PERFECT! I have some time off and LOVE training twice per day. I will give it a go!
Thanks again man
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
[quote]Amonero wrote:
Hey Thib!
Currently lifting 6 days a week, 3-way split, one main exercise and other assistance exercises done for 1-2 max rep sets of anywhere from 6-12 reps.
Something I’m playing around with is this:
If max rep set ends up at 6 or less, I decrease the weight and do another set of 8-12
If max rep set ends up being 8 or more reps, I increase the weight, and try to end up around 6 reps.
Good/bad idea?
Also I’ve taken up grappling and will start looking into MMA when I’ve got the grappling down, any golden tips for MMA training you can share? I know it’s not your area of expertise excactly, but explosiveness, strength and hypertrophy definately is, which I need to throw guys around![/quote]
MMA guys need strength-endurance and power-endurance. A lot of guys train this the wrong way by doing too many reps with too little weight, to extend their set. Remember that the basis for strength-endurance and power-endurance (speed-strength endurance) is ‘‘STRENGTH’’. Remove that element and you will not get the proper training effect.
What I recommend is a ‘‘power circuit’’.
Pick anywhere between 4 and 6 exercises (depending on how you are feeling on that day) which should cover the whole body.
The selection should include:
- heavy basic lifts
- explosive movements
- bodyweight or sled exercises
Then you do the exercises as a circuit, with as little rest as possible without having a drop in performance, but you keep the sets short… 3 reps for the heavy lifts and olympic lifts (if you use them), 5 reps for jumps and throws… only the bodyweight exercises can be done for more reps.
A circuit I uses that is very effective is as follow:
A1. Power snatch from the hang - 3 reps
A2. Bench press - 3 reps
A3. Burpees - 5 reps
A4. Medicine ball throw down then overhead (slam it 5 times on the floor then throw it overhead as far back as possible, once)
A5. Prowler sprint 20 yards
A6. Plyo push ups - 5 reps
The circuit is performed anywhere between 3 and 6 times depending on performance.
[/quote]
Nice! That looks like something it’d be cool to do outside! Thanks, Thib.
Mr. Thibaudeau, I have a (big) problem. I read the article “The Squat: Good Exercise Gone Bad?”
written by Nate Green where you answered the following: "Here’s how to tell if you’re a natural squatter.
Stand in front of a wall with your hands behind your head in a squatting stance. Your toes should be about six inches away from the wall. Do a regular squat. If your knees or face touch the wall you’re not built for squatting. If they don’t, you’re fine. If you fall over backward then you need to lay off the booze."
I’m not on booze and I still fall over backward when I’m trying to get somewhere under parallel. I learn all exercises very quickly and do my best to always focus on technique rather then satisfying my ego.
But learning to squat is on a whole new level for me. I’m trying and it doesn’t work.
The big problem is when I’m about parallel to start dropping my gluteus more to the floor. I start falling backwards and I feel I can’t force my balance to be more forward.
When I watched in the mirror I also see that I maybe arch my back to much? 
Do you have any advice to help me out? I really want to be able to squat 
I also have a second question.
I made a new split with mostly compound exercises.
day 1: chest/back (rep/set: 24 ; load: 80-85%1RM)
day 2: legs (quadricep dom.)/abs (rep/set: 36 ; load: 75-70%1RM)
day 3: biceps/shoulders/triceps (rep/set: 24 ; load: 80-85%1RM)
day 4: rest
day 5: chest/back (rep/set: 36 ; load: 75-70%1RM)
day 6: legs (hamstring dom.)/abs (rep/set: 24 ; load: 80-85%1RM)
day 7: biceps/shoulders/triceps (rep/set: 36 ; load: 75-70%1RM)
day 8: rest
day 9: back/chest (rep/set: 24 ; load: 80-85%1RM)
day 10: legs (quadricep dom.)/abs (rep/set: 36 ; load: 75-70%1RM)
day 11: triceps/shoulders/biceps (rep/set: 24 ; load: 80-85%1RM)
day 12: rest
day 13: back/chest (rep/set: 36 ; load: 75-70%1RM)
day 14: legs (hamstring dom.)/abs (rep/set: 24 ; load: 80-85%1RM)
day 15: triceps/shoulders/biceps (rep/set: 36 ; load: 75-70%1RM)
day 16: rest
The first and third day of the cycle are more for low reps (3 or 6), the second day higher reps (8, 9 or 12); the last 3 days are just the opposite (for variation and prevent overtraining or burning out).
On day1/day9 I do rack pulls and on day5/day13 deadlift.
On day2/day10 I do squat (in machine for now :().
Do you think this is a good way to train or should I make adjustments?
Thanks in advance!
PS: Sorry for my imperfect English.
Thib, what do you think is the best way to include some BBer-type work with Olympic lifting without overdoing it? I am doing Olympic lifting 5x a week right now, with the first 3 lifts being the Olympic lifts + either a squat or pull. However I also like to be big, so I include some upper body stuff at the end. I don’t want to have too much volume though. Thoughts?
What is the best way to reignite my metabolism after severely slowing it down due to overdoing it with severe, long-term calorie deficit?
