Thib's Q&A - Up to the End of May

Training
341

[quote]stretch67 wrote:
Coach,

My sticking point in the bench press is the bottom part of the movement, what is your take on improving that? Iso’s, functional Iso’s, band work, shoulder work ??

I am a tall lifter at 6’7". My wing span is almost as wide as I am tall. Once I make it through the sticking point, I normally have no problems at the top. Any help would be greatly appreciated.[/quote]

  1. Technique. That’s one thing I learned from Tate: if you are weak at the bottom, it is most likely your set-up. Look at the video from his recent bench article for more info.

My training partner’s weak point was also at the start. We assumed that his pecs were weak, which did not make sense since he is super strong at most pec exercises. If anything his triceps are his weakest pressing muscle, which means that his sticking point should be during the last portion of the lift.

Well, when I got back from Ohio to spend some time with Dave, I taught my partner the proper set-up technique and not only did his press increase by 20lbs, his sticking point is now during the last portion of the lift (where it should be).

  1. Lack of initial burst of power. Call it starting strength or whatever, if you cannot blast the weight off of your chest you will have trouble getting that bar started. This is a very common problem with long limbed lifters. You really need to build the capacity to go from zero force to maximum force in as little time as possible.

With long-limbed individuals I like to use the explosive close-grip (just inside shoulder width) bench press from a static start. There are four levels of difficulty to this movement:

Level I: lower the bar to your chest, pause it for 2-3 seconds, lift it as explosively as you can.

Level II: start the bar at the bottom of the bench with the bar resting on safety pins about 1’’ from the chest. From that position lift the bar as explosively as possible.

Level III: lower the bar to your chest, 1’’ from the chest your partner pushes down on the bar while you try to lift it… he stops you there for 3 seconds, then release the bar and you explode it up right away.

Level IV: same as level II but with a pair of mini-bands.

342

Since the locker room will be shut down, I am hoping that I can hear your comments on these questions:

  1. It seems as I read the the forums, a lot (if not mostly all) seem to have a problem with low testosterone, problems with insulin, et cetera. Why does it seem like mostly everyone has these problems? I looked into the documentary: The Disappearing Male and it seems to explain the part about testosterone. Can you comment on why society as a whole seems to have a lot of these problems (even for those of us who exercise regularly and eat healthy)?

  2. This is probably a stupid question, but can a person’s size be “all carbohydrates”? I am thinking of the idea of someone being “all synthol” where if one stopped consuming a nutrient for some time, one would look significantly smaller/different than before. By “all”, I mean a significant part of, not literally all.

  3. When can a bodybuilder really expect to pack on size (someone who started as teen)? I know a lot of factors are involved, but is there a general age where mass isn’t as difficult to obtain?

343

[quote]Loui.s wrote:
Since the locker room will be shut down, I am hoping that I can hear your comments on these questions: [/quote]

Don’t see it as being shut down, but rather as being expended and enhanced. It will be much easier for me to answer individual topics that each have their own thread than a big ass thread covering a zillion topics! It will also be much easier for you guys to wade through the old stuff to find info you missed.

[quote]Loui.s wrote:

  1. It seems as I read the the forums, a lot (if not mostly all) seem to have a problem with low testosterone, problems with insulin, et cetera. Why does it seem like mostly everyone has these problems? I looked into the documentary: The Disappearing Male and it seems to explain the part about testosterone. Can you comment on why society as a whole seems to have a lot of these problems (even for those of us who exercise regularly and eat healthy)?[/quote]

Well, understand that the dissapearance of testeronish behavior in our now matriarcal society doesn’t necessarily mean that hormonal levels will drop in men! So we should actually question whether we really have a low testosterone problem or not.

As students of bodybuilding/strength training we ar much like psychology college students. Let me explain myself; my father was a psychology teacher. And he told me that when they covered the chapters about psyche problems, every student in the room suddenly discovered that they were suffering from one of several severe illness, manic-depressive, obsessive-compulsive, psychopaths, etc.

