, basically 6 days a week sometimes 7 with 2 or 3 WO’s being NC. Push / Pull / Legs format.

Hit all time PR in Squat Tuesday and I’m old!

A sincere thanks to Coach Thib!

As for a question -

Thibs - my push press has stalled at 260, but bench continues to progress. I have been following one of your pressing WO’s but am curious about how to freshen up current pressing so that I can get past this newest plateau.

Would I just use NC WO’s for a few weeks, back off to 70-80% 1 RM on pressing WO’s and be really explosive then go back to heavier loads with same exercise selection or would you have another pressing WO suggested?

Thanks!

M[/quote]

great progress man, best of luck on reaching your goal. btw, does that mean that your goal is 700 close grip bench!??! haha thats insane!!

6

I’m guessing that’ll be 400, as in halfway progressing toward the goal he’d set for himself. :stuck_out_tongue:

On-topic: I’ve been doing fat loss for a few months now, and have made strength gains (to me it looks like muscle gains as well), using thib’s new methods. I don’t use any of the Anaconda protocol either.

7

The Lat pulldown using the arm straps around the upper arms (as seen in MD’s video coverage of the project) has drastically increased my ability to activate my lats. You really don’t have the option to pull with the arms. The first time I implemented it my poundage went up 40lb and I was still using a full range of motion. Such an obvious exercise once you see it.

Thanks to Coach Thib for developing all these awesome new methods and releasing them for free. I’m very eager for what’s in store.

8

[quote]absolute3 wrote:
The Lat pulldown using the arm straps around the upper arms (as seen in MD’s video coverage of the project) has drastically increased my ability to activate my lats. You really don’t have the option to pull with the arms. The first time I implemented it my poundage went up 40lb and I was still using a full range of motion. Such an obvious exercise once you see it.

Thanks to Coach Thib for developing all these awesome new methods and releasing them for free. I’m very eager for what’s in store. [/quote]

I’ve had the problem of pulling with my arms instead of my lats, lately using normal straps it takes some of the arms outta the equation. the ab-strap-pulldown seems like the next step in isolation.

9

[quote]absolute3 wrote:
The Lat pulldown using the arm straps around the upper arms (as seen in MD’s video coverage of the project) has drastically increased my ability to activate my lats. You really don’t have the option to pull with the arms. The first time I implemented it my poundage went up 40lb and I was still using a full range of motion. Such an obvious exercise once you see it.

Thanks to Coach Thib for developing all these awesome new methods and releasing them for free. I’m very eager for what’s in store. [/quote]

I was thinking about trying these out later today at gym. Look really good as for what you said above, really activating and focussing on pulling with the lats. Glad that someone has tried them out around here and mentioned its success.

Im doing IBB on back phase (phase 2) and on the “off days” I have been using neural charged workouts and the carry over to the next day has been amazing! Always feel amped to hit the gym and never feel run down, have had only a few off days at all from the program and if I ever feel like I need to, a neural sorts me right out and I feel fantastic :slight_smile:

10

I’m yet to try the Performance Upper+Lower/Foundation days, however I have added the ‘neural activation’ sessions either on an off day, or in the morning for afternoon training; They’re very beneficial! and some activation exercises at the beginning of a workout to get myself prepared for the days work.
Once my sled arrives, I’ll start the eccentric-less sessions.

