which products should i use to maximize muscle growth?
[quote]Journey85 wrote:
Coach-
Could you please provide an example of a training cycle that focuses on increasing strength in the deadlift as much as possible? My main priority is getting as strong as I possibly can in that exercise.
Thank you in advance.[/quote]
I can’t design a program for everybody who asks for it. It’s my job, it’s how I make a living.
[quote]pumped340 wrote:
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
[quote]pumped340 wrote:
Hey coach,
I was doing a neural charge workout yesterday and had 2 questions:
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Because I had done vertical jumps as one of the exercises friday I decided to do horizontal leaps instead. Is there a real difference between the 2 and if so what is it?
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I drew a line with chalk from where I started jumping and where I finished. It seems I got a little farther on my last jumps than my first jumps but that may have been coincidence or just from warming up. I was wondering though if a.) a decrease in jump distance within a workout would show you should stop the neural charge workout (preferably before this)? and b.) if a decrease from one workout to the next shows you need a break or better recovery overall?[/quote]
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Broad jumps work more the hamstrings, vertical more quads… both work equally well for glutes
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Ideally you stop the NC workout BEFORE there is a drop in jumping performance[/quote]
OK great, that’s what I thought. What do you think about that last part? If in one workout you aren’t able to jump as far as the previous workout or two would you consider that an indicator of CNS fatigue and a reason to do something to increase recovery?[/quote]
Not necessarily. It could be several other factors. The best indicators of CNS fatigue is a lack of motivation to train, mood swings, lack of appetite and sleeplessness despite being tired.
Great articles. Thanks for your generosity in putting your knowledge out there for the rest of our benefit. 
So, let’s say that I wanted to follow your workout schedule outlined on page 4 of the “Look like a bodybuilder, perform like an athlete” article. Day 1 is “upper body pressing, overhead focus” and day 2 is “upper body pressing, bench press focus”. According to what you said in the program overview in the “Upper body pressing workout” article one would choose either micro-ramping, double ramping, or extended ramping to focus more on one exercise/movement pattern.
What if on Day 1 I wanted to use double ramping for overhead barbell presses; how would I incorporate that with the progression model that you outlined (wave loading once the MTW is reached and increasing the number of waves used as the weeks go on)? Wouldn’t that kind of be like doing week 2 on week 1? And what would be the progression from there? Is double ramping somewhat at odds with the progression model you outlined? Would something like micro-ramping be a better choice in this case? Or would you suggest only using the double ramping until I reached my MTW?
Thanks again.
Also, would you suggest adding more volume (through any of the methods you described in the Upper body pressing article) to the Squat movement on one lower body day and the Deadlift movement on the other lower body day, or would you keep them the same and just add more eccentric-less work for those muscles depending on our focus?
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
[quote]Journey85 wrote:
Coach-
Could you please provide an example of a training cycle that focuses on increasing strength in the deadlift as much as possible? My main priority is getting as strong as I possibly can in that exercise.
Thank you in advance.[/quote]
I can’t design a program for everybody who asks for it. It’s my job, it’s how I make a living.[/quote]
I understand completely.
Can you provide any tips then for using this training method for the deadlift? If not, I understand.
i just read all the articles and videos posted for today. I still have a question about the sample programs you posted for upper and lower body pressing. So would you alternate upper and lower everyday or do you have a pulling day you’ve yet to post. Sorry if this has been asked already or if i missed it. I read some things about muscle like the lats responding better to higher rep ranges, can you still rap up the way you described with the upper/lower pressing for your pull day? Should the lifting principles stay the say for a pull day or is the pull day more like a “regular” lifting program with straight sets. Merci!
Hey Coach,
Lovin the new training articles! I was reading through your “Look like a bodybuilder, perform like an athlete” article and had a quick question about the “strength circuit segment.” It says to use them in 2 week cycles which I understand, but do those strength circuits after each main workout have to be dedicated to one muscle group for the entire 2 weeks?
For example:
(2 weeks)
mon: upper performance + CHEST strength circuit
tues: lower performance + CHEST strength circuit
wed: neural charge
thurs: upper performance + CHEST strength circuit
fri: lats/bis
sat: upper performance + CHEST strength circuit
Sun: neural charge
…or can I mix it up after every main workout for 2 weeks?
I apologize if this question has already been asked but I searched around and found nothing.
Thanks!
[quote]k20kid wrote:
Hey Coach,
Lovin the new training articles! I was reading through your “Look like a bodybuilder, perform like an athlete” article and had a quick question about the “strength circuit segment.” It says to use them in 2 week cycles which I understand, but do those strength circuits after each main workout have to be dedicated to one muscle group for the entire 2 weeks?