Of course none of them were actually suffering from any of those. But all were convinced otherwise.

I think that that same thing is often true with training. We often see problems where there are none. YES some people really do have low testosterone levels, but very few among the under 35 crowd will actually have a real problem with it.

That having been said, it is true that on average the testosterone level in males is at its all-time lowest. One of the reasons is probably found in the water we drink and food we eat. Several studies have shown that our water is high in estrogenic compounds and that purification procedures cannot clear all that out. Since water goes pretty much everywhere, the amount of estrogen floating in our body is higher than before. This also explains why girls hit puberty and have fully developped secondary sexual characteristics sooner than before.

As for the insulin problem; the over consumption of overly processed food, high-glycemic food and foods full of saturated fats can lead to insulin resistance.

[quote]Loui.s wrote:
2. This is probably a stupid question, but can a person’s size be “all carbohydrates”? I am thinking of the idea of someone being “all synthol” where if one stopped consuming a nutrient for some time, one would look significantly smaller/different than before. By “all”, I mean a significant part of, not literally all.[/quote]

No, carbs can only be:

  1. used for fuel
  2. stored in the liver as glycogen
  3. stored in the muscle as glycogen
  4. stored in the fat cells as fatty acids
  5. burned for heat

Muscle tissue, organs, hormones, cell membranes, bones, etc. cannot be made from carbs.

344

Thib,

Excuse me for this,I know you hate when someone questions your answer choices, but you have answered everyone’s question on this page besides mine. Was mine the dumbest, the hardest or just bad luck or smth else? Again, I’m only asking to learn how to reformat future questions.

345

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
stretch67 wrote:
Coach,

My sticking point in the bench press is the bottom part of the movement, what is your take on improving that? Iso’s, functional Iso’s, band work, shoulder work ??

I am a tall lifter at 6’7". My wing span is almost as wide as I am tall. Once I make it through the sticking point, I normally have no problems at the top. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

  1. Technique. That’s one thing I learned from Tate: if you are weak at the bottom, it is most likely your set-up. Look at the video from his recent bench article for more info.

My training partner’s weak point was also at the start. We assumed that his pecs were weak, which did not make sense since he is super strong at most pec exercises. If anything his triceps are his weakest pressing muscle, which means that his sticking point should be during the last portion of the lift.

Well, when I got back from Ohio to spend some time with Dave, I taught my partner the proper set-up technique and not only did his press increase by 20lbs, his sticking point is now during the last portion of the lift (where it should be).

  1. Lack of initial burst of power. Call it starting strength or whatever, if you cannot blast the weight off of your chest you will have trouble getting that bar started. This is a very common problem with long limbed lifters. You really need to build the capacity to go from zero force to maximum force in as little time as possible.

With long-limbed individuals I like to use the explosive close-grip (just inside shoulder width) bench press from a static start. There are four levels of difficulty to this movement:

Level I: lower the bar to your chest, pause it for 2-3 seconds, lift it as explosively as you can.

Level II: start the bar at the bottom of the bench with the bar resting on safety pins about 1’’ from the chest. From that position lift the bar as explosively as possible.

Level III: lower the bar to your chest, 1’’ from the chest your partner pushes down on the bar while you try to lift it… he stops you there for 3 seconds, then release the bar and you explode it up right away.

Level IV: same as level II but with a pair of mini-bands.

[/quote]
Thanks coach for the very detailed information you gave.

As I progress through the outlined phases…are these weighted(% of max) or with an empty bar. For what it’s worth…I’m currently at 335 on the bench.

346

[quote]stretch67 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
stretch67 wrote:
Coach,

My sticking point in the bench press is the bottom part of the movement, what is your take on improving that? Iso’s, functional Iso’s, band work, shoulder work ??

I am a tall lifter at 6’7". My wing span is almost as wide as I am tall. Once I make it through the sticking point, I normally have no problems at the top. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

  1. Technique. That’s one thing I learned from Tate: if you are weak at the bottom, it is most likely your set-up. Look at the video from his recent bench article for more info.