11

I’m having trouble putting together a training program based on these videos/methods. Since you’ve had such good luck with yours, would you mind taking the time to post up your typical cycle? I would much appreciate it. It would be interesting in seeing how one’s program varies from anothers…Thank you

12

[quote]believer423 wrote:
I’m having trouble putting together a training program based on these videos/methods. Since you’ve had such good luck with yours, would you mind taking the time to post up your typical cycle? I would much appreciate it. It would be interesting in seeing how one’s program varies from anothers…Thank you[/quote]

dont know if you meant me, but ill go ahead and kind of lay out what i have been doing considering ive been very happy with the progress ive made.

monday-am. performance pressing circuit day/ p.m HIIT
tuesday- Nueral charge workout
wednesday-Performance pressing/ p.m HIIT
thursday-legs performance
friday-foundation
saturday-performance pressing/ p.m. HIIT
sunday-nueral charge workout

with the foundation days i have been using either straight sets of 6-10, or likely (my favorite) trisets for each muscle group (abs, lats, biceps). the rep range for these muscles always stay higher though (6-12). i have been using this split for a while now, but the only thing that was different a couple weeks ago was instead of foundation day, i had a “pulling” day. Then i started working mid back and traps/ rhomboids on the two regular performance pressing days, and threw in the foundation day.

the circuit pressing workout is like the one in the video in a way. i do:

strength circuit (3 compound exercises 4-6 rounds)
isolation circuit (2 shoulder and two tricep exercises 3-5 rounds)
max rep circuit (with two exercises from the strength circuit and two from the iso circuit)

the max rep is only done once, and the rep range for the strength circuit stays around 3-5 reps, as the isolation i shoot for 6-8.

i like to switch things up on my leg day, so like the performance pressing day, i never use the same exercises.

hope that gives you kind of an idea. just ask me a question if you have any, no sweat.

13

[quote]dayne_lathrop wrote:

[quote]believer423 wrote:
I’m having trouble putting together a training program based on these videos/methods. Since you’ve had such good luck with yours, would you mind taking the time to post up your typical cycle? I would much appreciate it. It would be interesting in seeing how one’s program varies from anothers…Thank you[/quote]

dont know if you meant me, but ill go ahead and kind of lay out what i have been doing considering ive been very happy with the progress ive made.

monday-am. performance pressing circuit day/ p.m HIIT
tuesday- Nueral charge workout
wednesday-Performance pressing/ p.m HIIT
thursday-legs performance
friday-foundation
saturday-performance pressing/ p.m. HIIT
sunday-nueral charge workout

with the foundation days i have been using either straight sets of 6-10, or likely (my favorite) trisets for each muscle group (abs, lats, biceps). the rep range for these muscles always stay higher though (6-12). i have been using this split for a while now, but the only thing that was different a couple weeks ago was instead of foundation day, i had a “pulling” day. Then i started working mid back and traps/ rhomboids on the two regular performance pressing days, and threw in the foundation day.

the circuit pressing workout is like the one in the video in a way. i do:

strength circuit (3 compound exercises 4-6 rounds)
isolation circuit (2 shoulder and two tricep exercises 3-5 rounds)
max rep circuit (with two exercises from the strength circuit and two from the iso circuit)

the max rep is only done once, and the rep range for the strength circuit stays around 3-5 reps, as the isolation i shoot for 6-8.

i like to switch things up on my leg day, so like the performance pressing day, i never use the same exercises.

hope that gives you kind of an idea. just ask me a question if you have any, no sweat.

[/quote]

Thanks, mate. I see you have two neurocharged workouts and one foundation workout. Are these upper body or lower body? Do you only have one leg day a week and focus the rest on upper? Can you be more specific on your exercise selection, reps and such? I’ve been lifting for over 25 years but this is so against anything I’ve done before, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Thanks, again.

14

[quote]believer423 wrote:

[quote]dayne_lathrop wrote:

[quote]believer423 wrote:
I’m having trouble putting together a training program based on these videos/methods. Since you’ve had such good luck with yours, would you mind taking the time to post up your typical cycle? I would much appreciate it. It would be interesting in seeing how one’s program varies from anothers…Thank you[/quote]

dont know if you meant me, but ill go ahead and kind of lay out what i have been doing considering ive been very happy with the progress ive made.