For example:
(2 weeks)
mon: upper performance + CHEST strength circuit
tues: lower performance + CHEST strength circuit
wed: neural charge
thurs: upper performance + CHEST strength circuit
fri: lats/bis
sat: upper performance + CHEST strength circuit
Sun: neural charge
…or can I mix it up after every main workout for 2 weeks?
I apologize if this question has already been asked but I searched around and found nothing.
Thanks![/quote]
You can either:
Do one circuit focused on one specific muscle and change it at every workout
or…
Do a circuit where all three pressing muscles are trained
CT - I just quickly read through the second chapter in the Theory-and-Application-of-Modern-Strength-and-Power-Methods but didn’t see you really talk about application of electronic muscle stimulation devices. Did I miss it somewhere? I’m really just curious as to how I can utilize a device like this to maximize training.
[quote]Davinci.v2 wrote:
CT - I just quickly read through the second chapter in the Theory-and-Application-of-Modern-Strength-and-Power-Methods but didn’t see you really talk about application of electronic muscle stimulation devices. Did I miss it somewhere? I’m really just curious as to how I can utilize a device like this to maximize training.[/quote]
Part 7: Page 88
Maybe read through the whole book or just use the search feature on the pdf like I did.
[quote]Barge wrote:
[quote]Davinci.v2 wrote:
CT - I just quickly read through the second chapter in the Theory-and-Application-of-Modern-Strength-and-Power-Methods but didn’t see you really talk about application of electronic muscle stimulation devices. Did I miss it somewhere? I’m really just curious as to how I can utilize a device like this to maximize training.[/quote]
Part 7: Page 88
Maybe read through the whole book or just use the search feature on the pdf like I did.[/quote]
Thanks buddy.
Power snatch really is the king of activation exercises, its nothing else comes close to it for me, today i just felt like i couldnt stop and had to do extra sets at the end of the workout and only left because of university! Also when im really in the zone like today i find my appetite increases hugely and whereas normally i struggle to get the calories down. Have you found the same with people you’ve worked with?
CT,
When I train I go for a PR (Westside style) but continue hitting heavy sets after that. I think I should only do 1 rep in each warmup weight before the PR so no strength is wasted before the PR.
This would shift the focus of training from pre PR to post PR. Is this wrong?
CT,
I’ve got two totally unrelated questions if you don’t mind.
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How important is it to get a mix of different kinds of green vegetables? I eat cucumbers pretty much everyday because it’s so easy not having to cook or prepare them. Should I be trying to mix it up more often?
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How often would you say you can benefit from taking epsom salt baths? Is it possible to take them too often?
Hey CT a couple months ago you talked a lot about your push/pull/legs split with a potential remedial day thrown in. There was a lot of talk about it including an interview, I’m actually doing a set up based on that right now (Push/pull/legs/upper) and I’m liking it. However apparently you never do pull workouts except once every 6-8 weeks or so? So where did that routine come from exactly if it’s not really what you do?
Thanks a lot
Hey CT,
I have a question about how you set up the program in your train like abodybuilder, look like an athlete article. You have 7 days in the gym set up. I see how you do it, and the nervous system wakeup workouts make it actually make sense that you can do that much work without frying yourself. For someone with a real busy schedule, who can’t make that many days, how would you suggest setting it up? As if, 3 or 4 days is the maximum you can physically make it to the gym. Could you do a 3 day, with like, upper body pressing, 1 lower body move, then day 2 lowerbody pressing with 1 upper move +lats/biceps and alternate those days? So week 1 would have 2 upper workouts, 1 lower. Week 2 would have 2 lower, 1 upper.
As far as I understand it, if someone does a lot of volume they will initially get sarcoplasmic hypertrophy but once they stop the high volume they will lose it. On the other hand if someone takes their squat from 200lb to 500lb they will likely keep the gained mass as long as they keep their strength that high.
Regarding your method of high volume eccentric-less work for legs, lets say I took my squat up from 200lb to 500lb while also doing eccentric-less work the whole time. If I then began only doing strength work for legs, keeping my squat at 500lb or so, would I lose all of the muscle gained from eccentric-less work up to that point and end up with the same amount of muscle as if I had done no eccentric work along the way?
About the MAG-10 Pulse Fasting… are you now saying that you pulse all day but have two solid meals at night, rather than pulsing the whole day?
Maybe someone other that CT can help me with this:
I read your latest articles on the Performing like an athlete looking like a bodybuilder. I also saw for those of us that may only be able to work out 4 times a week you suggested 2 upper and 2 lower with lats coming after a lower session and then throwing in eccentricless or neural training when we felt worn down.
My question is: what exactly is the structure like on the leg workout after upper days or upper days after lower days. I understand just one movement but to what extent? I guess I worry about a body being able to handle squatting or benching 4 times a week for instance.