My training partner’s weak point was also at the start. We assumed that his pecs were weak, which did not make sense since he is super strong at most pec exercises. If anything his triceps are his weakest pressing muscle, which means that his sticking point should be during the last portion of the lift.

Well, when I got back from Ohio to spend some time with Dave, I taught my partner the proper set-up technique and not only did his press increase by 20lbs, his sticking point is now during the last portion of the lift (where it should be).

  1. Lack of initial burst of power. Call it starting strength or whatever, if you cannot blast the weight off of your chest you will have trouble getting that bar started. This is a very common problem with long limbed lifters. You really need to build the capacity to go from zero force to maximum force in as little time as possible.

With long-limbed individuals I like to use the explosive close-grip (just inside shoulder width) bench press from a static start. There are four levels of difficulty to this movement:

Level I: lower the bar to your chest, pause it for 2-3 seconds, lift it as explosively as you can.

Level II: start the bar at the bottom of the bench with the bar resting on safety pins about 1’’ from the chest. From that position lift the bar as explosively as possible.

Level III: lower the bar to your chest, 1’’ from the chest your partner pushes down on the bar while you try to lift it… he stops you there for 3 seconds, then release the bar and you explode it up right away.

Level IV: same as level II but with a pair of mini-bands.

Thanks coach for the very detailed information you gave.

As I progress through the outlined phases…are these weighted(% of max) or with an empty bar. For what it’s worth…I’m currently at 335 on the bench.[/quote]

Roughly 40-60% is used, but the key is to always explode. If a weight isn’t explosive from the start, it’s too heavy.

347

Agreed. I’ve been best to do 3-6 reps with lots of sets. Then a an iso moves or two for more moderate loads/reps simply because the movement demands it (like traditional lateral and front db raises). Most of my high reps come from light loads done as feeder/recovery workouts.

I agree with so many of the old time greats and guys like Ed Coan and Marty Gallagher on reps. Five seems to be almost magical. Gallagher talks about this in his Purposeful Primitive book.

Best,
DH

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thy. wrote:
Damn Thib, you’re terribly ridiculously strong, esp considering your frame. You must have that ultra charged CNS from O-lifting…!

Indeed, which is why my strength progresses super fast when I get back to heavy lifting but I lose a lot of strength when I shy away from heavy lifting for too long… in that case I might actually get bigger but b weaker.

And as I’ve noticed from your posts about your training, you need less reps than traditional BB-ers because of the weight you use. I think it’s much more fun training like that for size, than a lot of 8-12 rep range.

It is my experience, and the way I’m leaning toward now, that medium and high reps are not necessary nor optimal for maximal growth… especially for natural trainees.[/quote]

348

[quote]DH wrote:
Agreed. I’ve been best to do 3-6 reps with lots of sets. Then a an iso moves or two for more moderate loads/reps simply because the movement demands it (like traditional lateral and front db raises). Most of my high reps come from light loads done as feeder/recovery workouts.

I agree with so many of the old time greats and guys like Ed Coan and Marty Gallagher on reps. Five seems to be almost magical. Gallagher talks about this in his Purposeful Primitive book.

[/quote]

I still do some isolation work, as I believe that it is necessary to fully develop the optimal body. But even those are kept in the same type of rep ranges.

349

CT - thanks man for keeping this going. You are awesome… yet more GJF questions…

  1. I weigh 275 pounds at 6’5. I don’t have a gut that hangs over and a decent amount of muscle mass, I could lose about 25-30 pounds of fat to get shredded. Should I add more protein? 225 - 275 is 50 lb difference. I notice some of your “portions” don’t add up. Example… if I have 4 whole eggs(1 portion each for 4 total) for breakfast that comes out to like 28g of protein. If I have 300g of Turkey(4 portions - 75g each), that comes out to like ~64g of protein. There seems to be a large variance.