monday-am. performance pressing circuit day/ p.m HIIT
tuesday- Nueral charge workout
wednesday-Performance pressing/ p.m HIIT
thursday-legs performance
friday-foundation
saturday-performance pressing/ p.m. HIIT
sunday-nueral charge workout

with the foundation days i have been using either straight sets of 6-10, or likely (my favorite) trisets for each muscle group (abs, lats, biceps). the rep range for these muscles always stay higher though (6-12). i have been using this split for a while now, but the only thing that was different a couple weeks ago was instead of foundation day, i had a “pulling” day. Then i started working mid back and traps/ rhomboids on the two regular performance pressing days, and threw in the foundation day.

the circuit pressing workout is like the one in the video in a way. i do:

strength circuit (3 compound exercises 4-6 rounds)
isolation circuit (2 shoulder and two tricep exercises 3-5 rounds)
max rep circuit (with two exercises from the strength circuit and two from the iso circuit)

the max rep is only done once, and the rep range for the strength circuit stays around 3-5 reps, as the isolation i shoot for 6-8.

i like to switch things up on my leg day, so like the performance pressing day, i never use the same exercises.

hope that gives you kind of an idea. just ask me a question if you have any, no sweat.

[/quote]

Thanks, mate. I see you have two neurocharged workouts and one foundation workout. Are these upper body or lower body? Do you only have one leg day a week and focus the rest on upper? Can you be more specific on your exercise selection, reps and such? I’ve been lifting for over 25 years but this is so against anything I’ve done before, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Thanks, again.[/quote]

as far as the NC workouts- the ones on my days off are total body most of the time. i forgot to mention that on most days (especially the pressing days), i will throw in a NC workout in the morning about 2 hours before my lifting session. i use Power Drive afterwards and the NC workout is usually movement pattern specific to the one i am working out that day.

The reason i only have one leg day a week is because i dont want to overdo it with leg training AND HIIT 3 times a week. i do hill sprints, which are pretty demanding. I have still been able to make great gains on my lower body with only training them once a week. But if i where going to split them up into two days, i would have a hip dominant day and a quad dominant day.

for my reps i stick to 3-5 reps when it comes to upper body pressing performance. i stick to the template that CT laid out (ex. military press to incline to bench to top half press). this has been working VERY well for me. i will say that no two workouts are really the same, because i will change the exercises but keep the movement pattern basically the same. so one time i might do:

clean and press
incline press
bench press
decline press

then the next workout would be

seated db shoulder press
db incline press
db bench press
weighted dips

etc.

except for the circuit day, i include traps/ rhomboid/ rotator cuff/ rear delt work on my pressing performance days. i either use staggered sets inbetween my sets of pressing, or do them as a circuit at the end. some days i might want to focus on my tris or delts, so instead i would do something like what was laid out above, plus an isolation exercise for 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps, plus a general strength max rep circuit for the movement pattern (chest, shoulders, triceps). for foundation muscles i stick to higher reps, and legs i do a mix between performance training and isolation training and usually a max reps circuit at the end.

15

id also like to mention that all these new methods have taught me a great deal about how to better “invest” in my training. by looking at it this way, it has made such a big difference as far as knowing to auto-regulate and take my training day by day. i honestly believe that this a key factor in the progress i have been able to make.

there have been days where i have been amped up to hell, so i will do more work. other days, i might not be able to do everything that i had planned, but i dont get bummed out, i just look at stopping as a better investment. i see so many people at my gym just doing set after set of exercises to failure, and most of the time they are just grinding out reps. ill admit i used to be one of those guys, going for the “burn” instead of maximal performance.

ever since i have been reading and following CT’s principles, you could say that ive been able to make the gmy my “bank” in a way, with all the investing i have been doing :wink: . ive been able to learn so much about MY body and what I PERSONALLY need to grow and make my best gains, which is information that i consider invaluable.

i really cannot thank CT and everyone here at T-Nation (contributors, readers, etc.) enough for opening my eyes to what i believe is the future of optimal training and nutrition.

