Thib's Q&A - April 13 - 20

Training
61

Coach,

i am going to start the regressive ketogenic diet, and will use a combo of metabolic pairings twice a week and two day so of circut “type work” meaning working full body with little rest inbetween full cycle ie your destroying the fat article.

However, if Type 1 and Type2 call for no carbs, sould i wait till the EOM to buy some BCAAs, Lucine and clycine for post workout or 30g of carbs and 50g of why isolate should suffice in the mean time, since the 30g PWO carbs will be use to shuttle in the protien PWO?

62

I was reading your articles The Reality Show Mass Circuit and Stripping Fat With Metabolic Pairings. You give some sample routine ideas at the end of the first article.

Do you think it would be ok to use these in an A and B fashion ( reality show as A and metabolic pairings as B ) so its mon, wed, fri, a,b,a,b etc… Im looking to just maintain my current mass drop some pounds, and maybe improve my conditioning a little as its very very bad right now. I also realize that diet is the most important factor, just wondering if you think this would be a decent routine approach thats all.

Thanks in advance coach.

63

[quote]View 1 wrote:
I was reading your articles The Reality Show Mass Circuit and Stripping Fat With Metabolic Pairings. You give some sample routine ideas at the end of the first article.

Do you think it would be ok to use these in an A and B fashion ( reality show as A and metabolic pairings as B ) so its mon, wed, fri, a,b,a,b etc… Im looking to just maintain my current mass drop some pounds, and maybe improve my conditioning a little as its very very bad right now. I also realize that diet is the most important factor, just wondering if you think this would be a decent routine approach thats all.

Thanks in advance coach. [/quote]

Yeah, that’s a decent approach, although it would be more geared toward fat loss than anything, which means that if you do not at least make an effort to have a good diet you are pretty much wasting your time.

64

[quote]xsquatx wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
xsquatx wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
xsquatx wrote:
Hey CT.

I’m currently doing your hss-100 chest routine and am astonished at the thickness which has developed in my chest. Once i finish this i have 4 weeks left of muscle building before i start my 16 week pre-comp dieting. I want to use ur original hss-100 but i wanted to know that its ok to jump straight into either the intensification phase or the high volume phase.

Thanks for your time.

You can jump right into the HSS program, but for the first 2 weeks go easier on chest. This means that you can do the full HSS workout for everybody part but train the chest conservatively (2-3 exercises for 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps) for two weeks before switchinbg to the HSS pattern.

Thanks for clearing that up. I had another question could i use the hss-100 template with the strength phase parameters during my dieting down phase and at what point do you beleive would be optimal for this e.g 8-4 weeks out.

Apreciate it.

Yes you could, and that timing would be ideal since it’s where you risk losing muscle the most (heavy lifting is the best way to prevent muscle loss). Well, technically you are also at risk from 3 weeks out to the show, but I generally recommend not lifting as heavy on those weeks to avoid an injury.

Again thanks alot for the answers. I just thought i should let you know that i’ve fallen inlove with your specialisation programs, best gains of my life.[/quote]

The funny thing is that I kinda rediscovered spec programs and I am actually building a whole system about it. IMHO once you are past the beginner stage it is the best way to train for rapid and continuous gains.

65

thib-

Need you to do a little advertising for your get jacked fast program. I am currently on the V-Diet coming down from 220lbs (calipers had me at about 18-19% BF). I have decent amount of stregnth (approx 1100 combined in PL lifts), so there is some muscle under this layer of fat. I have a beach wedding coming up in October that I have set as my personel goal of being in the best shape of my life.

I will be done with the V-Diet at the beginning of May (transition through middle of the month) and want to find a program that will let build a little bit more muscle and pull me down the last few percentage points of BF. Is get jacked fast appropriate? If so should I start as soon as I am done with the V-Diet?

66

Salut CT,

Une question à vous poser…

What dietary protocol do you recommend for those who have a tendency toward subscapular fat storage, particularly during a 12-week pre-contest diet phase? Roughly 20% of my 7-site caliper body fat measurements are stored in the subscapular region, while my supra-iliac fat storage is low. I’ll provide some personal context and follow up with a more specific question.

Some context…

From what I’ve read, Charles Poliquin suggests that this pattern may indicate poor carbohydrate tolerance and a degree of insulin sensitivity.

