Thibs New Training Questions #4

Training
561

[quote]jonmb11 wrote:
CT,

Do you believe that after someone bulks up to a certain weight, they should try to maintain that weight for a certain amount of time before trying to lose some of the fat that came along with the bulking? Would this help them retain more muscle mass while cutting? And if you believe this, how long should someone maintain their new weight before cutting?

[/quote]

Maintaining the same BODY COMPOSITON after bulking (same weight and body fat level) will NOT help you keep more mass when dieting.

However after being done with bulking (I personally think that the bulking approach is dumb except for the total beginner or someone with next to zero muscle mass) I strongly suggest a period of 4-6 weeks where you try to maintain the same BODY WEIGHT while losing a small/moderate amount of fat. Then go on a real cutting phase.

562

Thibs, while following a diet for lean mass using a carb cycling approach, is there any benefit of decreasing fat intake on higher carb days, and decreasing fat on lower carb days?

I always see examples of starting out a diet setting protein stable at 1.5g and fat at 0.5 for example, and just adjusting carbs up or down depending on the day. Does this just make things easier to follow, or should fat also fluctuate depending on carb intake?
Thanks

563

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]jonmb11 wrote:
CT,

Do you believe that after someone bulks up to a certain weight, they should try to maintain that weight for a certain amount of time before trying to lose some of the fat that came along with the bulking? Would this help them retain more muscle mass while cutting? And if you believe this, how long should someone maintain their new weight before cutting?

[/quote]

Maintaining the same BODY COMPOSITON after bulking (same weight and body fat level) will NOT help you keep more mass when dieting.

However after being done with bulking (I personally think that the bulking approach is dumb except for the total beginner or someone with next to zero muscle mass) I strongly suggest a period of 4-6 weeks where you try to maintain the same BODY WEIGHT while losing a small/moderate amount of fat. Then go on a real cutting phase.[/quote]

Thanks CT. To maintain body weight while losing some fat would you suggest keeping calories the same while adding in some cardio or just lowering the calories somewhat?

564

Hi Thibs!

I’m currently focusing mostly on the powerlifting movements, and I’m going to start competing (for fun) at the beginning of next year, and I have a goal of qualifying for the National championship here in Norway next year (not THAT hard…)… However; I also love weightlifting, it’s even more fun then powerlifting I think.

What i’m wondering is; What do you think is the best way to combine training for powerlifting and weightlifting? I’m not trying to get to a ‘great’ level on any of them; that would probably require special focus on one of them; but I want to become pretty good at both.

Do you think that the best strategy is to combine both approaches in to each program, or change between focusing on one of them at a time, f. example I might focus on powerlifting training for 8 weeks, and then weightlifting for 8 weeks.

565

[quote]fredarn wrote:
Hi Thibs!

I’m currently focusing mostly on the powerlifting movements, and I’m going to start competing (for fun) at the beginning of next year, and I have a goal of qualifying for the National championship here in Norway next year (not THAT hard…)… However; I also love weightlifting, it’s even more fun then powerlifting I think.

What i’m wondering is; What do you think is the best way to combine training for powerlifting and weightlifting? I’m not trying to get to a ‘great’ level on any of them; that would probably require special focus on one of them; but I want to become pretty good at both.

Do you think that the best strategy is to combine both approaches in to each program, or change between focusing on one of them at a time, f. example I might focus on powerlifting training for 8 weeks, and then weightlifting for 8 weeks.[/quote]

Well, the good thing is that except for the bench press, the training of both sports are somewhat complimentary. The squat and deadlift will help in the performance of the olympic lift (well the powerliftng deadlift doesn’t help that much because the technique is different than in the olympic pull, but it still strengthen the back and hamstrings which is helpful for olympic lifting performance).

The front squat, which is used as one of the main assistance exercise in olympic lifting also helps build up the back squat and deadlift start.

I also found that the snatch helps prevent shoulder strain from the bench press.

The important thing is to practice the olympic lift often to avoid taking bad motor habits and to make sure that you do not lose speed-strength at the expense of limit, slow strength.

