Thibs New Training Questions #4

Training
741

[quote]ronald1919 wrote:
I read the livespills and found nothing. am I supposed to start digging thru 29 pages. dont reply if u dont want to help[/quote]

There’s a lot of great information contained in the previous 29 pages. I’d also watch the videos when you can, because the little tidbits on form and rep performance CT intersperses in them are invaluable. It takes some time now, but if a few hours of research create a few years of better training, I’d say it’s well worth it.

CT, I feel extremely lucky to benefit from your expertise. Thank you for your posts and for the videos - truly cutting edge. I myself have come closer to every goal I have (increased athleticism and size at same time). I assume supporting Biotest/T-Nation sales will thus support this great information, does anyone know if this is correct? I wish I were located close enough for actual training with the master himself!

Sorry to not post with a specific question, I just wanted to express my thanks.

742

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Liam M wrote:
So does this mean we should do decline bench and lower body prowler on our lat/bicep day?
Also do you know which muscle make up phasic or tonic works better with isolation exercises and which work better with big compounds?[/quote]

I would say that from experience tonic muscles respond better to isolation. Mostly because compound work rarely involve one type of muscle and I prefer to use higher reps only with isolation exercises (too draining for the nervous system done on compounds) which is the type of rep that tonic muscles respond best to.[/quote]

I notice soreness definitely comes when eccentric is emphasized, and also if I go to failure on a new exercise. How hard should the eccentric less work be? You’ve mentioned that it can really be done for as long as you can metabolically tolerate and that almost the more the better so I was thinking like 20min sessions of eccentric-less work or so, but do you have your guys, for instance with sled rows and curls, going until they can’t go anymore (muscularly) or do they still have a lot left in them strength-wise and are really just going for volume?

743

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]ferox wrote:
Somewhere in one of your videos you said you should “shrug your shoulders when benching for strength.” I always thought you wanted to tuck your shoulder blades for a more solid and stable base.

I was wondering if you could elaborate on this. Are both methods correct and safe and possess different advantages?[/quote]

I will film a video on this… Here is a quick explanation:

For as long as I can remember every time I started to get really strong on the bench press, my shoulder started hurting. I did everything right, but it still ended up hurting. Until I adopted a benching technique that is almost the polar opposite of what is taught in powerlifting circles.

And this is not a dig at the top powerlifters. But I learned that what is applied to equipped powerlifting technique, training and exercise selection-wise is not always adapted to raw lifting.

In powerlifting you are taught to depress and retract the scapula and spread the lats when benching. This technique takes advantage of the bench shirt, and the bench shirt itself stabilized the shoulder joint, decreasing the risk of injury.

But I found that this technique didn’t help me avoid shoulder issues.

What did help is the technique I developed which consists of powerfully contracting (shrugging) the traps when setting up to bench and maintaining that contraction during the whole set. This action stabilized the shoulders A LOT. This helped me to keep my shoulders healthy, even though I’m at my strongest ever, and boosted my bench almost instantly. It did the same with my training partner Nick and all who I’ve taught it to.

The technique is simple:

  • Set-up on the bench… the initial set-up is much like a regular powerlifting bench.
  • Grab the bar and lift your butt in the air. There should be as little of “you” touching the bench as possible, help yourself by pulling on the bar if needed.
  • From that position shrug your traps forcefully as if trying to touch your ears with your shoulders.
  • When this is done, lower yourself back to the bench while keeping the traps contrated HARD. Keep the lower back arched.
  • Unrack the bar, stay shrugged and lower the bar to your chest, still shrugged.
  • Lift the bar explosively from your chest

This technique has the advantage of protecting your shoulders and making it easier to set up. With the traditional powerlifting bench, when you unrack the bar it is hard to keep the lats tensed and the body in the proper position, not so with my technique.

In my experience this method is optimal for the raw lifter, especially if he has shoulder issues.
[/quote]

Interesting.

At what angle are your upper arms to your torso while doing this style of benching? I’ve found that my shoulders bother me if I bench with my arms out closer to 90 degrees and feel much better if I keep them more at closer to 45 degrees. I also find that I feel the 45 degree position in my chest much more.

I’d love to see the video of you explaining this when you film it.

Thanks again for all the helpful information you’ve been putting out lately.

