guiseppe123,
Thanks for the feedback! I’m happy to oblige!
timmy89,
That’s a tough one. Given your weight-training class requirements, it’ll be tough to get the benefit of all three workouts. My advice is to err on the low side of TBT; maybe just two sessions each week. On your weight-training days in class, perform the TBT workout in the evening with only 4 exercises. Once the class is finished, you can hit it full bore.
i have a question. if i am experiencing awesome results and i have not plateaued in terms of strength, size gains, or become overtrained can i go back to week 1 after finishing week 8? i have always found that my body becomes used to programs around week 3 if drastic changes are not made, so this is new territory for me. should i restart it or move on to something new? i love these full body routines! thanks!
chad- thanks for your reply, would it be ok to do these modified TBT workouts at lunch? since im in the school weight room then i have lots more equipment to work with (hevier dumbells, power racks, olympic bars, enough weight to go heavy on things like squats and deads…etc etc) then on the “off days” from TBT i would just do some Iso GPP stuff?? does this sound wokrable?? or should i just try in and see?
thanks again you guys at T-nation are the best
Timmy89
I’ve completed 7 weeks on the program. I started out at 191 @ 12.5% BF and am currently at 198 @ 13 BF. No supplements other than protein shakes (2 per day)and trying to eat clean. The high volume sets were initially a shock to my system, but my endurance strength has improved. I work about 50 hours a week with family commitments and the TBT has been time efficient for me. I would like to burn off some of the body fat I have. Would shaving some seconds off of the rest periods effectively assist this effort? Or can GPP or HIIT sessions be used on non-lifting days without compromising recovery? Thank you Coach Waterbury and T-Nation for all the great information.
bump
Chad,
I just finished week 5 of TBT this morning. Before starting the program, I had been using either an upper body-lower body or push-pull-legs split in my workouts for most of this year. In the months before starting TBT, I had pretty much hit a plateau and wasn’t making much progress, which started to negatively affect my gym attendance. Since starting TBT, my workouts have been more focused and productive, and I’ve been able to add the 1.25-2.5% in weight on a pretty consistent basis. My weight’s gone up 5.5 lbs. since I started, with no increase to my bf%, and I’m starting to see the difference in the mirror. All in all, pretty dang good. Thanks for the help!
Chad,
Great program! I just started week seven. I just completed workout 1 (3x18). Working out at a rep range that high is just plain brutal. I leave the gym exhausted and shaking. It’s a different feeling than after a “normal” workout. It feels like somehow, my muscles did not benefit enough and my CNS is shot. Is this a normal feeling? And what exactly is the purpose for a rep range of 18, other than variety?
[quote]Sarge131 wrote:
Chad,
Great program! I just started week seven. I just completed workout 1 (3x18). Working out at a rep range that high is just plain brutal. I leave the gym exhausted and shaking. It’s a different feeling than after a “normal” workout. It feels like somehow, my muscles did not benefit enough and my CNS is shot. Is this a normal feeling? And what exactly is the purpose for a rep range of 18, other than variety?[/quote]
Sarge131, you are not the only one feeling like that! I’ve just started Week 7 myself, and while I felt OK leaving the gym, I am really paying for it today. I did dynamic lunges followed by romanian deadlifts for my lower body and my glutes are killing me! It’s the first time on this program that I have had significant muscle soreness the next day. I am getting a bit nervous about doing the supersets next week…
I’ve also got a question for Chad in regards to the training parameters for Weeks 5&6. Is the purpose for doing only 2 sets per exercise to give the body some sort of rest period mid-way through the program by reducing the volume?
Ben
guiseppe123,
Follow the program for as long as you keep experiencing results. If you constantly change exercises with methods (as described in the program), the sky’s the limit regarding the length of time you’ll continue your gains.
timmy89,
Yes, that breakdown might work well. Try it and see.