A good 5 days a week schedule could look like this:

DAY 1 - OLYMPIC LIFTING FOCUS
Snatch variation work up to heavy single or double (not max, but challenging)
Clean & jerk variation work up to a heavy single or double
Front squat, do A LOT of sets of 3 reps with your CLEAN maximum

DAY 2 - BENCH PRESS FOCUS
Power snatch variation 5-6 very explosive sets of 2-3 reps with a moderate weight (roughly 70%)
Overhead lift variation (military press, push press, overhead press from pins, etc.) sets of 3-5 reps ramping up to the max weight you can lift without grinding
Bench press sets of 1-3 reps ramping up to the max weight you can lift without grinding, starting where you ended your overhead movement
Partial bench press variation (floor press, board press, press from pins) 4-6 sets of 5 reps

DAY 3 - DEADLIFT/SQUAT FOCUS
Power clean variation 5-6 very explosive sets of 2-3 reps with a moderate weight (roughly 70%)
Back squat sets of 1-3 reps ramping up to the max weight you can lift without grinding
Deadlift sets of 1-3 ramping up to the max weight you can lift without grinding
Some accessory work for the hamstrings and lower back

DAY 4- TECHNIQUE DAY
Snatch do as many sets of 2 reps with 80% as you can in 20 minutes (focus on speed and technique)
Clean and jerk do as many sets of 2 reps with 80% as you can in 20 minutes (speed and technique)
Military press do as many sets of 2 reps with 80% as you can in 15 minutes
Bench press do as many sets of 2 reps with 80% as you can in 15 minutes

DAY 5 - GENERAL STRENGTH DAY
Romanian deadlift ramping sets of 3 reps starting at 60% ramping up to the max you can reach without losing acceleration
Snatch position deadlift ramping sets of 3 reps starting where you ended the RDL up to the max without losing acceleration
Clean position deadlift ramping sets of 3 reps starting where you ended the SGDL up to the max without losing acceleration
Half deadlift from just above knees ramping sets of 3 reps starting where you ended the CGDL up to the max without losing acceleration
Snatch 5 sets of 1 with 75%
Clean 5 sets of 1 with 75%

566

[quote]jonmb11 wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]jonmb11 wrote:
CT,

Do you believe that after someone bulks up to a certain weight, they should try to maintain that weight for a certain amount of time before trying to lose some of the fat that came along with the bulking? Would this help them retain more muscle mass while cutting? And if you believe this, how long should someone maintain their new weight before cutting?

[/quote]

Maintaining the same BODY COMPOSITON after bulking (same weight and body fat level) will NOT help you keep more mass when dieting.

However after being done with bulking (I personally think that the bulking approach is dumb except for the total beginner or someone with next to zero muscle mass) I strongly suggest a period of 4-6 weeks where you try to maintain the same BODY WEIGHT while losing a small/moderate amount of fat. Then go on a real cutting phase.[/quote]

Thanks CT. To maintain body weight while losing some fat would you suggest keeping calories the same while adding in some cardio or just lowering the calories somewhat?[/quote]

Both approaches will work, although I would prefer adding sled/prowler work instead of cardio. Basically increase overall training volume while lowering carbs a bit.

567

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]fredarn wrote:
Hi Thibs!

I’m currently focusing mostly on the powerlifting movements, and I’m going to start competing (for fun) at the beginning of next year, and I have a goal of qualifying for the National championship here in Norway next year (not THAT hard…)… However; I also love weightlifting, it’s even more fun then powerlifting I think.

What i’m wondering is; What do you think is the best way to combine training for powerlifting and weightlifting? I’m not trying to get to a ‘great’ level on any of them; that would probably require special focus on one of them; but I want to become pretty good at both.

Do you think that the best strategy is to combine both approaches in to each program, or change between focusing on one of them at a time, f. example I might focus on powerlifting training for 8 weeks, and then weightlifting for 8 weeks.[/quote]

Well, the good thing is that except for the bench press, the training of both sports are somewhat complimentary. The squat and deadlift will help in the performance of the olympic lift (well the powerliftng deadlift doesn’t help that much because the technique is different than in the olympic pull, but it still strengthen the back and hamstrings which is helpful for olympic lifting performance).

The front squat, which is used as one of the main assistance exercise in olympic lifting also helps build up the back squat and deadlift start.

I also found that the snatch helps prevent shoulder strain from the bench press.

