PRIME TIME CT!!!

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
21

[quote]Dboy wrote:
In your recent “Locked and Loaded” article you wrote down #'s you generally use for a person depending on his goals and training age.
Since females don’t recruit motor units as effeciently as males, would these #'s change for females? (i.e. do you still consider 6-8 reps “functional hypertrophy” for the ladies?)

Thank you,

Danny[/quote]

Not sure if it was posted here but CT has a section about training women in Theory and App, I believe he recommeneds one more set and 2-3 more reps for women. So instead of 6-8 for functional hypertrohpy it would be 8-10

22

The easiest way to do this is to perform dummbell traps stretch. Basically you hold a dumbbell in each hand by your side and let them hang down, therefore stretching your traps. I perfer to use dumbbells instead of a bar because you’ll get a better stretch without having to hunch your upper back forward.

By sure to keep your spine in a neutral position and that your shoulders do not round forward as the traps are being stretched.

The stretch should last around 60 seconds and should be very painful. If 60 sec. are anything easier than hell, add more weight! Perform this stretch at the end of every shoulder, back and trap workout.

[quote]diak0 wrote:
First off, thanks for all the articles you post, I sure learned a hell of a lot from them despite being just a recreational bodybuilder.

Anyway, I posted this before, the responses I got from the guys were really appreciated. I just wanna hear this really from you, so: you mentioned tight traps as being the culprit for difficulty in developing the lats. How exactly is this remedied? Do you know of specific stretching exercises for this, or is there more to it? Thanks Coach![/quote]

23

Look for one of my article called “Rapid fire” it details a neck routine I used with a race car driver.

[quote]dukefan4ever wrote:
OK. Stupid question time. Are there any routines to strenghten your neck muscles? I’m not a pencil neck but would like more proportion to my body. I have seen some guys lie parallel to the floor, support their body weight with their legs at one end and their head on the other and then move their head from side to side and back and forth. Don’t think I can do that. [/quote]

24

WT, Christiane (my girlfriend) always had the same problem. In the past she competed with a striated upper body and legs with zero definition.

She has always been blessed with superb leg size, but no definition at all.

At first she tried to stop training them and do a ton of cardio … her legs got smaller, but not more defined.

Then she tried light training and moderate cardio … they regained some size, but stayed cut-less.

Finally she went back to a mix of heavy training and higher volume sets along with moderate frequency, long duration cardio work and she now has very decent quad separations.

NEVER forget that “cuts” and definition is a factor of both having hypertrophied muscles and a low percentage of body fat. Small muscles with low body fat = skinny legs without much definition.

So, even if that’s not what you wanted to hear, diet is the real key here! Most women will loose their lower body fat only once their upper body is very lean. This is due to higher estrogen levels and estrogen-related fat storage which is harder to get rid of than upper body fat.

If she stops training her legs they will appear smaller while wearing jeans or pants, but they might very well end up smoother and softer.

I suggest using both relatively heavy leg work on compound movements and higher reps on movements such as lunges and step-ups.

Obviously keep her diet in check and add 30-45 min. of steady state cardio twice a week, and intervals once a week.

[quote]Walking_Tall wrote:
Hey CT

This post is actually a question regarding my girlfriend. She tends like many women to store her fat in the leg ,glute area,although she is fairly lean with visible stomach definition. She wants her legs leaner so besides dieting obviously would you recommend not train legs at all for awhile so no hypertrophy occurs or just very light brief leg workouts to maintain muscle development. I’m really stumped on this one…thanks!
[/quote]

25

I use a narrow stance myself because as a former olympic lifter that’s how I always squatted. Full squats with a wide stance require more hip flexibility and a bit more glute and hamstring strength. Both are valuable exercises. I prefer to have the toes turned outward slightly but not 45 degrees. Attached is an OOOOOLLLLLDDD picture of me.

[quote]marcus_aurelius wrote:
Hey CT

When doing full(deep) squats, which type of leg positioning do you like to see ? Wide ? Narrow ?

Also, do you like to have the toes pointing at 45 degrees ?

Thanks[/quote]

26

Oh yeah! I even had that myself. Only thing that truely helped was ART and rest, sadly.

[quote]beefcakemdphd wrote:
Hello CT,

have you had any experience dealing with athletes that get IT band pain with squatting? If so how do you deal with it?

beef[/quote]

27

Comeon Joe, don’t you know that gunning your lats, really gunning them is the true key to hyougeness?!