I am on Day2 of the program and am assuming since this program was made for the common folk, maybe I should stop overthinking and just shoot for about 60g of protein per meal? That would put me at about 360g per day/420g on workout days. If I drop 1 portion on the snacks it would put me at about 320/380g. Should I just follow protein requirements in Refined Physique Transformation?

  1. If Mega dosing glutamine in my PWO shake makes me sick, what should I do? Just ramp it up slowly? Last night I took 3 scoops of Isopure and the 50g of glutamine and I felt awful, pretty sure its not the isopure.

  2. I have a bottle of Carbolin 19, Alpha Male, and 2 bottles of Beta Alanine. I know further into the program you recommend starting HOT-ROX or something equivalent and you also recommend the Beta Alanine during the strength phase. Would you suggest I cycle Alpha Male/Carbolin 19 before that? Or what I be better off stacking it during the last 6 weeks or so?

Thanks CT… glad I finally purchased a product of yours as a way of saying thank you for everything that you do.

350

Hey coach, i recently read one of your older articles about progressive movement training and i am so happy that i found a program that can actually get me stronger fast. However i have to questions about it…
-do you perform more than one set per workout
-how many days during the week should you perform this workout?
Thanks and by the way, you’re one of mty favorite authors

351

Coach,

Great to see what you’ve done with the boards! As far as supplementation goes with the herbs Fenugreek and gymnema sylvestre, what can be said as to when I should use these to benefit its full advantage (knowing that the 2 revolve around the hormone insulin) ??

CHEERS…

352

If I recall, you mentioned that protein pulsing is not appropriate when restricting calories. What about at maintenance levels? If the protocol is so powerful, could it actually be effective for recomping? Obviously I can’t ask for a definite answer, just curious about your opinion. Thanks!

353

[quote]gladiator88 wrote:
Coach,

Great to see what you’ve done with the boards! As far as supplementation goes with the herbs Fenugreek and gymnema sylvestre, what can be said as to when I should use these to benefit its full advantage (knowing that the 2 revolve around the hormone insulin) ??

CHEERS…[/quote]

Around 5 minutes prior to your main meals.

354

[quote]wfifer wrote:
If I recall, you mentioned that protein pulsing is not appropriate when restricting calories. What about at maintenance levels? If the protocol is so powerful, could it actually be effective for recomping? Obviously I can’t ask for a definite answer, just curious about your opinion. Thanks![/quote]

I don’t remember saying that at all. Might have been with a strategy called ‘‘pulse feeding’’ which isn’t the same thing (it consists of ingesting 80-90% of your protein intake at one single meal).

Protein pulsing is actually extremely effective when on a restricted diet. Keep in mind that every period of jacked up blood amino acids (hyperaminoacidemia) is itself a signal to build muscle tissue, especially if it is preceded by a short period of protein deprivation.

355

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
wfifer wrote:
If I recall, you mentioned that protein pulsing is not appropriate when restricting calories. What about at maintenance levels? If the protocol is so powerful, could it actually be effective for recomping? Obviously I can’t ask for a definite answer, just curious about your opinion. Thanks!

I don’t remember saying that at all. Might have been with a strategy called ‘‘pulse feeding’’ which isn’t the same thing (it consists of ingesting 80-90% of your protein intake at one single meal).

Protein pulsing is actually extremely effective when on a restricted diet. Keep in mind that every period of jacked up blood amino acids (hyperaminoacidemia) is itself a signal to build muscle tissue, especially if it is preceded by a short period of protein deprivation.[/quote]

I think this is where he got the idea that you said that, I was thinking something similar when I read it

[i]"
The problem is that, contrary to what is generally believed, to maximize growth WE DO NOT WANT A CONSTANT TRICKLE OF AMINO ACIDS. This actually lead to protein oxydation and a DECREASE in protein synthesis! YES, you breakdown less muscle tissue, BUT you elevate the enzymes responsible for oxydizing (wasting) amino acids. So although you are breaking down less tissuem you are also building less tissue.

