PRIME: CT Spiked Up and Ready to Roar!

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

I’m listening

2

CT,

Jump into the fray regarding David Barr’s article on circumworkout (new word?) nutrition. What are your thoughts/experience with this?

3

CT,

In my lifting program to get ready for footall (here it is if you want to take a look: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=655474) I am trying to use an extension movement for my triceps on my ME day, and a Board press on my DE day. Everyone seems to be saying that the board presses will do more for you than the extensions, and I wanted to know if it was ok to ditch the extensions for the board presses on both days. I’m worried that this will be to monoutomus (sp?) because I just have 4,5 boards (I’m using 3B as a ME lift). Would it be ok to drop the extensions for the board presses on both days, and are there any ways I can very them up?

Thanks

4

CT-

I posted this on your 8 weeks to a record bench and I don?t think you caught it:

Can you give an example of what you would have one do for warm-up sets (let’s say one has a 300lb 1RM) for performing the cluster sets at 90% 1RM? I am curious to see what you have your trainees do.

Thanks

5

[quote]buckeye75 wrote:
CT,

In my lifting program to get ready for footall (here it is if you want to take a look: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=655474) I am trying to use an extension movement for my triceps on my ME day, and a Board press on my DE day. Everyone seems to be saying that the board presses will do more for you than the extensions, and I wanted to know if it was ok to ditch the extensions for the board presses on both days. I’m worried that this will be to monoutomus (sp?) because I just have 4,5 boards (I’m using 3B as a ME lift). Would it be ok to drop the extensions for the board presses on both days, and are there any ways I can very them up?

Thanks[/quote]

Personally I perform the board press as the main exercise in the max effort workout (one of the many exercises I use) then I will use a press/partial press (JM press, pin press) as my second exercise. Sometimes I finish up the workout with a few sets of extensions OR superset jumstretch band triceps pressdown with the press/partial press exercise.

6

[quote]craigrasm wrote:
CT-

I posted this on your 8 weeks to a record bench and I don?t think you caught it:

Can you give an example of what you would have one do for warm-up sets (let’s say one has a 300lb 1RM) for performing the cluster sets at 90% 1RM? I am curious to see what you have your trainees do.

Thanks
[/quote]

For a 300lbs 1RM (so 270-280lbs for the clusters):

1 x 5-10 with bar
1 x 5 with 135
1 x 5 with 185
1 x 5 at 225
1st work set

7

[quote]buckeye75 wrote:
CT,

In my lifting program to get ready for footall (here it is if you want to take a look: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=655474) I am trying to use an extension movement for my triceps on my ME day, and a Board press on my DE day. Everyone seems to be saying that the board presses will do more for you than the extensions, and I wanted to know if it was ok to ditch the extensions for the board presses on both days. I’m worried that this will be to monoutomus (sp?) because I just have 4,5 boards (I’m using 3B as a ME lift). Would it be ok to drop the extensions for the board presses on both days, and are there any ways I can very them up?

Thanks[/quote]

For variation you can use:

JM press
Partial pin press in the power rack
Floor press
Close-grip bench press
Reverse grip bench press
Close grip decline bench press
Neutral (hammer) dumbbell press
California press (down as a barbell extension, up as a close grip bench)
etc.

8

CT whats your opinions of Power Shrugs for trap hypertrohpy, they have some explosive compontent in them, it’s kind of imates a second-pull in a DL plus you can really overload the traps?

You said you have another book coming out? Powerlifting? OL? when is it due

Any chance of any new soviet articles> those are freakin cool

9

[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
CT whats your opinions of Power Shrugs for trap hypertrohpy, they have some explosive compontent in them, it’s kind of imates a second-pull in a DL plus you can really overload the traps?

You said you have another book coming out? Powerlifting? OL? when is it due

Any chance of any new soviet articles> those are freakin cool[/quote]

Well I was one of the first to recommend doing power shrugs :slight_smile: So I obviously like them! Much more effective than strict shrugs if you ask me.

As for the new book it’s in the works. I’ve completed around 120 pages so far. It will be 1/3 bodybuilding/muscle mass training, 1/3 powerlifting/strength building and 1/3 GPP work. It will also include an appendix with over 300 different exercises (with pics).

10

Now that sounds like one hell of a book! Can’t wait.

11

CT,

I was wondering what you thought about the allocation of auxillary exercises to the rest days.

I was thinking along the lines of the CFTS where sprints are trained MWF and tempo’s are on TThSa

Perhaps like a tier method with your 3 core lifts on MWF and using TTh for cuff, bi, tri, abs, low back, etc… with a low intensity workout(2-3 sets of 10-20 reps)

12

Oh i like that

13

[quote]101pro wrote:
CT,

I was wondering what you thought about the allocation of auxillary exercises to the rest days.

I was thinking along the lines of the CFTS where sprints are trained MWF and tempo’s are on TThSa

Perhaps like a tier method with your 3 core lifts on MWF and using TTh for cuff, bi, tri, abs, low back, etc… with a low intensity workout(2-3 sets of 10-20 reps) [/quote]

With my athletes who train the whole body 3x per week I do include one day where the “smaller” muscle groups are trained. But I wouldn’t recommend doing it 3 days a week, especially considering that these smaller groups still receive a lot of stimulation from the money exercises.

14

CT i understand you read alot of the old time strength and bodybuilding courses. tell us which course you learned the most from ,and what book or course is your favorite?

15

CT –

Hey, check your email. I am ready to get started when you are.

16

[quote]relentless41 wrote:
CT i understand you read alot of the old time strength and bodybuilding courses. tell us which course you learned the most from ,and what book or course is your favorite?[/quote]

Both of Hoffman’s isometric books, Rader’s isometronic system booklet, the complete keys to progress by McCallum (technically not an old book, but since most of it was written back in the days I count it as an old one). Too many to name really.

17

I play university rugby and the season starts in september. One of things I need to work on is both speed and acceleration. Any tips? Right now I am just doing 40m sprints and bleacher runs. What sort of exercises should I be doing to increase both my top speed and first couple of steps? Could you give me an outline of a program to help me out? Thanks.

18

What are your thoughts on the way some old-time lifters trained, specifically the “one set per exercise/multiple exercises per muscle group”. Louis Abele would do eight or ten exercises for legs or back for one set each. I remember the late Dan Duchaine writing that such a routine may have advantages over a multiple sets per exercise routine because the body can’t adapt by learning to do any one exercise more efficiently.

19

[quote]Dirk Gently wrote:
I play university rugby and the season starts in september. One of things I need to work on is both speed and acceleration. Any tips? Right now I am just doing 40m sprints and bleacher runs. What sort of exercises should I be doing to increase both my top speed and first couple of steps? Could you give me an outline of a program to help me out? Thanks.[/quote]

I cannot really give you a program outline. My paying clients would not appreciate this!

But for starting speed I recommend:

  • Power snatch or clean from blocks (if you know how to do them)

  • Jump squat (with 15-20% of your max squat) starting from a static position (knees at 135 degrees)

  • Jumping onto a box

  • Heavy squats

For top speed I recommend:

  • Power snatch or clean from the hang (if you know how to do them)

  • Jump squat without any pauses (with 15-20% of your max squat)

  • Jump lunges (with 20-30% of your body weight)

  • Romanian deadlift

  • Goodmorning

  • Snatch grip-deadlift

  • Reverse hyper if you have access to one

20

[quote]firebug9 wrote:
CT –

Hey, check your email. I am ready to get started when you are.

[/quote]

Right off I go … I’ll get back to you today!