Thibs New Training Questions #3

Training
381

[quote]nycsfinest wrote:
Coach,

What do you think of trap bar jumps used instead of power cleans? Joe Defranco prefers this to power cleans for his athletes because he’s seen many athletes come to him with prior wrist injuries from the catch of the clean and improper form…not that he has anything against the olympic lifts but they must be well coached and take a lot of time to learn usually.

Do you think this would be a better exercise for someone to perform who has no experience with cleans and less than stellar flexibility?

I think you should read the latest ASK JOE one more time…
He prefers jumping over olympic lifts.

He probably uses trap bar deads with jump from time to time, but I doubt it’s a staple in his program.

382

I had a few questions regarding the top-to-bottom spec you recommended.

I have been following this program for 2 months +, I have been using the squat and overhead press as my spec, as they have always been my largest weakness.

My questions:

  1. Rest between lifts? No more than 90 seconds?

  2. When dropping the resistance by only 10%, I struggle to get even 1 set of 5 reps without grinding. So could you be more specific in what the goal is by doing this. i.e. dropping from mlp to mfp?

  3. For the PM sessions, I keep screwing up. While I understand there isn’t too much direct advice you can give me without working w/ me 1 on 1. Any generalized tips beyond “perform your regularly planned workout” and “avoid quad and delt work” would be very appreciated.

383

Hey CT when would you include the duck feet snatch deadlift in a program? DO you still believe it is the 2nd best quad developer in existence next to a front squat.

384

Coach, i wasn’t sure where to put this question, but do potassium and sodium, rich foods help with nervous system health? if not are there any foods in particular that help with nervous system recovery, potency, health etc.? or is it a matter of keeping at a positive nitrogen balance and keeping anabolic? thanks in advance…

385

Question which i have never had a definite answer too.

Pros and cons of working out a muscle which is under DOMS.
Final thought? Do it or not?
Eg. Did legs Monday. Its Tuesday and im sore as f*ck. Legs again Wednesday?

386

CT,

I have a postural question. I see a lot of people (more common in those who DO NOT strength train)
who’s heads seem to be positioned too far forward, making them kind of look similar to a turtle. I’m
not sure if this has a name but i dont know how else to describe it. I always assumed it was due to
some type of strength imbalance.

What can be done to correct this?

387

[quote]MAF14 wrote:
CT,

I have a postural question. I see a lot of people (more common in those who DO NOT strength train)
who’s heads seem to be positioned too far forward, making them kind of look similar to a turtle. I’m
not sure if this has a name but i dont know how else to describe it. I always assumed it was due to
some type of strength imbalance.

What can be done to correct this?

[/quote]

Yes, it is quite common. It is actually among the characteristics of what Cressey and Robertson describe as the neanderthal posture. They wrote a series of articles on that subject (Neanderthal No More).

388

[quote]Alexisonfire2230 wrote:
Question which i have never had a definite answer too.

Pros and cons of working out a muscle which is under DOMS.
Final thought? Do it or not?
Eg. Did legs Monday. Its Tuesday and im sore as f*ck. Legs again Wednesday?[/quote]

If it is slightly tight (residual soreness) and doesn’t show any reduction in extensibility you can train the muscle. If the pain is more severe (sore to the touch for example) and is amplified when the muscle stretches and contracts, don’t train it.

389

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Alexisonfire2230 wrote:
Question which i have never had a definite answer too.

Pros and cons of working out a muscle which is under DOMS.
Final thought? Do it or not?
Eg. Did legs Monday. Its Tuesday and im sore as f*ck. Legs again Wednesday?[/quote]

If it is slightly tight (residual soreness) and doesn’t show any reduction in extensibility you can train the muscle. If the pain is more severe (sore to the touch for example) and is amplified when the muscle stretches and contracts, don’t train it.[/quote]

Do you beleive that as i progress on to the 2nd and 3rd weeks of legs (I,BODYBUILDER) my DOMS will deminish? And i will be able to follow in the program day to day?

390

Hey CT,

I have been having a problem with Romanian or “straight legged” deadlifts.

I always end up feeling them more in my back and less in my hamstrings even when i arch the back and get my hips as far back as i can i still end up just feeling it in my lower back. I feel this way across just about any weight as well.

Do you have any suggestions for this? Should i try Dumbell RDL’S and try and get a max stretch into the hamstring or drop them in favor of a different hamstring exercise? If so could you suggest any you favor?

Thanks for the workouts and the effort you put in, your a true inspiration!

Alex

391

I really like the structure of your Canadian Complex for Size and Strength from your random thoughts article and I think I’m going to use it as a guideline for structuring my next phase.

When it comes to vertical and broad jumps, you recommend 10 reps, I find myself feeling less explosive at around 5 reps, should I stop the set there, rest and then finish the set, or continue with lower jumps?

Sort of a theory question as well, is stopping at my max force point more beneficial for developing strength than going to my max load point? (I know not to grind)

Your perfect rep articles have revolutionized training for me, I am now stronger and more explosive than ever, thank you :slight_smile:

392

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]PB Andy wrote:
Thib, when do you like to incorporate box jumps in an Oly lifter’s program? On my old team we did it every training session (4x a week), but if I recall correctly from your books you stated that you like to do them in ‘phases’.[/quote]

Box jumps are jumping onto a box. These can be done daily as opposed to depth jumps (dropping off from a box and jumping up upon ground contact) which should only be done for 4 weeks at a time.

