Hey Thib,
I’m having a problem while squatting with my pelvis tucking under/the very bottom of my lower back rounding at the bottom of the movement. being a taller lifter (6’4") I’m wandering what I can do to help fix this? I’m working on stretching the hamstrings and adductors but was just wandering if there is anything else I should be focusing on?
thanks for any help
CT:
Really enjoying Get Jacked. it is working well for me. I have three weeeks left and I am wondering about diet during the week off after it. I am planning to tackle the mechanical drop set program next but want to stay lean. Thanks again
Coach:
I’ve recently started Olympic Weightlifting.
After training and talking with my coach for a little he asked: “how would you like to gain some weight?” 
Today I weighted my self at 165lbs and coach would like me to get up to 175lbs-180lbs. Of course I want ALL this weight to be in the form of muscle. Since there’s no time limit, is it even possible to gain all muscle and no fat.
Currently I’m eating bellow maintenance since the summer is here e.t.c… but now my main goal is Olympic lifting. As I said I don’t mind if it takes much more longer as long as the weight comes in the form of muscle.
What do you recommend?
A quick macronutrient tolerance question there Thib:
What’s a simple test I can design in order to check my body’s tolerance of a particular macronutrient? Poliquin suggests, in the case of carbs, to eat a high carbohydrate meal first thing in the morning and rate how you feel afterwards.
While very simplistic, this does seem like a sound way to get a general idea, however I find that due to years of eating high carb cereal meals in the morning, I can differentiate whether I feel good or bad. Are there any other simple methods to check for tolerance, particularly that of carbs?
Thank you so much.
[quote]Jas0n wrote:
A quick macronutrient tolerance question there Thib:
What’s a simple test I can design in order to check my body’s tolerance of a particular macronutrient? Poliquin suggests, in the case of carbs, to eat a high carbohydrate meal first thing in the morning and rate how you feel afterwards.
While very simplistic, this does seem like a sound way to get a general idea, however I find that due to years of eating high carb cereal meals in the morning, I can differentiate whether I feel good or bad. Are there any other simple methods to check for tolerance, particularly that of carbs?
Thank you so much.[/quote]
Have your body fat measured with skinfold calipers. Individuals who do not tolerate carbs well tend to store more fat in the subcapular (upper back) and/or suprailiac (love handles) compared to the rest of the body.
A high subscap measure would indicate more of a genetic predisposition toward not handling carbs well while a high suprailiac measure would indicate that your recent carbs level is too high for what your body can deal with.
[quote]Dcooper wrote:
Hey Thib,
I’m having a problem while squatting with my pelvis tucking under/the very bottom of my lower back rounding at the bottom of the movement. being a taller lifter (6’4") I’m wandering what I can do to help fix this? I’m working on stretching the hamstrings and adductors but was just wandering if there is anything else I should be focusing on?
thanks for any help[/quote]
Actually the hamstrings are likely not to have anything to do with it. If anything they are not strong enough rather than too stiff.
The stiffness problem is much more likely in the psoas, rectus femoris and lower back.
[quote]MontisVerdes wrote:
Coach,
My brother is on the brink of chronic fatigue. I’m hoping you can offer some suggestions on how to pull out of it.
He works in the inner city public school, has gunfire regularly near where his kids go to school, etc. So, he carries a lot of stress with him. His work outs consist of a lot of bodyweight type exercises to keep in shape. The problem is, his system can’t take it when he starts working himself a little harder than normal. He ends up exhausted for days.
He probably drinks too much coffee to get a boost, but he also has his blood checked regularly to make sure he is not deficient in any one area, which he claims he is not. He’s health conscious but at a loss as to how to help himself. It sounds like a CNS issue to me. Any suggestions? [/quote]
The problem is much more likely to be related to adrenal glands/cortisol issues rather than CNS ones.
Cortisol is a stress hormone and since he is under a lot of stress his cortisol must be constantly through the roof which would disturb his recovery.
Cortisol is also a low-grade stimulant, so when it is elevated it’s hard for the body to recover.
How are his sleeping patterns?
Does he fall asleep easily at night or does it takes him a while?
Does he wake up throughout the night or does he sleep like a baby?
In the morning does he wakes up at the right time by himself or does he need an alarm clock (or two)?
When awake, is he ready to go right off the bat or does he need his morning coffee and a little time to get started?
Give the answers to these questions and I’ll be more likely to be able to help him.
[quote]shoelessjones wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Jas0n wrote:
Hey CT!
Massive fan here, thanks for being so humble as to answer everyones questions, I’m sure you got tons of more profitable stuff to do.
Question:
What is your view on tribulus (Tribulus terrestris) supplementation for increased testosterone and strength gain? Clinical research indicates that it pretty much does nothing besides a dismal increase here and there in libido.
Thank you so much.
The hit and miss lab results are due to three things:
Wrongfully harvested plant. To be effective not only do you have to extract the right portion of the tribulus but you must also harvest it at the right time of year for it to have enough bioactive elements to work.