I’ve read a LOT about fat loss since finding this forum, and a lot of articles (many of them yours) discuss how it’s a bad idea to do this because it slows your metabolism down, etc. (unfortunately, it’s too late for me to heed those warnings), but no one ever tosses out tips for a contingency plan if someone (me) is dumb enough to have done so. So, I was wondering if you could give me a few tips on the best way to get it going again, and maybe how long it takes to get it active again (generally speaking, understanding that everyone is different, etc).
I appreciate any advice and tips you have to offer. Thanks!
luvQvist, if it helps, right after i did the article, i did the test and fell over backwards. i was pretty sure i had good squatting form, so wondered what was up. i did it again and got my brother to do it too, and he mentioned to me that i was doing the test with a way narrower stance than i actually use to squat. when i did it with a wider stance, i was fine.
[quote]get-it-done wrote:
luvQvist, if it helps, right after i did the article, i did the test and fell over backwards. i was pretty sure i had good squatting form, so wondered what was up. i did it again and got my brother to do it too, and he mentioned to me that i was doing the test with a way narrower stance than i actually use to squat. when i did it with a wider stance, i was fine.[/quote]
Yes I think it helps too, but I feel I’m not standing solid on the ground and it isn’t comfortable. I feel the outer side of my foot is not standing well on the ground.
Maybe I am not flexible enough to open my legs that far?
coach. I just added box squats and front squats to my routine after a long stretch of only doing back squats previously. I set the box so that the crease in my hip is just below parallel to the top of my knee. I go rock bottom on my front squats ( i think the more upright posture of a front squant allows me to do this more comfortably than with the back squat ). My question is: Assuming someone does not have any large muscle imbalances, what should the weight ratio be between box squats and front squats? Currently, the weights i use for both the box squats and front squats are virtually identical and i usually do working sets of 3 reps for each exercise. Keep in mind that i just recently added these two exercises in and took out my free back squats, so it may just be a matter of getting the movement down. But like i said i am curious as to how much somebody should be lifting in the back box squat compared to the free front squat and vice versa? thank you in advance.
Using Chains
Coach I am on a program that calls for chains with incline bench and tricep extensions. I have gotten a lot of mixed opinions on how to set up the chains.
What is the best way to set these up (length to ground, at ground, etc)
Is an accessory chain better than the clamp some people use to hook the chain to?
How much should be on the floor at the beginning?
thanks
[quote]brmnstl wrote:
Using Chains
Coach I am on a program that calls for chains with incline bench and tricep extensions. I have gotten a lot of mixed opinions on how to set up the chains.
What is the best way to set these up (length to ground, at ground, etc)
Is an accessory chain better than the clamp some people use to hook the chain to?
How much should be on the floor at the beginning?
thanks[/quote]
Close to half of the chains should be on the floor at the beginning and all of it at the bottom.
Thib,
I was reading through the pages yesterday and noticed your programs you have started for your bodybuilders. I myself have been doing something very similar for a while now and would appreciate some input. I too mainly do heavy low rep work, as I tend to gradually get weaker when I up the reps.
First exercise: 4 mini sets of 2,3,4. Start the first set with about 50% max for two reps, 3, then 4, with very little rest. Next set to 70%, 2,3,4, then 80%, then 90%. I only rest as much as needed. So technically it’s about 12 sets albeit the first six aren’t overly difficult. The percentages are approximate, most likely slightly less than that, but I’m not going to have an all out max to find out.
2nd Exercise: 3 sets of 5
3rd Exercise: Giant set of 3 exercises
1st exercise 5 reps
2nd exercise 10 reps
3rd exercise 15 reps
That is for the first week.
The next week for the first exercise I move the reps up to 3,4,5 and add a set to both the second and third exercises.
The next week I do the same, up the reps to 4,5,6 and add another set to the second and third exercises. So my volume is going up for three weeks and then on the fourth week I have a backoff week. After the fourth week I then up the weight for the first time in a month.
Results have been really good and consistent.
I have also found that this is an easy way to track and gauge progress.
Just wondering what your input would be on this or how you would change it for the better.
Thanks for all your help
Hi Christian!
About 2 months ago I asked you the questions below (quoted) and you provided me with a 6 week program (also quoted) to improve my lower body strength. I don’t know if you remember, but you had me do a sort of mechanical progression where I would do the no hands front squat and podium deadlift the first three weeks, and the regular front squat and deadlift the last three weeks.
I promised to report back, and here’s a short recap of my progress:
-
I did the program through 8 weeks, not 6 due to holidays. Exactly after the third week I went to Spain where I only had access to light dumbbells, so I basically had 2 weeks without the big compound movements in the middle of the program.
-
I did get stronger on the front squat, but no extreme gains. I believe this was mostly because of inconsistency on my side (equipment, form issues on back squat, etc)
-
The deadlift on the other hand is a completely different story. As quoted below, when I started the routine I could do what I considered to be 3 strict, but slow, reps with 120 kg. This was the most amount of weight I had ever tried to deadlift, because I could see that any heavier technique would get really bad. Yesterday I was ramping singles in the last deadlift session of the program, and I ended up doing 160 kg with a double overhand grip. Video can be found here: - YouTube
-
I mostly followed your latest advice on ramping, not grinding reps etc, and the funny thing is, the heaviest deadlifting I did prior to pulling 1x160 kg was a double with 127,5 kg last week! It was actually heavy and slow! I don’t really understand what happened between that, but it sure was good!