As a result, I consume sugary carbs only during workout (1/2 serving Biotest Surge), and add another half serving of Surge PWO during mass gain and maintenance phases. All starchy carbs are consumed peri-workout, and fruit only PWO. I have no trouble maintaining ~12-14% BF following mass-gain protocol (at a weight of 128-130lbs), with 2,500-2,900 kcal/day varying by training intensity and ES work (obviously, macros vary, too).

The follow-up question…

Beyond any general recommendations, is it advisable for me to continue with a PWO recovery drink like Surge outside my mass gain phases? During a gradual (say, 12-16 week) pre-contest fat loss phase (with max fat loss 7-8lbs), would it be advisable to even abandon the during-workout drink, also?

Je vous remercie en avance pour vos suggestions! Vous êtes tellement inspirant!

Alpha.

67

When doing the 3/2/1/3/2/1/3/2/1 sessions in week 8, if I am having a good session and feeling good, it is in any way detrimental to add an additional 1-rep set at the end if I feel like I can hit a PR? I’ve matched or beat my best squat, deadlift and bench so far this week within the 9-set layout, but I feel like I could have gone even heavier for 1 more set at the end. Should I just check my ego and be happy with the progress or is it OK to go for it?

68

hi Coach,
last year, during my fat loss phase, I followed the Anabolic Diet (Dr. Di Pasquale):
medium fat/high protein/strict low carb during the weekdays…just on weekend or only on Sunday free “clean” carbs and little amount of fats.
It gave to me great results.

Now I bought Get Jacked… FAST!and I would like to use it.

At my first reading I think it will be a problem to me to workout (with weights)more than 4 days per week (I don’t have time).
Can I decrease/pair or cut anything?
If I have understood well, in “Get Jacked” there isn’t a real carb-up day before many weeks (week 11)…just one cheat meal on sunday.
Right?

thank you

69

Hey CT,
Had a quick question for you.
I shop at trader joe’s and the only fresh fish they have is packaged and farm raised which I know isn’t as health as wild fish… the other day I was in the frozen section and saw they had flash frozen wild king salmon with no added salt or other ingredients… in your opinion which would be healthier, the fresh packaged farm raised salmon or the flash frozen wild king salmon?

Sorry if this is a dumb question.
Thanks for your time,
teebone2223

70

CT,

Every time I try to do DB curls, it seems I feel it more in my forearms than I do in my biceps. I don’t know if I am just weak in my grip strength or not, but I am wondering if you have any ideas on how I can target my biceps more? Thank you.

71

CT, I see you prescribe reps/sets like this:
2x4, 1x3, 1x2 - other examples are
3x5, 3x4
1x3,1x2,1x1, 1x3, 1x2, 1x1

I was just wondering if the 3x5, then doing 3x4 right after…is that all straight sets?
Also are we just supposed to add some weight and then do the 3x4.

Also for the 2x4, 1x3, 1x2 - are the 2x4 - like an 7-8RM, and then up the weight to a near max for 1x3, and 1x2?

Thanks CT!

72

Hey Christian - I was on your website also and saw that you don’t offer online consulting.
Anyway I can get a hold of you to look over/fix my nutrition for the different goals I have and make a plan.
Thanks!

73

"Ripped Fury wrote:
Hello CT,

I will be competing in my first bodybuilding contest in May this year. My contest dieting will start at the end of this month and it will conicide with the strength phase of your HSS-100 program.

Would it be a good idea to continue with the strength phase and reduce the rest intervals or would you recommend a different program/approach?

Thank you and have a great new year!

From experience training competitive bodybuilders, training for strength is actually the best way to prepare for a show until about 3-4 weeks out (more for injury prevention than anything).

Use diet and cardio to lose fat; training to maintain or even build muscle.

Amit Sapir, and Isreali bodybuilder I helped win his pro card kept gaining strength right until 3 weeks out of the show. He actually hit personal best in the bench, squat and dead 4 week out!

Gaining strength is the best way to make sure that you are not losing muscle mass. So when dieting down DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER to gain strength, or at least maintain it. Even if that means resting a bit longer between sets.

Let diet and cardio do the job."

Hi Coach,
Just a follow up question on your above recommendations from the Thib’s Q&A thread. I am now exactly 4 weeks out from my first show. Up untill now I have been training very heavy for the first exercise of the session (5-6 sets of singles) and then moving to 5x5 for the rest of the session.