Bad timing of the intake. Recent ‘‘in the trenches’’ analysis by Coach Poliquin shows that to be effective, tribulus has to be taken at night so that it can respect the body’s natural testo circadian rythm. Very few scientific studies will actually have the subjects take the product at this specific time.
Bad absorption of the product. Either due to an ineffective transport system (found in most cheap tribulus products) or low levels of stomach acid.
I like tribulus. I wouldn’t but it on the top of my favorite supplements list, but if used properly it can be helpful.
What are your top 5? Fish oil, stomach acid, multi, leucine and glutamine is my guess.[/quote]
It’s case-dependant.
However I would say that the following come up pretty often on my list:
Perfect para-workout nutrition (after a ton of discussion with Dr. Ziegenfuss it changed quite a bit over the past 3 weeks)
Fish oil and other essential fatty acids
Leucine
Beta-alanine
I see a ton of potential in Alpha-GPC. I also rely a lot on cortisol controlling supplements like phosphatidylserine and glycine.
coach just read your post in response to montisverdes and hope its ok to but in because i am in a similar situation when it comes to cortisol i think. so i hope you can help if i give my answers to those same questions.
I fall asleep easily but wake up throughout the night. i usually wake up on time but ive noticed that it take me awhile to get going and i usually need some type of stimulant to get started. I used to be ready to go right off the bat but things have gradually gotten worse over the last year. I think its because i have a stressful job and my work schedule is different from day to day so i dont have a set bedtime. any advice would be appreciated thanks
How would you recommend a 18 year old hockey player to train during a period like this:
Mon: Team Running (mostly intervals and different pickup games)
Tue: Team Wrestling
Wed: Team Running (movement/flexibility, intervals etc.)
Thu: Team Track & Field
Fri:
Sat:
Sun:
I used to train a 4 days per week upper/lower split, but now it seems to much.
I was thinkin about training lower dynamic effort on tuesdays with lower volume than usual and upper body max effort on wednesdays. Along with either full body on saturdays or max effort lower body on saturdays and repetition upper body on sundays.
what do you think about this?
I can probably miss 1 session each week with the team, and it will probably be one of the running sessions since it’s still so early in the off-season.
Thanks
Okay Coach,
I have one more concern that could use a little advice on. Because I can’t use oatmeal, which has been my main carb source, I will be using bananas. On my Friday carb up, I plan to use 2 bananas at each of my ‘fruit’ meals (4 total). Saturday though, if I use bananas (need 2 at each ‘meal’ to get 50g), and have them with a chicken breast at 7am. 9:30 am, and then maybe 2 feedings between prejudging and the night show,… well, I’m looking at 8 bananas for the day. Aren’t they a little too ‘binding’ to ingest so many?
Would rice be any better?
Oatmeal goes right through you, so it’s never been a problem before.
also, I’m going to repeat the snickerd bar right before the night show as well. I’m sure it will lose some of it’s desired effect, but even if a little sugar rush helps me stay on my feet I’ll be okay with it.
Thanks Coach!
S
Coach
I am at week 8 of the Get Jacked Program and my weight has plateaued.
I am at 200lb today while my bodyfat has stayed the same I actually am up 2 lbs higher than 3 weeks ago. Measurements are same, strength is more. I am presently at fat no man’s land of 13% with my stomach having it all. And I really always need to get down to about 6-8% to really see abs (hold all my fat in stomach)but typically sacrifice muscle for this.
My body responds much better to the diet you recommend in the program (low carb) but I am really unsure where to cut my calories from at this point. I know for a fact I am very card intolerant and can do really well with targeted carbs, I have been eating this way for a while now.
I started last week fat burners so I know that will jump start stuff, but what about calories and cardio.
In the past when getting ready for a couple of competitions and summer I really dropped fat well with HIIT training(spints intervals) but also muscle mass and got really overtrainined. Do I add more cardio or just stay the course?
Also this may help, I was very detrained for me before I started this and had trained minimally for 6 weeks while getting my chiro. practice up and running. And when I used leucine in the past I was able to really put on size is there any correlation to this for some individuals. I doubt it impedes weight loss.
Thanks for the help
hope this wasn’t too drawn out.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
[/quote]
Would you mind sharing your new position on para-workout nutrition?
Thanks!
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
shoelessjones wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Jas0n wrote:
Hey CT!
Massive fan here, thanks for being so humble as to answer everyones questions, I’m sure you got tons of more profitable stuff to do.
Question:
What is your view on tribulus (Tribulus terrestris) supplementation for increased testosterone and strength gain? Clinical research indicates that it pretty much does nothing besides a dismal increase here and there in libido.
Thank you so much.
The hit and miss lab results are due to three things:
Wrongfully harvested plant. To be effective not only do you have to extract the right portion of the tribulus but you must also harvest it at the right time of year for it to have enough bioactive elements to work.