744

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]ferox wrote:
Somewhere in one of your videos you said you should “shrug your shoulders when benching for strength.” I always thought you wanted to tuck your shoulder blades for a more solid and stable base.

I was wondering if you could elaborate on this. Are both methods correct and safe and possess different advantages?[/quote]

I will film a video on this… Here is a quick explanation:

For as long as I can remember every time I started to get really strong on the bench press, my shoulder started hurting. I did everything right, but it still ended up hurting. Until I adopted a benching technique that is almost the polar opposite of what is taught in powerlifting circles.

And this is not a dig at the top powerlifters. But I learned that what is applied to equipped powerlifting technique, training and exercise selection-wise is not always adapted to raw lifting.

In powerlifting you are taught to depress and retract the scapula and spread the lats when benching. This technique takes advantage of the bench shirt, and the bench shirt itself stabilized the shoulder joint, decreasing the risk of injury.

But I found that this technique didn’t help me avoid shoulder issues.

What did help is the technique I developed which consists of powerfully contracting (shrugging) the traps when setting up to bench and maintaining that contraction during the whole set. This action stabilized the shoulders A LOT. This helped me to keep my shoulders healthy, even though I’m at my strongest ever, and boosted my bench almost instantly. It did the same with my training partner Nick and all who I’ve taught it to.

The technique is simple:

  • Set-up on the bench… the initial set-up is much like a regular powerlifting bench.
  • Grab the bar and lift your butt in the air. There should be as little of “you” touching the bench as possible, help yourself by pulling on the bar if needed.
  • From that position shrug your traps forcefully as if trying to touch your ears with your shoulders.
  • When this is done, lower yourself back to the bench while keeping the traps contrated HARD. Keep the lower back arched.
  • Unrack the bar, stay shrugged and lower the bar to your chest, still shrugged.
  • Lift the bar explosively from your chest

This technique has the advantage of protecting your shoulders and making it easier to set up. With the traditional powerlifting bench, when you unrack the bar it is hard to keep the lats tensed and the body in the proper position, not so with my technique.

In my experience this method is optimal for the raw lifter, especially if he has shoulder issues.
[/quote]

Interesting.

At what angle are your upper arms to your torso while doing this style of benching? I’ve found that my shoulders bother me if I bench with my arms out closer to 90 degrees and feel much better if I keep them more at closer to 45 degrees. I also find that I feel the 45 degree position in my chest much more.

I’d love to see the video of you explaining this when you film it.

Thanks again for all the helpful information you’ve been putting out lately.[/quote]

Look at the original IBB video… I’m doing a rack press and it is filmed from above. It gives a good idea of what I’m talking about.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_video#videos/28/Thumbnails

at the 1:54 mark

745

CT im sorry if this has been answered already but i havent been able to find a answer bout this.
what are your thoughts on stimulants before your workout nutrition protocol.
i have heard it dulls insulin sensitivity and personally whenever i take a bunch of stimulants pre workout it conflicts with ingesting calories duuring the workout in a bunch of ways. do you ever take any stims pre workout?

746

Thibs:

Didn’t know if you were still answering in the LiveSpill but was hoping to ask here:

I switched from back squat to front squat because of my body biomechanics (long legs short torso) and it has helped tremendously.

I am finding that the four days of upper body pressing is taking it’s toll on me despite Anaconda protocol and plenty of sleep. Could be that I’m creeping up on 40 too!

What upper body pressing can I do that is not as taxing so as to be able to recover? Currently I am doing:

MON/TUES
Standing Milt Press
Incline Press
Incline Press from Pins

THURS
(Secondary)
Stand MIlt Press
FRI
(Secondary)
Floor Press

BTW - love the deadlifting 3x a week at 80% of 3RM - it’s 375lbs for me and it has just been absolutely FLYING off the floor.
Had ART today - my chiro said definitely can see a difference in spinal erectors just in a few weeks - nice bonus.

Thanks,
M

747

[quote]canada wrote:

[quote]Italiano wrote:
Thibs, you’ve posted the best bang for your buck websites in the past for buying bars, racks and equipment for home gyms. Do you know any such sites that offer good deals on olympic plates? I’m having a difficult time finding any decent deals.