Quick question: This seems logical to me but I’d like to get it confirmed. Could I use this kind of “mechanical progression” on other exercises i a training phase? Such as 4 weeks incline bench → 4 weeks flat or 3 weeks military press → 3 weeks push press, etc?
Thanks for helping me pulling a +40 kg PR in the deadlift in a matter of 6 weeks! I’m really grateful for the wisdom you share! 
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
[quote]cyberwar wrote:
Hi Christian,
My lowerbody strength is severely lagging behind my upper body. I want to focus on my front squat and deadlift for a period, and I have no problems with putting my upper body progress on hold if that’s needed for better lower body recovery.
I have two questions regarding this:
- What split would you suggest to focus on front squats and deads if I have the opportunity to train 4 - 5 days per week? Would you do both lifts on the same days, or dedicate separate days to separate lifts?
- Do you have any suggestions for periodization, throughout say, 6 weeks?
A few quick stats:
Height: 185 cm (6’)
Weight: 93 kg (205 lbs)
Bench and front squat: Around 100 kg
Deadlifts: Last time I trained I did 3x120 kg. I lifted strict, but slow. The bar I use is slightly thicker than standard, so the grip in addition to my lower body holds me back. I have no issues keeping my back straight.
Pull-ups: 6 with bodyweight + 20 kg extra
Natural glute ham raise: 3 strict reps
Thanks in advance![/quote]
DAY 1. Deadlift and assistance work
DAY 2. Upper body pushing
DAY 3. OFF
DAY 4. Front squat and assistance work
DAY 5. OFF
DAY 6. Upper body pulling
DAY 7. OFF
DEADLIFT SESSION:
A) Deadlift standing on a podium
Week 1: Ramping sets of 3 reps
Week 2: Ramping sets of 2 reps
Week 3: Ramping sets of 1 rep
*At week 4 replace the deadlift on a podium with regular deadlifts
Week 4: Ramping sets of 3 reps
Week 5: Ramping sets of 2 reps
Week 6: Ramping sets of 1 rep
B) Romanian deadlift 4-5 sets of 5 reps
C) Back extension 1-2 sets of max reps
D) Glute-ham raise 1-2 sets of max reps
FRONT SQUAT SESSION
A) No-hands front squat (http://jva.ontariostrongman.ca/FS.htm)
Week 1: Ramping sets of 3 reps
Week 2: Ramping sets of 2 reps
Week 3: Ramping sets of 1 rep
*At 4 weeks switch to regular front squats
Week 4: Ramping sets of 3 reps
Week 5: Ramping sets of 2 reps
Week 6: Ramping sets of 1 rep
B) Jump squat with 30% of the max weight you used for front squats 5 sets of 5
C) Back squat 1 sets of max reps with the max weight you used for front squats
D) Leg extension 1-2 sets of max reps (shoot for anything between 8 and 15)
[/quote]
Thib,
Any chance you have some advice on how to treat a strained infraspinatus/subscapularis?
Thanks
Thib, for your giant sets, how long are you resting between exercises and between rounds?
Thanks
[quote]Mr_Magoo wrote:
Thib, for your giant sets, how long are you resting between exercises and between rounds?
Thanks[/quote]
Between exercises, just long enough to change station… between rounds, 90 seconds or so.
[quote]Mr_Magoo wrote:
Thib,
Any chance you have some advice on how to treat a strained infraspinatus/subscapularis?
Thanks[/quote]
I mentioned in the past that I cannot give injuries advices online.
Thib, quick question, does the firing rate of CNS changes significantly with high intensity training, or is it mostly genetic determined?
coach, i recently tried box squats for fun, and it felt pretty nice actually taking into account that i had some soft tissue issues few months back in my knee,
my question is, does the box squat qualify as an activation movement before i start doing squats favorable powerlifting style ? or is the box squat rather a exercise by itself to do after doing squats?
or lets put it this way, when do you incorporate box squats, if ever.?
Thibs for exercices using your High HTH reps where you perform 3-rep clusters for 12 total reps… is it recommended to use pins on exercises whenever possible, unless it absolutely can’t be done? Ex. Squats or bench, sure you can get away with not using pins, but would pins be a better choice so you don’t waste anything during the rackin/re-racking?
thanks
[quote]Italiano wrote:
Thibs for exercices using your High HTH reps where you perform 3-rep clusters for 12 total reps… is it recommended to use pins on exercises whenever possible, unless it absolutely can’t be done? Ex. Squats or bench, sure you can get away with not using pins, but would pins be a better choice so you don’t waste anything during the rackin/re-racking?
thanks [/quote]
Most definetely. Try to use pins, movements from a deadstart (e.g. deadlift) or machines which allow you to relax between micro-sets.