I suggest including 2 true lat work days and squeezing in some bonus lat work when you have time.

WORKOUT 1

A. Chest supported dumbbell rowing (lying chest down on an incline bench). Keep your back arched and your elbows close to your body at all times. Pull the bells in line with the hips, not the shoulders or sternum. Hold the upper peak position for 2 seconds per rep.

5 sets of 5 reps

B. Lat pulldown, pull-up style. The biggest reason why pull ups are superior to lat pulldowns is the line of pull: during a pull-up your forearms stay perpendicular to the floor at all times. This really focuses the work on the lats (hence gunning them).

Since hyouge guys like you might have problems doing enough pull-ups I suggest a modified lat pulldown. You will basically be doing a regular lat pulldown (palms facing forward, moderate width). But instead of pulling the bar down and toward our body you will only pull it downward, focusing (and this is the important part) on keeping the forearms perpendicular to the floor at all times.

Basically you want your wrist and elbow joints to ALWAYS stay aligned directly below the bar. You will also want to keep the bar 6-8 inches away from your body and your torso perfectly upward (no backward bending). Also, keep your lower back tightly arched.

4 sets of 6-8 reps

WORKOUT 2

Triple set

A1. Pulldown with the parallel handle (respecting the same guidelines as the preceding description) 10-12 reps

A2. Pulldown hold (same handle as A1. but lower the weight). Hold the peak contraction for 30-45 seconds

A3. Pull-up stretch. Attach yourself to the chin-up bar and let yourself hang down for as long as its tolerable (aim for 1 minute… if you can handle more, add weight)

[quote]Joebob wrote:
My Dearest CT,
To make a short story long today after training, one of my partners told me I was getting hyooge, but I have no lats. Could you possibly lay out a twice a week lat specialization program I can do on my ME and DE lower body days? I do so much pressing on my ME and DE upper days I have no time to squeeze in lat training so I do it on my lower days.

My traps and rear delts are over developed compared to my lats and they take over on my lat exercises. I am gonna cut out trap work and cut my rear delt volume in half. If you could help me out I would be a happy camper.

Love always, Joe
[/quote]

28

[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
Dboy wrote:
In your recent “Locked and Loaded” article you wrote down #'s you generally use for a person depending on his goals and training age.
Since females don’t recruit motor units as effeciently as males, would these #'s change for females? (i.e. do you still consider 6-8 reps “functional hypertrophy” for the ladies?)

Thank you,

Thanks
Danny

Not sure if it was posted here but CT has a section about training women in Theory and App, I believe he recommeneds one more set and 2-3 more reps for women. So instead of 6-8 for functional hypertrohpy it would be 8-10[/quote]

Thanks bigpump23…
I have read that article, but really want to hear from C.T. to see if he applies this to the whole rep range (reps 1-20ish).

Danny

29

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
You are a staunch advocate of frequent (upwards of 3x a week) training. What do you think of guys like Skip Lacour and Jeff Willett (among other top natural builders) who practice a 5-day-split with maximal loads, training each part 1x per week?[/quote]

Skip is one of the bodybuilder whose physique I like the most (not to mention haircut) and I respect him deeply. I share many of the ideas espoused by Skip, Jeff and the wholeMax-OT team, mostly the use of heavy weights. Obviously their training split works well for them. But I personally found higher frequency of training (per bodypart) to be more effective with myself and my athletes.

30

[quote]jonnymills wrote:
Hi Christian,

Which powerlifting federation will you be competing in, and what lifts will you be hoping for? Also, which weight class will you be in? Thanks[/quote]

To be honest, I’m not thinking about any of this right now!!! I’m way too busy.

31

You’ll probably be fine if you keep the barbarian stuff on the lower intensity/longer duration end of the spectrum to preserve the CNS. My athletes can handle 2 barbarian sessions per week + 4 weight sessions per week, and 2 track workouts. So you’ll probably be fine if you don’t curb your calories too much. Monitor your fatigue state and adjust from there.

[quote]Robert Monti wrote:
CT,
I’m doing functional program based on the principals from Different Journey’s Different Destinations article and I love it.

I’ve got about 45 minutes in the morning before work and I’d like shed some bodyfat. I’d like to add 1-2 sessions consisting of a few of your Barbarian/Warlord Circuits. Would that be too much on such a demanging program? Should I just stick to joint mobility drills and long walks? [/quote]

32

A natural might want to use a 3-week cycle with a one easy week afterward. East Europeans were/are huge believers in massage therapy and saunas/contrast baths to enhance recovery.