Thanks for any help[/quote]

Can you post this link please? I ordered a texas power bar yesterday! Never did get any racks, something i always wanted.
[/quote]

@ canada, I actually just orders a texas power bar a few weeks ago as well. About the rack, I bought mine at elitefts.com (Dave Tate’s site). I wasn’t going for anything cheap there, definitely quality but you pay for it. Either way, I love it! Bought the build your own 3x3 rack. Just trying to find olympic plates at a decent price. thegaragegymstore.ca seems to be the best so fat at a buck a pound.

748

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]ferox wrote:
Somewhere in one of your videos you said you should “shrug your shoulders when benching for strength.” I always thought you wanted to tuck your shoulder blades for a more solid and stable base.

I was wondering if you could elaborate on this. Are both methods correct and safe and possess different advantages?[/quote]

I will film a video on this… Here is a quick explanation:

For as long as I can remember every time I started to get really strong on the bench press, my shoulder started hurting. I did everything right, but it still ended up hurting. Until I adopted a benching technique that is almost the polar opposite of what is taught in powerlifting circles.

And this is not a dig at the top powerlifters. But I learned that what is applied to equipped powerlifting technique, training and exercise selection-wise is not always adapted to raw lifting.

In powerlifting you are taught to depress and retract the scapula and spread the lats when benching. This technique takes advantage of the bench shirt, and the bench shirt itself stabilized the shoulder joint, decreasing the risk of injury.

But I found that this technique didn’t help me avoid shoulder issues.

What did help is the technique I developed which consists of powerfully contracting (shrugging) the traps when setting up to bench and maintaining that contraction during the whole set. This action stabilized the shoulders A LOT. This helped me to keep my shoulders healthy, even though I’m at my strongest ever, and boosted my bench almost instantly. It did the same with my training partner Nick and all who I’ve taught it to.

The technique is simple:

  • Set-up on the bench… the initial set-up is much like a regular powerlifting bench.
  • Grab the bar and lift your butt in the air. There should be as little of “you” touching the bench as possible, help yourself by pulling on the bar if needed.
  • From that position shrug your traps forcefully as if trying to touch your ears with your shoulders.
  • When this is done, lower yourself back to the bench while keeping the traps contrated HARD. Keep the lower back arched.
  • Unrack the bar, stay shrugged and lower the bar to your chest, still shrugged.
  • Lift the bar explosively from your chest

This technique has the advantage of protecting your shoulders and making it easier to set up. With the traditional powerlifting bench, when you unrack the bar it is hard to keep the lats tensed and the body in the proper position, not so with my technique.

In my experience this method is optimal for the raw lifter, especially if he has shoulder issues.
[/quote]

CT, this is PRICELESS. I have a lot of shoulder issues, next week i will try this technique and i will say my thoughts on this.

a big thanks to you, and for your excellent tips!!

749

[quote]workhorse34 wrote:
CT im sorry if this has been answered already but i havent been able to find a answer bout this.
what are your thoughts on stimulants before your workout nutrition protocol.
i have heard it dulls insulin sensitivity and personally whenever i take a bunch of stimulants pre workout it conflicts with ingesting calories duuring the workout in a bunch of ways. do you ever take any stims pre workout?[/quote]

It’s not so much that it hurts insulin sensitivity but that it decreases insulin production via an increase in adrenalin and noradrenalin.

So…

  • It conflicts with the goal of the first portion of the very workout nutrition
  • As you mention it decreases your capacity to ingest nutrients (cut your appetite)
  • Over type it can overload the adrenal glands (forcing them to produce too much)

I would avoid it if your goal is maximum size and strength, unless for an occasional workout where you are going for a record.

750

[quote]Mutsanah wrote:
Thibs:

Didn’t know if you were still answering in the LiveSpill but was hoping to ask here:

I switched from back squat to front squat because of my body biomechanics (long legs short torso) and it has helped tremendously.

I am finding that the four days of upper body pressing is taking it’s toll on me despite Anaconda protocol and plenty of sleep. Could be that I’m creeping up on 40 too!

What upper body pressing can I do that is not as taxing so as to be able to recover? Currently I am doing:

MON/TUES
Standing Milt Press
Incline Press
Incline Press from Pins

THURS
(Secondary)
Stand MIlt Press
FRI
(Secondary)
Floor Press

BTW - love the deadlifting 3x a week at 80% of 3RM - it’s 375lbs for me and it has just been absolutely FLYING off the floor.
Had ART today - my chiro said definitely can see a difference in spinal erectors just in a few weeks - nice bonus.