The important thing is to practice the olympic lift often to avoid taking bad motor habits and to make sure that you do not lose speed-strength at the expense of limit, slow strength.

A good 5 days a week schedule could look like this:

DAY 1 - OLYMPIC LIFTING FOCUS
Snatch variation work up to heavy single or double (not max, but challenging)
Clean & jerk variation work up to a heavy single or double
Front squat, do A LOT of sets of 3 reps with your CLEAN maximum

DAY 2 - BENCH PRESS FOCUS
Power snatch variation 5-6 very explosive sets of 2-3 reps with a moderate weight (roughly 70%)
Overhead lift variation (military press, push press, overhead press from pins, etc.) sets of 3-5 reps ramping up to the max weight you can lift without grinding
Bench press sets of 1-3 reps ramping up to the max weight you can lift without grinding, starting where you ended your overhead movement
Partial bench press variation (floor press, board press, press from pins) 4-6 sets of 5 reps

DAY 3 - DEADLIFT/SQUAT FOCUS
Power clean variation 5-6 very explosive sets of 2-3 reps with a moderate weight (roughly 70%)
Back squat sets of 1-3 reps ramping up to the max weight you can lift without grinding
Deadlift sets of 1-3 ramping up to the max weight you can lift without grinding
Some accessory work for the hamstrings and lower back

DAY 4- TECHNIQUE DAY
Snatch do as many sets of 2 reps with 80% as you can in 20 minutes (focus on speed and technique)
Clean and jerk do as many sets of 2 reps with 80% as you can in 20 minutes (speed and technique)
Military press do as many sets of 2 reps with 80% as you can in 15 minutes
Bench press do as many sets of 2 reps with 80% as you can in 15 minutes

DAY 5 - GENERAL STRENGTH DAY
Romanian deadlift ramping sets of 3 reps starting at 60% ramping up to the max you can reach without losing acceleration
Snatch position deadlift ramping sets of 3 reps starting where you ended the RDL up to the max without losing acceleration
Clean position deadlift ramping sets of 3 reps starting where you ended the SGDL up to the max without losing acceleration
Half deadlift from just above knees ramping sets of 3 reps starting where you ended the CGDL up to the max without losing acceleration
Snatch 5 sets of 1 with 75%
Clean 5 sets of 1 with 75%[/quote]

Thank you so much for this, Thibs! :slight_smile:

568

Coach:

Why does it seem that for me I can hit heavier weights when I do a partial activation movement before my main movement?

I.E. Today - Did partial rack squats, bar @ bottom of sternum height, ramping sets of 3 reps all sets, finishing at 575 x 3.

Then I did squats and hit 440x2 (had a judge watch for depth) - not a max effort, but close. Used a light belt on top sets but no other gear.

However, when I do an explosive movement like jump squats or snatch, then squat, I cannot get to same #'s.

Is this an issue that I should address in my training or just enjoy the new PR’s when I do partials first?

Thanks!
M

569

[quote]Mutsanah wrote:
Coach:

Why does it seem that for me I can hit heavier weights when I do a partial activation movement before my main movement?

I.E. Today - Did partial rack squats, bar @ bottom of sternum height, ramping sets of 3 reps all sets, finishing at 575 x 3.

Then I did squats and hit 440x2 (had a judge watch for depth) - not a max effort, but close. Used a light belt on top sets but no other gear.

However, when I do an explosive movement like jump squats or snatch, then squat, I cannot get to same #'s.

Is this an issue that I should address in my training or just enjoy the new PR’s when I do partials first?

Thanks!
M[/quote]

My advice would be “You found out what works for you… don’t stress about what doesn’t work for you. There is nothing wrong with you, we all respond to different stimuli”

570

Hello CT:

How would you go about training for Strongman. I am interested in your thoughts on this type of training. Thank you for your time

571

[quote]deshawn wrote:
Hello CT:

How would you go about training for Strongman. I am interested in your thoughts on this type of training. Thank you for your time[/quote]

I’m not really comfortable discussing this subject because I do not consider myself to be an authority on it. Although I have trained with guys who competed in strongmen events and even did one such competition myself (without any formal training for it) and despite the fact that I use strongmen implements in my programming, my opinion would not be more valuable than that of any other guy with a lot of lifting experience but zero strongman experience.