[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
CT, you’ve written about this before, the idea of accumlation/intensification workouts during the day. I know the East Germans and the Bulgarins used to use this about 4x per week? I know you’ve recommeded it for natural guys but how long should one use this type of split. I’m defaintly interested in it and I just did it for back today

But aside from the Bulgarians and East germans being chemically enhanced what else do they know about overtraining that we don’t? For a natural guy this seems kickass for 3 weeks, but wouldn’t it bascally be extended overreaching? How come they made gains and didn’t get overtrained(side from chemicals)

[/quote]

33

The true secret to a big press is to press often. Most people who train the bench press heavy, have the the strength to press big weights, its only a matter of becoming an effective presser. I’d limit assistance work and focus on pressing at a higher volume. Basically stick to the military press, high incline press and push press as your main exercises. Start each weekly workout by a press and then perform your regular workout. Something like…

DAY 1. Bradford press

  • squat oriented workout

DAY 2. Bradford press

  • bench press oriented workout

DAY 3. Push press

  • squat oriented workout

DAY 4. High incline press

  • Bench press oriented workout

[quote]skullcowboy wrote:
hey CT…what do recommend to increase the old style, pre '72, Clean and Press?

I’m thinking of using sheiko, with slightly higher percentajes…primary assistance with bent rows & bradfords since my weakness is the middle range, the part where the scapula has to rotate before locking out. Add in the traditional westside “accesory” work of shoulders, tri’s, bi’s, abs, etc…and a power clean + front squat.

I’m kinda convinced of using a very high frequency since lifters on that era used to press like 3-5 per week.[/quote]

34

[quote]Dboy wrote:
bigpump23 wrote:
Dboy wrote:
In your recent “Locked and Loaded” article you wrote down #'s you generally use for a person depending on his goals and training age.
Since females don’t recruit motor units as effeciently as males, would these #'s change for females? (i.e. do you still consider 6-8 reps “functional hypertrophy” for the ladies?)

Thank you,

Thanks
Danny

Not sure if it was posted here but CT has a section about training women in Theory and App, I believe he recommeneds one more set and 2-3 more reps for women. So instead of 6-8 for functional hypertrohpy it would be 8-10

Thanks bigpump23…
I have read that article, but really want to hear from C.T. to see if he applies this to the whole rep range (reps 1-20ish).

Danny[/quote]

no doubt, I’m eager to hear it myself

35

I train a guy in the similar situation. The fat on your abs could be cortisol related … maybe you are doing too much training or are having too much stress in your life.

I’d suggest ingesting a small serving of carbs in the morning (50g in the form of oatmeal, yams, rice or yogurt). It might help prevent chronically elevated cortisol levels.

Using 400-800mg of phosphatodylserine pre-workout (or 400mg in the morning and 400mg pre-workout) can reduce cortisol level by around 30%, which might help.

A supplement like Alpha Male might also help by increasing testosterone levels,. Testosterone uses the same second messenger as cortisol and might help lower the action of this hormone.

[quote]stiffy7 wrote:
Hi CT
I am currently training for football and was just wondering what diet you prefer to use for your football players to shed off unwanted bodyfat. I have been eating P+F meals for pretty much all my meals except pre/post workout but can not seem to get rid of the fat around my abs and chest. I play defensive back and I dont want any useless weight slowing me down.[/quote]

36

Hey CT –

You have mail!

37

CT-

For bench functional isometrics, is there a difference between pushing the barbell off the pins in a power rack and holding it 2-3 inches above the pin or simply “unhooking” the barbell or getting a hand-off and holding it in that position for the desired amount of time? I think I’ve seen it pictured/described both ways so I’m a bit confused.

Also, what is the difference exactly between a push jerk (from the clavicle) and a push press?

Thanks.

38

[quote]firebug9 wrote:
Hey CT –

You have mail![/quote]

Dear, I always have mail :wink:

39

Hi CT,

I remember reading in one of your articles (I hope it was you) that you made use of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). Using a pretty hefty amount too…13 grams?

What are your thoughts on this supplement? Amount to take? Time to take it? Effectiveness?

Thanks
JMax

40

Barbarian and Warlord circuits… Did I miss something? I don’t recall reading about these and I normally read every CT article.