Thanks,
M
[/quote]

I’d cut the incline work. I find that this is what kills my shoulders and whole body the most,

For primary I would recommend:

  • Military
  • Close-grip
  • Floor press (you might have to reverse both as for some the close-grip will be stronger)

OR…

  • Military
  • Floor press
  • Decline bench press
751

CT, if I don’t have time to make it to the gym on a neural charge day, can I use the sled at home to do one? I don’t think I recall you mentioning doing a NC workout with the sled. Would you perform this like a regular whole body workout just using various eccentricless exercises or would you still do a cycle using light weights that you can explode with?

752

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Mutsanah wrote:
Thibs:

Didn’t know if you were still answering in the LiveSpill but was hoping to ask here:

I switched from back squat to front squat because of my body biomechanics (long legs short torso) and it has helped tremendously.

I am finding that the four days of upper body pressing is taking it’s toll on me despite Anaconda protocol and plenty of sleep. Could be that I’m creeping up on 40 too!

What upper body pressing can I do that is not as taxing so as to be able to recover? Currently I am doing:

MON/TUES
Standing Milt Press
Incline Press
Incline Press from Pins

THURS
(Secondary)
Stand MIlt Press
FRI
(Secondary)
Floor Press

BTW - love the deadlifting 3x a week at 80% of 3RM - it’s 375lbs for me and it has just been absolutely FLYING off the floor.
Had ART today - my chiro said definitely can see a difference in spinal erectors just in a few weeks - nice bonus.

Thanks,
M
[/quote]

I’d cut the incline work. I find that this is what kills my shoulders and whole body the most,

For primary I would recommend:

  • Military
  • Close-grip
  • Floor press (you might have to reverse both as for some the close-grip will be stronger)

OR…

  • Military
  • Floor press
  • Decline bench press[/quote]

This contradicts what I’ve read from others in the past, I always thought flat bench was the worst, thats why I’ve been doing OHP, incline, decline, and now incline has grown on me so much.

753

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]ferox wrote:
Somewhere in one of your videos you said you should “shrug your shoulders when benching for strength.” I always thought you wanted to tuck your shoulder blades for a more solid and stable base.

I was wondering if you could elaborate on this. Are both methods correct and safe and possess different advantages?[/quote]

I will film a video on this… Here is a quick explanation:

For as long as I can remember every time I started to get really strong on the bench press, my shoulder started hurting. I did everything right, but it still ended up hurting. Until I adopted a benching technique that is almost the polar opposite of what is taught in powerlifting circles.

And this is not a dig at the top powerlifters. But I learned that what is applied to equipped powerlifting technique, training and exercise selection-wise is not always adapted to raw lifting.

In powerlifting you are taught to depress and retract the scapula and spread the lats when benching. This technique takes advantage of the bench shirt, and the bench shirt itself stabilized the shoulder joint, decreasing the risk of injury.

But I found that this technique didn’t help me avoid shoulder issues.

What did help is the technique I developed which consists of powerfully contracting (shrugging) the traps when setting up to bench and maintaining that contraction during the whole set. This action stabilized the shoulders A LOT. This helped me to keep my shoulders healthy, even though I’m at my strongest ever, and boosted my bench almost instantly. It did the same with my training partner Nick and all who I’ve taught it to.

The technique is simple:

  • Set-up on the bench… the initial set-up is much like a regular powerlifting bench.
  • Grab the bar and lift your butt in the air. There should be as little of “you” touching the bench as possible, help yourself by pulling on the bar if needed.
  • From that position shrug your traps forcefully as if trying to touch your ears with your shoulders.
  • When this is done, lower yourself back to the bench while keeping the traps contrated HARD. Keep the lower back arched.
  • Unrack the bar, stay shrugged and lower the bar to your chest, still shrugged.
  • Lift the bar explosively from your chest

This technique has the advantage of protecting your shoulders and making it easier to set up. With the traditional powerlifting bench, when you unrack the bar it is hard to keep the lats tensed and the body in the proper position, not so with my technique.

In my experience this method is optimal for the raw lifter, especially if he has shoulder issues.
[/quote]

Very interesting CT! I plan on trying some barbell benches while i wait for my DB power hooks, hit the wall with my DB presses.