16

[quote]absolute3 wrote:
The Lat pulldown using the arm straps around the upper arms (as seen in MD’s video coverage of the project) has drastically increased my ability to activate my lats. You really don’t have the option to pull with the arms. The first time I implemented it my poundage went up 40lb and I was still using a full range of motion. Such an obvious exercise once you see it.

Thanks to Coach Thib for developing all these awesome new methods and releasing them for free. I’m very eager for what’s in store. [/quote]

Absolute, can you post a link so I can see what these straps look like and how exactly they’re used? I was thinking of using something like this since I recently got a slight tear in my brachioradialis. I have an idea but I like to get a visual. Thanks.

17

[quote]dayne_lathrop wrote:

monday-am. performance pressing circuit day/ p.m HIIT
tuesday- Nueral charge workout
wednesday-Performance pressing/ p.m HIIT
thursday-legs performance
friday-foundation
saturday-performance pressing/ p.m. HIIT
sunday-nueral charge workout

with the foundation days i have been using either straight sets of 6-10, or likely (my favorite) trisets for each muscle group (abs, lats, biceps). the rep range for these muscles always stay higher though (6-12). i have been using this split for a while now, but the only thing that was different a couple weeks ago was instead of foundation day, i had a “pulling” day. Then i started working mid back and traps/ rhomboids on the two regular performance pressing days, and threw in the foundation day.
[/quote]

I must say, I really like that split! My upper body is less developed than my lower and my back is much better (IMO) than my pushing muscles. That split would be ideal considering those factors.

On topic:

I have been dieting for a LONG time now, but I have noticed much better gains in the last 2 months or so (whenever the Training Lab started and CT started discussing the eccentric-less training), I even stopped jumping rope and sprinting. My only cardio, like Daryl, was from the GPP of doing a eccentric-less session each day. I have been able to maintain 2-a-day sessions while in a caloric deficit which simply blew my mind. I have maintained strength and gained on some exercises all while cutting loads of fat! It feels great, thanks CT. I hope to post a thread with pictures soon.

18

[quote]dayne_lathrop wrote:

[quote]believer423 wrote:
I’m having trouble putting together a training program based on these videos/methods. Since you’ve had such good luck with yours, would you mind taking the time to post up your typical cycle? I would much appreciate it. It would be interesting in seeing how one’s program varies from anothers…Thank you[/quote]

dont know if you meant me, but ill go ahead and kind of lay out what i have been doing considering ive been very happy with the progress ive made.

monday-am. performance pressing circuit day/ p.m HIIT
tuesday- Nueral charge workout
wednesday-Performance pressing/ p.m HIIT
thursday-legs performance
friday-foundation
saturday-performance pressing/ p.m. HIIT
sunday-nueral charge workout

with the foundation days i have been using either straight sets of 6-10, or likely (my favorite) trisets for each muscle group (abs, lats, biceps). the rep range for these muscles always stay higher though (6-12). i have been using this split for a while now, but the only thing that was different a couple weeks ago was instead of foundation day, i had a “pulling” day. Then i started working mid back and traps/ rhomboids on the two regular performance pressing days, and threw in the foundation day.

the circuit pressing workout is like the one in the video in a way. i do:

strength circuit (3 compound exercises 4-6 rounds)
isolation circuit (2 shoulder and two tricep exercises 3-5 rounds)
max rep circuit (with two exercises from the strength circuit and two from the iso circuit)

the max rep is only done once, and the rep range for the strength circuit stays around 3-5 reps, as the isolation i shoot for 6-8.

i like to switch things up on my leg day, so like the performance pressing day, i never use the same exercises.

hope that gives you kind of an idea. just ask me a question if you have any, no sweat.