In some situations you WANT that to happen (before bedtime to avoid catabolism during the night’s fast) but if you want to build as much muscle as possible you actually want periods where there is roughly no amino acids in the blood followed by quick surges in amino acids. For maximum results both need to happen. And the more often you go from super low to super high, the more muscle you’ll build.

If you have too many solid protein, especially of the kind that is slowly digested and absorbed, you will reduce you potential muscle growth.

HOWEVER solid protein sources have the upper hand when dieting down because it will prevent muscle breakdown/loss. As a reminder, constant blood aminos = less muscle being built and less muscle being broken down… amino acid peaks and valleys = more muscle being built and potentially more muscle being broken down (this is why we also need periods where solid food is ingested)."[/i]

356

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
wfifer wrote:
If I recall, you mentioned that protein pulsing is not appropriate when restricting calories. What about at maintenance levels? If the protocol is so powerful, could it actually be effective for recomping? Obviously I can’t ask for a definite answer, just curious about your opinion. Thanks!

I don’t remember saying that at all. Might have been with a strategy called ‘‘pulse feeding’’ which isn’t the same thing (it consists of ingesting 80-90% of your protein intake at one single meal).

Protein pulsing is actually extremely effective when on a restricted diet. Keep in mind that every period of jacked up blood amino acids (hyperaminoacidemia) is itself a signal to build muscle tissue, especially if it is preceded by a short period of protein deprivation.

I think this is where he got the idea that you said that, I was thinking something similar when I read it

[i]"
The problem is that, contrary to what is generally believed, to maximize growth WE DO NOT WANT A CONSTANT TRICKLE OF AMINO ACIDS. This actually lead to protein oxydation and a DECREASE in protein synthesis! YES, you breakdown less muscle tissue, BUT you elevate the enzymes responsible for oxydizing (wasting) amino acids. So although you are breaking down less tissuem you are also building less tissue.

In some situations you WANT that to happen (before bedtime to avoid catabolism during the night’s fast) but if you want to build as much muscle as possible you actually want periods where there is roughly no amino acids in the blood followed by quick surges in amino acids. For maximum results both need to happen. And the more often you go from super low to super high, the more muscle you’ll build.

If you have too many solid protein, especially of the kind that is slowly digested and absorbed, you will reduce you potential muscle growth.

HOWEVER solid protein sources have the upper hand when dieting down because it will prevent muscle breakdown/loss. As a reminder, constant blood aminos = less muscle being built and less muscle being broken down… amino acid peaks and valleys = more muscle being built and potentially more muscle being broken down (this is why we also need periods where solid food is ingested)."[/i]
[/quote]

Gotcha!

Yeah, constant blood amino acids is more anti-catabolic. Which is why you want more of it when dieting down. However you should still include some pulses during the day, at least para-workout, to run the chance of not only ‘not losing’ muscle, but of actually building some!

357

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Gotcha!

Yeah, constant blood amino acids is more anti-catabolic. Which is why you want more of it when dieting down. However you should still include some pulses during the day, at least para-workout, to run the chance of not only ‘not losing’ muscle, but of actually building some![/quote]

Sounds good, does having creatine with each pulse have any extra benefit over just taking 5g around training or something?

For the remainder of my cut I am going to be having 4 meals a day and was thinking of having 3 small shakes a day each maybe around 10g whey + 5g creatine. Would that be at all beneficial to holding on to more muscle?

358

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Gotcha!

Yeah, constant blood amino acids is more anti-catabolic. Which is why you want more of it when dieting down. However you should still include some pulses during the day, at least para-workout, to run the chance of not only ‘not losing’ muscle, but of actually building some!

Sounds good, does having creatine with each pulse have any extra benefit over just taking 5g around training or something?

For the remainder of my cut I am going to be having 4 meals a day and was thinking of having 3 small shakes a day each maybe around 10g whey + 5g creatine. Would that be at all beneficial to holding on to more muscle?[/quote]

Start by focusing on perfecting para-workout nutrition. This is where you will make it or break it!