MikeT,
Excellent results, my friend! Your best bet is to incoporate GPP and/or cardio work on your off days in order to burn off a little more fat. When you increase your work capacity, body fat levels often decrease, as well.
sconsinite,
That sounds great - good work!
Sarge131,
Yes, your experiences are normal. The TBT is truly shocking for most trainee’s CNS. Your body became very efficient within a certain rep range, therefore, the higher rep schemes posed a new challenge for your body to adapt to.
The purpose of the 18 rep days is in relation to the constantly changing volumes that are required for optimal results on TBT. Since the program is total-body, I don’t have a lot of “room to move” regarding the number of sets per workout. In other words, I chose to alter rep schemes instead of drastically increasing the number of sets during the workout in order to keep the workout duration < 1 hour.
In addition, varying rep ranges target different motor units for complete hypertrophy benefits (i.e., no motor units are left out).
[quote]bg100 wrote:
Is the purpose for doing only 2 sets per exercise to give the body some sort of rest period mid-way through the program by reducing the volume?
[/quote]
bg100,
Yes and no - how’s that for a specific answer?
The purpose of reducing the number of sets is to alter the volume throughout the course of the program. This does, in essence, give the nervous system some rest, but the main purpose is to effectively increase the number of reps per set without burning you out. This, in turn, leads to further hypertrophy gains by targeting different motor unit pools.
I’ve finally finished TBT! When I started I was 92kg and now I am about 94-95kg. Unfortunately I was not able to measure my fat levels at the start of the program but I seem to have more definition and I am sure that I haven’t got any fatter, so I assume that I have piled on a bit of LBM while losing some fat. It was during the program that I started following a more structured diet and cut out all the junk food as per JB’s recommendations in the Massive Eating articles. I still have a way to go before getting everything sorted out nutrition wise and I don’t think I was eating enough calories for huge size gains, hence the probably reason for fat loss as my diet may have been more hypocaloric than expected.
However my strength has gone up, I look better and feel heaps better as well (surviving the beast that is 3x18 helps with this!). Thanks a lot Chad for this workout, I will surely try it again next year sometime when I do another bulking cycle.
Ben
Hi Chad,
This was the first program I did after a long lay-off (3 months) and I’m half way through week 4. The results have been amaizing! I’ve gained 11lbs so far and have not changed my diet at all! While I am/was a skinny basterd I can see more definition in my abs.
I should mention that I am not following the the progamme to a T. The main changes I’ve made are;
I do the same movements right through the week. I do change the rep scheme every workout though.
I don’t go past 12 reps.
Here is an exsample.
Week #1
Monday
DL 5x5
Rows 5x5
Bench 5x5
Wednesday
DL 4x8
Rows 4x8
Bench 4x8
Friday
DL 3x12
Rows 3x12
Bench 3x12
I then change to a different set of movements for week 2 AND change all of the rep schemes. I gone as low 3 reps. Also the above is just an exsample. I typically do a few more movements per workout but this is the basis.
Another plus to training the whole body 3 times a week is the increased GPP. I had to move house after week 3 and was amaized at how I was not out of breath and how much energy I had afterwards. I think that any additional GPP work would be a bit of a waste.
When I first started lifting I used a whole body 3 times a week programme and made exellent gains. I don’t know why I ever strayed. It wont happen again!
bg100,
Good work - thanks for posting!
I guarantee I’ll lit up for this. I just moved to a very remote area(at least 150 miles to the nearest town that itself is in the middle of BFE. My boss has a Bowflex. Out of pure desparation, how could I use it for the next 6 months while I am here.
I am sooo excited because I just started TBT today. I love it already. I have been in desperate need of a program like this. I posted a couple of recent shots of me in the pictures thread. As soon as I’m finished this program I am going to post my after pictures.
It was funny today in my gym. I was doing heavy deadlifts and a 15 year old girl in the squat rack next to me was power lifting with insane amounts of weight, and at the same time there were about 20 guys in there doing bicep curls and using the machines. That kind of amused me.