Do you do the samething with the OHP? IE shrugging the shoulders?

754

Coach you said (in the livespill) to post this question somwhere in the forum:
How would you bring up one’s armwresteling skills? (my strength grew, my muscles too, yet my armwresteling strength is the same)

By the way just as a guide line: If I want to add up some isolation work at the end of a performance workout should I do circuits done for more volume with moderate reps for a performance/phasic (i.e. sholders) muscle and circuits done for fatigue for the foundation/tonic muscles?
(for example I wanted to add some sholder isolation work yesterday and I didn’t knew if it’ll be the best to invest in volume or something else)

In the livespill video with daryl’s upper body performance day it looks like it’s done for fatigue.

755

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]ferox wrote:
Somewhere in one of your videos you said you should “shrug your shoulders when benching for strength.” I always thought you wanted to tuck your shoulder blades for a more solid and stable base.

I was wondering if you could elaborate on this. Are both methods correct and safe and possess different advantages?[/quote]

I will film a video on this… Here is a quick explanation:

For as long as I can remember every time I started to get really strong on the bench press, my shoulder started hurting. I did everything right, but it still ended up hurting. Until I adopted a benching technique that is almost the polar opposite of what is taught in powerlifting circles.

And this is not a dig at the top powerlifters. But I learned that what is applied to equipped powerlifting technique, training and exercise selection-wise is not always adapted to raw lifting.

In powerlifting you are taught to depress and retract the scapula and spread the lats when benching. This technique takes advantage of the bench shirt, and the bench shirt itself stabilized the shoulder joint, decreasing the risk of injury.

But I found that this technique didn’t help me avoid shoulder issues.

What did help is the technique I developed which consists of powerfully contracting (shrugging) the traps when setting up to bench and maintaining that contraction during the whole set. This action stabilized the shoulders A LOT. This helped me to keep my shoulders healthy, even though I’m at my strongest ever, and boosted my bench almost instantly. It did the same with my training partner Nick and all who I’ve taught it to.

The technique is simple:

  • Set-up on the bench… the initial set-up is much like a regular powerlifting bench.
  • Grab the bar and lift your butt in the air. There should be as little of “you” touching the bench as possible, help yourself by pulling on the bar if needed.
  • From that position shrug your traps forcefully as if trying to touch your ears with your shoulders.
  • When this is done, lower yourself back to the bench while keeping the traps contrated HARD. Keep the lower back arched.
  • Unrack the bar, stay shrugged and lower the bar to your chest, still shrugged.
  • Lift the bar explosively from your chest

This technique has the advantage of protecting your shoulders and making it easier to set up. With the traditional powerlifting bench, when you unrack the bar it is hard to keep the lats tensed and the body in the proper position, not so with my technique.

In my experience this method is optimal for the raw lifter, especially if he has shoulder issues.
[/quote]

Interesting.

At what angle are your upper arms to your torso while doing this style of benching? I’ve found that my shoulders bother me if I bench with my arms out closer to 90 degrees and feel much better if I keep them more at closer to 45 degrees. I also find that I feel the 45 degree position in my chest much more.

I’d love to see the video of you explaining this when you film it.

Thanks again for all the helpful information you’ve been putting out lately.[/quote]

Look at the original IBB video… I’m doing a rack press and it is filmed from above. It gives a good idea of what I’m talking about.

http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_video#videos/28/Thumbnails

at the 1:54 mark
[/quote]

Thanks CT. Do you do a similar set up for incline bench? Or do you use more of a traditional set-up for that?

I think I might give this set-up a shot next Monday and see how I like it.

756

CT, or anyone else currently doing the HP Mass programs:

I have a garage gym with basic equipment, but no bench. For upper body pushing exercises I have been doing standing military press, dips and blast strap push-ups. I didn’t purchase a bench because my budget would only allow for so much equipment and a good squat stand, dip stand and Texas bar were first on the list.

I plan on beginning the HP Mass program after my fat loss phase is done in 6 weeks, but I am having a hard time coming up with three upper body pushing exercises. Military press and weighted dips would work, but I cannot load blast strap push-ups properly to suit the program. I thought about building something that would allow for floor press rather than forking over $200-$300 for an incline bench to place in my squat stands.