Once that this is in order, adding a few shakes of the FASTEST ABSORBED PROTEIN YOU CAN FIND, will help. If you can take 5g of leucine 10 minutes before the shake, it would be even better.

If you go with whey, you might need to go higher than 10g to cause a state of hyperaminoacidemia though. 25g you be better.

359

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
wfifer wrote:
If I recall, you mentioned that protein pulsing is not appropriate when restricting calories. What about at maintenance levels? If the protocol is so powerful, could it actually be effective for recomping? Obviously I can’t ask for a definite answer, just curious about your opinion. Thanks!

I don’t remember saying that at all. Might have been with a strategy called ‘‘pulse feeding’’ which isn’t the same thing (it consists of ingesting 80-90% of your protein intake at one single meal).

Protein pulsing is actually extremely effective when on a restricted diet. Keep in mind that every period of jacked up blood amino acids (hyperaminoacidemia) is itself a signal to build muscle tissue, especially if it is preceded by a short period of protein deprivation.[/quote]

Looking back, I think I just misinterpreted what you were saying here:

“HOWEVER solid protein sources have the upper hand when dieting down because it will prevent muscle breakdown/loss. As a reminder, constant blood aminos = less muscle being built and less muscle being broken down… amino acid peaks and valleys = more muscle being built and potentially more muscle being broken down (this is why we also need periods where solid food is ingested).”

You outlined a strategy earlier in this thread for a lean individual trying to gain mass. Aside from the larger amount of carbs and total calories, would this still be optimal for dieting down?

I have to say, I’m really enjoying the discussion on this topic. Thanks for sharing with us!

Edit: Just saw your response. So we should still pulse (I’m guessing in the morning and around the workout) but not as often?

360

[quote]wfifer wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
wfifer wrote:
If I recall, you mentioned that protein pulsing is not appropriate when restricting calories. What about at maintenance levels? If the protocol is so powerful, could it actually be effective for recomping? Obviously I can’t ask for a definite answer, just curious about your opinion. Thanks!

I don’t remember saying that at all. Might have been with a strategy called ‘‘pulse feeding’’ which isn’t the same thing (it consists of ingesting 80-90% of your protein intake at one single meal).

Protein pulsing is actually extremely effective when on a restricted diet. Keep in mind that every period of jacked up blood amino acids (hyperaminoacidemia) is itself a signal to build muscle tissue, especially if it is preceded by a short period of protein deprivation.

Looking back, I think I just misinterpreted what you were saying here:

“HOWEVER solid protein sources have the upper hand when dieting down because it will prevent muscle breakdown/loss. As a reminder, constant blood aminos = less muscle being built and less muscle being broken down… amino acid peaks and valleys = more muscle being built and potentially more muscle being broken down (this is why we also need periods where solid food is ingested).”

You outlined a strategy earlier in this thread for a lean individual trying to gain mass. Aside from the larger amount of carbs and total calories, would this still be optimal for dieting down?

I have to say, I’m really enjoying the discussion on this topic. Thanks for sharing with us!

Edit: Just saw your response. So we should still pulse (I’m guessing in the morning and around the workout) but not as often?[/quote]

Let’s keep this fairly simple:

  1. Keep the same para-workout protocol (well, dosing can change slightly) as it is the real key toward muscle growth (and thus avoid muscle losses)

  2. Start the day with a protein pulse.

  3. Start with three solid protein meals per day, with the most slowly digested foods consumed at the end of the day. These meals should prodive you with roughly 40-50g of protein each.

These three elements will be common to 99% of the diets out there, regardless of your goals.

  1. Add the rest of the breakfast roughly 20min after the morning pulse. Depending on your goal the content in carbs and or fat will vary. If you include solid proteins, better make them easy to digest ones.

  2. Add the nutrients to the other solid meals of the day. If you are more interested in muscle growth, add more energetic nutrients (carbs and or fat) to those meals, if you are more after fat loss, restrict one of them.

On a weekly basis, analyze your progress and decide whether you need to increase your food consumption or not.