I do believe in starting an olympic lifting workout with jumps, especially with less experienced lifters. Pierre Roy (former Coach of the Canadian National Team) had (has) his athletes start every session with roughly 15 minutes of various jumps.[/quote]

When doing Depth jumps, do you have to jump IMMEDIATELY as you touch the ground, or the point is to squat parallel to the floor for exemple to cummulate kinetic energy via the muscle elasticity and then use that energy to propulse yourself even higher?

In my mind, it looks like the first one would have a faster turnaround but would likely have much more less power because theres not much energy cummulated…

Thanks for your time !

393

[quote]awaken279 wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]PB Andy wrote:
Thib, when do you like to incorporate box jumps in an Oly lifter’s program? On my old team we did it every training session (4x a week), but if I recall correctly from your books you stated that you like to do them in ‘phases’.[/quote]

Box jumps are jumping onto a box. These can be done daily as opposed to depth jumps (dropping off from a box and jumping up upon ground contact) which should only be done for 4 weeks at a time.

I do believe in starting an olympic lifting workout with jumps, especially with less experienced lifters. Pierre Roy (former Coach of the Canadian National Team) had (has) his athletes start every session with roughly 15 minutes of various jumps.[/quote]

When doing Depth jumps, do you have to jump IMMEDIATELY as you touch the ground, or the point is to squat parallel to the floor for exemple to cummulate kinetic energy via the muscle elasticity and then use that energy to propulse yourself even higher?

In my mind, it looks like the first one would have a faster turnaround but would likely have much more less power because theres not much energy cummulated…

Thanks for your time ![/quote]

A ground contact time of as much as 1 second is acceptable if it helps you jump higher. But I find that those who fail to jump high when they immediately jump after touching the ground do so because they do not land in the proper position.

You should land (feet contact the floor) in the ‘‘jumping position’’ (knees bent roughly 135 degrees) NOT land ‘‘high’’ then squat down into the jumping position.

394

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]awaken279 wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]PB Andy wrote:
Thib, when do you like to incorporate box jumps in an Oly lifter’s program? On my old team we did it every training session (4x a week), but if I recall correctly from your books you stated that you like to do them in ‘phases’.[/quote]

Box jumps are jumping onto a box. These can be done daily as opposed to depth jumps (dropping off from a box and jumping up upon ground contact) which should only be done for 4 weeks at a time.

I do believe in starting an olympic lifting workout with jumps, especially with less experienced lifters. Pierre Roy (former Coach of the Canadian National Team) had (has) his athletes start every session with roughly 15 minutes of various jumps.[/quote]

When doing Depth jumps, do you have to jump IMMEDIATELY as you touch the ground, or the point is to squat parallel to the floor for exemple to cummulate kinetic energy via the muscle elasticity and then use that energy to propulse yourself even higher?

In my mind, it looks like the first one would have a faster turnaround but would likely have much more less power because theres not much energy cummulated…

Thanks for your time ![/quote]

A ground contact time of as much as 1 second is acceptable if it helps you jump higher. But I find that those who fail to jump high when they immediately jump after touching the ground do so because they do not land in the proper position.

You should land (feet contact the floor) in the ‘‘jumping position’’ (knees bent roughly 135 degrees) NOT land ‘‘high’’ then squat down into the jumping position.[/quote]

After landing in the ‘‘jumping position’’, should you squat down or try to jump from the jumping position as quickly as possible?

What would be the proper landing position if I would apply the same principle to ‘‘Depth Push-ups’’, should you land with floor being like 4-6 inches off the chest ?

Thanks a lot for helping me clearing up things about plyos !

395

CT,

I really liked your interval running and 400 meter sprint programs in your “Running Man” article. How many days before or after a lower body session would you do one those workouts? I currently deadlift (part of a back day) on Monday and do a squat session Thursdays. Interval running and 400 meter sprints seem to require at least a day or more for soreness and knee pain to go away. I was trying to do one or the other on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you

396

How high would you need to pull a clean pull to suggest that you might be
able to squat clean it?

What weakness does a stronger hang clean pull than a clean pull from the floor indicate>

I enjoy reading your answers to the questions , they are very informative.
Especially the plyometric progession levels.

397

[quote]decimation wrote:
How high would you need to pull a clean pull to suggest that you might be
able to squat clean it?

What weakness does a stronger hang clean pull than a clean pull from the floor indicate>

I enjoy reading your answers to the questions , they are very informative.
Especially the plyometric progession levels.[/quote]

  1. It depends on the skill of the lifter and his body type. Your best bet is to take the most weight you can squat clean right now, and do a clean pull with it, registering the height at which you pull it. This is roughly how high you need to pull a weight to squat clean it.

  2. Either a technique issue (being out of position to do the second pull when the bar crosses the knees), a leverage issue (individual with short arms seem to be stronger from the hang) or an upper back and/or hamstring weakness.

398

[quote]awaken279 wrote:
After landing in the ‘‘jumping position’’, should you squat down or try to jump from the jumping position as quickly as possible?

What would be the proper landing position if I would apply the same principle to ‘‘Depth Push-ups’’, should you land with floor being like 4-6 inches off the chest ?

Thanks a lot for helping me clearing up things about plyos !
[/quote]

  1. READ MY PREVIOUS ANSWER AGAIN… IT’S IN THERE! You should land in the perfect jumping position NOT land then squat down.

  2. Yes

399

Hi coach. Could you please tell us why I awlways see in the gym most of athletes in water sports like swimming and water polo and their coaches use elastic resistance (tubes, bands) as a strenth training equipment. Most of the time they do many exercises without any free weights, machines, cables. Thanks in advance.

400

Hey, CT

How would you go about develeping a HUGE neck? :slight_smile:

i´m only doing wrestlers bridges right now

thanks