Not that I do not know anything about it. I do. But because of my reputation my word often get taken with too much value and not enough objectivity or even criticism. With subjects I consider myself a expert in, I do not have a problem with that. But with strongman training it’s not the same thing.

Contrary to many other coaches I do not have the ego (or insecurity complex) to try to make others believe that I know everything.

572

[quote]deshawn wrote:
Hello CT:

How would you go about training for Strongman. I am interested in your thoughts on this type of training. Thank you for your time[/quote]

It would be like asking me about training to get more flexible. I do know enough to get me by, but there are many people more qualified than I am on that subject.

573

If a strength coach or personal trainer seems to have an answer to everything, run away because there is good chance that he is wrong on a lot of them!

A truly knowledgeable man knows when to admit the limits of his knowledge and doesn’t try to hide it.

574

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]deshawn wrote:
Hello CT:

How would you go about training for Strongman. I am interested in your thoughts on this type of training. Thank you for your time[/quote]

I’m not really comfortable discussing this subject because I do not consider myself to be an authority on it. Although I have trained with guys who competed in strongmen events and even did one such competition myself (without any formal training for it) and despite the fact that I use strongmen implements in my programming, my opinion would not be more valuable than that of any other guy with a lot of lifting experience but zero strongman experience.

Not that I do not know anything about it. I do. But because of my reputation my word often get taken with too much value and not enough objectivity or even criticism. With subjects I consider myself a expert in, I do not have a problem with that. But with strongman training it’s not the same thing.

Contrary to many other coaches I do not have the ego (or insecurity complex) to try to make others believe that I know everything.
[/quote]

Thanks for your honesty CT.

575

Thib,

  1. How often do you personally do push press as an OH press variation?
    Is it more favorable than regular millitary press? If so, why?

  2. Many strength coaches prefer GHR variation over leg curl variation as knee flexion exercise and they rarely include lying leg curl or seated leg curl to their program but your program seems to have more leg curl variation over GHR variation. (I know it would be depends on client/goal, of course) Is there any reason? I personally feel leg curl may be more beneficial for individual who do lot of sets of heavy squatting or deadlifting regurarly and GHR is more beneficial for person or phases doing low volume SQ/DL or easy typical bodybuilding workout or athlete who spends more time on unilateral exercise. What is your opinion?

  3. How do you usually change your exercises?

  • every 2-3weeks, change all execises but keep same set/rep schume
  • every 2-3weeks, change some exercises but keep “Bang for buck” exercise changing volume/intensity/method
  • Depends on feeling of the day, CNS/muscular fatigue, energy level, progression, trying new things etc
  • Rarely change exercises but would change volume/intensity/frequency/density/order/split/method etc
  • Nothing should be change! Shut up and train!
    etc…There are many ways but what is yours like?

Thanks.

576

CT,

When switching to DB variations of your typical pressing exercises, would you suggest sticking to sets of 3 or going more into the 5-6 range?

577

CT, how often can I use the prowler for my legs? currently I am using it in the afternoon after my morning leg workout(front/back squats, ham isolation, calves), and the next day as my only workout. Is this overdoing it? Can I use it more than this? I know it is supposed to help recovery, but is there a point where it lengthens recovery?

578

[quote]scj119 wrote:
CT,

When switching to DB variations of your typical pressing exercises, would you suggest sticking to sets of 3 or going more into the 5-6 range?[/quote]

I personally don’t do dumbbell pressing exercises. I’ve used them with clients and often went up to 5 reps per set. But I prefer the barbell variations.

579

Thibs i have noticed that doing military press then incline then bench or what ever i do but always starting with shoulders first i have noticed that the lift seems to be stalling but the other lifts (flat and incline) are going up. Could this be from my nervious system being activated enough?
What could i do before i start my pressing to activate?
I go to the gym pretty much straight after work so im not in the zone so to speak.

580

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]scj119 wrote:
CT,

When switching to DB variations of your typical pressing exercises, would you suggest sticking to sets of 3 or going more into the 5-6 range?[/quote]

I personally don’t do dumbbell pressing exercises. I’ve used them with clients and often went up to 5 reps per set. But I prefer the barbell variations.[/quote]

any certain reason why you prefer barbells, or JUST a preference?