[/quote]

Hey Dayne, I thought I was originally doing something very similar to your routine but was a little confused after reading your post.
Are you doing the strength circuit, isolation circuit and max rep set all on the monday performance day after the regular series of ramping pressing esercises?
Or are you picking and doing a different type of circuit after each performance workout on monday, wednesday and saturday? Thanks.
By the way this routine does not work for me if I’m not doing the anaconda protocol. I just don’t recover. Strength was going up until I ran out. Actually barely hanging on to current strength levels now. Gotta place another order even though my digestive systems doesn’t agree with it lol.

19

I’ve incorporated neural workouts on off days, bands, blast straps, max rep circuits and have been using the push, pull, legs split initially shown. I don’t think I will ever stop using any of these techniques. I feel like I get a much better workout and better results.

I haven’t been keeping track of all my lifts, but even with having bench last on the push day, I’ve gone past my 3 rep max. I’ve maintained the same body weight, but I definitely look more muscular.

Also, this week, I just finished a concentrated loading spec for push. Didn’t think it was possible to do three push days in a row and still manage to lift heavy weight, but with using the layout (day 1: partials + heavy, day 2: circuit, day 3: heavy + circuit) I was able to get the same weight on both day 1 and 3.

20

[quote]as wrote:

[quote]dayne_lathrop wrote:

[quote]believer423 wrote:
I’m having trouble putting together a training program based on these videos/methods. Since you’ve had such good luck with yours, would you mind taking the time to post up your typical cycle? I would much appreciate it. It would be interesting in seeing how one’s program varies from anothers…Thank you[/quote]

dont know if you meant me, but ill go ahead and kind of lay out what i have been doing considering ive been very happy with the progress ive made.

monday-am. performance pressing circuit day/ p.m HIIT
tuesday- Nueral charge workout
wednesday-Performance pressing/ p.m HIIT
thursday-legs performance
friday-foundation
saturday-performance pressing/ p.m. HIIT
sunday-nueral charge workout

with the foundation days i have been using either straight sets of 6-10, or likely (my favorite) trisets for each muscle group (abs, lats, biceps). the rep range for these muscles always stay higher though (6-12). i have been using this split for a while now, but the only thing that was different a couple weeks ago was instead of foundation day, i had a “pulling” day. Then i started working mid back and traps/ rhomboids on the two regular performance pressing days, and threw in the foundation day.

the circuit pressing workout is like the one in the video in a way. i do:

strength circuit (3 compound exercises 4-6 rounds)
isolation circuit (2 shoulder and two tricep exercises 3-5 rounds)
max rep circuit (with two exercises from the strength circuit and two from the iso circuit)

the max rep is only done once, and the rep range for the strength circuit stays around 3-5 reps, as the isolation i shoot for 6-8.

i like to switch things up on my leg day, so like the performance pressing day, i never use the same exercises.

hope that gives you kind of an idea. just ask me a question if you have any, no sweat.

[/quote]

Hey Dayne, I thought I was originally doing something very similar to your routine but was a little confused after reading your post.
Are you doing the strength circuit, isolation circuit and max rep set all on the monday performance day after the regular series of ramping pressing esercises?
Or are you picking and doing a different type of circuit after each performance workout on monday, wednesday and saturday? Thanks.
By the way this routine does not work for me if I’m not doing the anaconda protocol. I just don’t recover. Strength was going up until I ran out. Actually barely hanging on to current strength levels now. Gotta place another order even though my digestive systems doesn’t agree with it lol.
[/quote]

I’m pretty sure on Monday he is only doing all circuits without the regular series of ramping.

On that note, layne, don’t you feel that kind of split is somewhat imbalanced? I know CT says that performance muscles need more frequency, but 3 days seems like a lot. Same amount of days for a spec phase. I’m not saying what you’re doing is wrong, I’m asking how it’s working, feels, etc. Are you trying to do a spec phase or does this just work out better for you? I’m planning on moving to a similar split next week, but possibly how CT had it split:

Upper Body Performance
Lower Body Performance
Foundation
Neural Charge
Upper Body Performance
Lower Body
Neural Charge