What would be the ideal set/rep scheme to switch to now? With the lack of energy from extremely low carbs in my diet, the first exercise always beats the hell out of my joints and, I can’t keep training that way any more till the contest.

I was thinking to switch to something along the lines of the set/rep scheme in the high volume phase of your HSS-100 program. Would this be the ideal way to go?

74

hey Coach,

When training for Fat Loss:

  1. I have been following the 2 Heavy sessions of Legs and Upper Body from the Refined physic. This has obviously helped me hold on to muscle.

BUT: how do you feel about including the Skinny-Legs Cure routine as one of the metabolic/Lactate Days? Basically its a “Frankenstein program” type of question.

eg: Monday: Heavy Legs.
Tuesday:Heavy Arms, Shoulders Day + Low intensity ESW
Wednesday: Metabolic Day + Low Intensity ESW
Thursday:Rest
Friday: Heavy Chest and Back + LOW intensity ESW
Saturday:Skinny Legs Cure.
SundaY: Rest.

The thing is, i’ve been doing this and have been losing qutie a bit of fat, retaining muscle and my legs feel very very shot after the skinny legs cure, it was like i just did a metabolic session.

The question is: Is this over kill? Or will it lead to too much muscle loss? I usually eat my carbs pre and post the heavy days, and i have no problem maintaining energy levels.

75

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

It depends on the individuals. Truthfully, if your biceps get the most of the workload on chins it means to me that you are inefficient at recruiting your upper back, which is not good.

Those who get the most out of chins when it comes to biceps development often have a weak back, and doing more chin work to focus on the biceps will simply reinforce the nervous system tendency to rely mostly on the biceps to do pulling work, which will, over time, make it harder and harder to stimulate the back.[/quote]

Thib,

Does this mean that those who often go on and on about chins and supinated rowing for biceps development are at least somewhat misguided (for lack of a better way of putting it)? Clearly the biceps would receive plenty of stimulation, but it seems like you would want to avoid thinking of these as biceps exercises and treat any biceps development as a bonus by-product.

Also, when it comes to close-grip chins, do you feel that too narrow of a grip would only exaggerate the tendency to want to pull with the arms and inhibit full humeral extension/hyperextension as well as scapular retraction and depression? If these were to be used, would a grip that was approximately similar to the distance between the arms when they were hanging straight down at the sides be close enough?

76

CT,

When it comes to structural balance norms like the ones posed by Coach Poliquin, have you seen many cases where athletes were noticeably outside these ranges but would still be considered “balanced?” e.g. factors like fiber type, levers, etc. might skew their ideal personal ratios Or would you say that such guidelines would apply most of the time?

These days many coaches working with overhead throwing athletes advise against doing vertical pressing exercises. How would this impact upon testing for structural balance since an overhead lift would usually be part of testing?

If you feel that it would be inappropriate to answer these questions on this forum, I understand and thank you for your time.

77

CT,

How would you structure a simple meso cycle for improving 1RM strength on the flat bench press? To be clear, I’m not asking you to write up assistance work and all that but just an idea of what type of progression you would use to improve 1RM in a mesocycle.

78

Coach

apart to start the mutation Transformation training program on Monday.

was wondering whether it would effect me in any negative way if i take my second rest day on the Saturday instead of the Friday?

its probably a dumb question but id rather ask it than screw up.

cheers

79

[quote]Gsus89 wrote:
Coach

apart to start the mutation Transformation training program on Monday.

was wondering whether it would effect me in any negative way if i take my second rest day on the Saturday instead of the Friday?

its probably a dumb question but id rather ask it than screw up.

cheers[/quote]

In general the most important thing is that the rest days are non-consecutive. More effective for recovery. So as long as you can space the two off days during the week there should be no problem.

80

Hi Thibs,

I’ve been cutting for ~10 weeks now to get my BF as low as possible. My intention is to start a somewhat controlled 4-6 month mass phase. I’ve been planning on using your Carb Cycling Codex along with rotating between HSS Specialization and 3 Ways to Get Big! programs.

Recently I’ve had some mixed information and the fact that I’m coming off of a diet also adding to confusion. Should I pump the calories up straight away or moderately in ~4 weeks? Maybe something different? (I’ve been consuming 100g of carbs a day with one 250g carb day) I was also thinking of using what you call “Control Days” in place of ‘Low carb’ days to keep BF in check.

Did I got it all wrong or do I get the go-ahead? :slight_smile: Thanks for the great articles!