Bad timing of the intake. Recent ‘‘in the trenches’’ analysis by Coach Poliquin shows that to be effective, tribulus has to be taken at night so that it can respect the body’s natural testo circadian rythm. Very few scientific studies will actually have the subjects take the product at this specific time.
Bad absorption of the product. Either due to an ineffective transport system (found in most cheap tribulus products) or low levels of stomach acid.
I like tribulus. I wouldn’t but it on the top of my favorite supplements list, but if used properly it can be helpful.
What are your top 5? Fish oil, stomach acid, multi, leucine and glutamine is my guess.
It’s case-dependant.
However I would say that the following come up pretty often on my list:
Perfect para-workout nutrition (after a ton of discussion with Dr. Ziegenfuss it changed quite a bit over the past 3 weeks)
Fish oil and other essential fatty acids
Leucine
Beta-alanine
I see a ton of potential in Alpha-GPC. I also rely a lot on cortisol controlling supplements like phosphatidylserine and glycine.[/quote]
Could you go into a little more detail about what you would currently recommend for perfect para-workout nutrition for lean mass gains?
Many Thanks.
Coach,
Is it really necessary to off days during the week?
Right now my schedule consists of benching with 1-2-3 ladders three times a week and squatting with 1-2-3 ladders twice a week.
Example:
Sunday: Off
Monday: Bench Ladders+upper back work
Tuesday: Squat Ladder+hamstring work
Wednesday: Bench Ladders
Thursday: Squat Ladders of HIIT
Friday: Bench Ladders
Saturday: Off
This gives me about two off days a week. I do not feel burned out from the workouts, in fact, i feel oddly rejuvenated from the workouts. Previously I have done 3 total body workouts a week, which gives me some kind of base. Would you recommend more off days in between the benching and squatting?
hi coach
i 'm training for deadlift records using a powerlifting program (max effort methode + dynamic) it’s woriking well and i’v just read an article where you say do not use a mixed grip when training for records
could you explain please?
the talk earlier in this thread about leucine pre and peri workout got me thinking…
I use TrueProtein’s creat your own mix blend, and was wondering what a good pre workout mix would be… I was thinking about 80% whey, 10% BCAA and 10% Leucine, and adding carbs like gatorade as my diet saw fit… A 50 gram serving would give me 5 grams luecine and 5 grams BCAA.
How does this seem? I know it’s not an exact science, but if you have suggestions I’d love to hear them.
Christian,
I was curious about your thoughts on coffee. Do you think it helps or hinders goals (either muscle gain and/or fat loss)? I am referring to black coffee, not the stuff with all the sugar and cream in it. Thank you.
[quote]threewhitelights wrote:
the talk earlier in this thread about leucine pre and peri workout got me thinking…
I use TrueProtein’s creat your own mix blend, and was wondering what a good pre workout mix would be… I was thinking about 80% whey, 10% BCAA and 10% Leucine, and adding carbs like gatorade as my diet saw fit… A 50 gram serving would give me 5 grams luecine and 5 grams BCAA.
How does this seem? I know it’s not an exact science, but if you have suggestions I’d love to hear them.[/quote]
Actually it’s really not good at all. At least, very far from being optimal.
The reason why leucine is being made in isolation and sold is that it was found that leucine by itself (it is one of the three BCAAs) is more effective that when the full BCAAs are used. The two other BCAAs (isoleucine and valine) actually compete with leucine for transport.
So right off the bat, the 5g of BCAAs in your formula is a relative waste.
Whey can be a good idea, but it depends on the type. Isolate is fast enough, but lacks in the immune-boosting microfactions. Whey concentrate has those elements but unless it’s a very high quality concentrate (80%), which is normally what is used by most companies, then it’s too slowly absorbed for pre-workout purposes.
Whey hydrolysate would be a very good choice, but the best one would actually be casein hydrolysate which is the fastest absorbed protein. Other types of casein wont do because they are too slowly absorbed.
BUT you can’t have too much protein otherwise you will have the same problem with leucine as when the other BCAAs compete with it.
To maximize the effect of the pre-workout drink, other products can be added such as beta-alanine.
The strategy that I’ve come to adopt now, and I tried EVERY THING a human being can think of, is this:
45 minutes before workout: 30g BCAAs
PRE-WORKOUT (15 min): Surge workout fuel 1 scoop, whey hydrolysate 1/2 scoop
DURING-WORKOUT: Anaconda 1 scoop (gotta have to wait a short time to get this one guys)
POST-WORKOUT: Anaconda 1 scoop, Surge Recovery 1 scoop
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
Christian,
I was curious about your thoughts on coffee. Do you think it helps or hinders goals (either muscle gain and/or fat loss)? I am referring to black coffee, not the stuff with all the sugar and cream in it. Thank you.[/quote]
Coffee does have several benefits when it comes to both performance and body composition.
However, like most stimulants, if abused it can place a big burden on the adrenal glands and eventually lean to adrenal burnout.
Also, if taken too late it can disrupt proper recovery patterns and circadian rythm.
It’s one of those thing where responsible use is good, but overuse can be a very bad thing.