So, my upper body pushing day would be: Standing military press, Floor press and weighted dips. Does this seem effective? I was worried that the floor press and dips would be too similar, as I believe CT had them both listed as a 3rd movement within the articles.

Thanks…

757

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]ferox wrote:
Somewhere in one of your videos you said you should “shrug your shoulders when benching for strength.” I always thought you wanted to tuck your shoulder blades for a more solid and stable base.

I was wondering if you could elaborate on this. Are both methods correct and safe and possess different advantages?[/quote]

I will film a video on this… Here is a quick explanation:

For as long as I can remember every time I started to get really strong on the bench press, my shoulder started hurting. I did everything right, but it still ended up hurting. Until I adopted a benching technique that is almost the polar opposite of what is taught in powerlifting circles.

And this is not a dig at the top powerlifters. But I learned that what is applied to equipped powerlifting technique, training and exercise selection-wise is not always adapted to raw lifting.

In powerlifting you are taught to depress and retract the scapula and spread the lats when benching. This technique takes advantage of the bench shirt, and the bench shirt itself stabilized the shoulder joint, decreasing the risk of injury.

But I found that this technique didn’t help me avoid shoulder issues.

What did help is the technique I developed which consists of powerfully contracting (shrugging) the traps when setting up to bench and maintaining that contraction during the whole set. This action stabilized the shoulders A LOT. This helped me to keep my shoulders healthy, even though I’m at my strongest ever, and boosted my bench almost instantly. It did the same with my training partner Nick and all who I’ve taught it to.

The technique is simple:

  • Set-up on the bench… the initial set-up is much like a regular powerlifting bench.
  • Grab the bar and lift your butt in the air. There should be as little of “you” touching the bench as possible, help yourself by pulling on the bar if needed.
  • From that position shrug your traps forcefully as if trying to touch your ears with your shoulders.
  • When this is done, lower yourself back to the bench while keeping the traps contrated HARD. Keep the lower back arched.
  • Unrack the bar, stay shrugged and lower the bar to your chest, still shrugged.
  • Lift the bar explosively from your chest

This technique has the advantage of protecting your shoulders and making it easier to set up. With the traditional powerlifting bench, when you unrack the bar it is hard to keep the lats tensed and the body in the proper position, not so with my technique.

In my experience this method is optimal for the raw lifter, especially if he has shoulder issues.
[/quote]

Interesting.

At what angle are your upper arms to your torso while doing this style of benching? I’ve found that my shoulders bother me if I bench with my arms out closer to 90 degrees and feel much better if I keep them more at closer to 45 degrees. I also find that I feel the 45 degree position in my chest much more.

I’d love to see the video of you explaining this when you film it.

Thanks again for all the helpful information you’ve been putting out lately.[/quote]

Look at the original IBB video… I’m doing a rack press and it is filmed from above. It gives a good idea of what I’m talking about.

http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_video#videos/28/Thumbnails

at the 1:54 mark
[/quote]

Thanks CT. Do you do a similar set up for incline bench? Or do you use more of a traditional set-up for that?

I think I might give this set-up a shot next Monday and see how I like it.[/quote]

It’s impossible to do on an incline bench, sadly.

758

Christian,

1)In the HP Performance you must to find (e.g MTW for Bench Press,but also find MTW for Top Half Bench Press,if you want to do consecutively)because it is not a same MTW for both?

2)For assistance exercises,which kind of exercises?
Rather auxiliary,remedial or even compound occasionally? (difficile de trouver un exo d’isolation pour les rhomboides)

Merci

759

Coach,

After going through a few cycles of HPM training, do you recommend any specific work for the tendons and ligaments if one wants to go into a Westside style phase for 1-rep max strength? Does the performance of the reps in HPM training (explosive) put enough stress on the tendons, with enough volume, that they don’t need any more preparation for max effort work?

I know whenever I switch back to a strength phase that includes max effort days from a mass building phase, it always takes my body a while before the joint aches go away, even with the ultra-high rep band work that Louie advises for the tendons.

  • Appreciate all your help!
760

CT, what exercise choices would you recommend for the HP Mass program if someone wants to bring up the upper portion of their chest? I was thinking of doing Seated OHP, Incline Press, and Floor Press, but are there better options?