Thib's Q&A

Training
2121

[quote]matt_t2004 wrote:
Would metabolic circuits be ok on a low carbs diet. I really liked your article on the circuit, but was just curious if I needed some carbs or not for them.[/quote]

I was about to post on here how much I “enjoy” these metabolic pairings. I placed quotes around enjoy because the really are fun to do - they use the Olympic lifts which I missed doing and they are simple in terms of equipment/space needs and exercise sequences. There have been times when I’ve done complexes where I’ve become so fatigued that I forgot the sequence of exercises. Not a problem with these. But although these are enjoyable to do, they are very hard work.

I did some of the pairings today while eating little carbs. Here’s what I did. About 30 minutes before a workout, I’ll take some BCAAs and some fish oil. Don’t use the good Biotest stuff for this - go get some cheap stuff. That’s because your body will just burn these up for fuel. I may be wrong about this but it certainly helps me. I’ve done the same before going on 5 to 6 mile runs and it has kept my energy levels up.

2122

Hi Coach,

why do you think that working out three times a week (3 times whole body) won’t lead to overtrain?
If it’s necessary for your answer, I train after your example routine from “theory and application of…”.
I mean, the whole body three times a week with a good portion of intensity isn’t this a little bit too much?

2123

[quote]eggers wrote:
I’m currently cutting with the Anabolic Diet. I had a question about being fat adapted.

From my understanding, the main benefit to low-carb diets is becoming fat adapted, which will cause your body to use stored fat for energy in the absence of fat in the diet.

With that in mind, would it be beneficial, from a fat loss standpoint, to have one or two days a week were fat is kept low (maybe 20-30% of calories), carbs under the usual 30g, and protein making up the rest of calories? It seems to me that this would spare muscle loss for the day and really amplify fat loss.

Am I completely off base with this idea?

Thanks a lot. [/quote]

Yes you are, well partially.

When you are truly fat adapted/in ketosis it is possible to lower fat intake somewhat to increase the reliance on body fat stores for energy.

However if misused or mistimed this can actually backfire. Why? Well if you are not truely fat adapted and you drastically reduce fat intake while increasing protein intake you will switch to using protein for fuel by turning protein into glucose (a process called neoglucogenesis).

This creates two problems… first it halts the process of switching to a fat-adapted metabolism; if you are not adapted yet, the fact that you indirectly increase glucose levels (by producing it from protein) will reset the process. Secondly you risk losing muscle mass by breaking down muscle tissue to produce more glucose.

Once you are truely fat adapted, then yes it becomes possible to decrease fat intake to increase relience on body fat for fuel, but not before that.

The problem with doing this with a ‘‘real’’ anabolic diet (which includes two high carb days a week) is that during the AD fat-adaptation takes a long time to be set, and oftentimes you actually have to start over again every week because the high carb days can switch you back to a carb-adapted metabolism or at the veyr least drastically slow down fat adaptation. The two days carb-up is actually the reason why I don’t like the original anabolic diet. After a 2 days carb-up it can take as much as 3-4 days to get back into ketosis, which only gives you 1-2 days of MAXIMUM fat burning.

Understand that you do NOT need to be in a fat-adapted state or in ketosis to burn fat. But it makes the process easier physiologically and more effective. Going low-carbs while not being fat adapted is very hard because the brain still craves carbs, when you are fat adapted the cravings go away.

I prefer to limit carb intake to 1-2 meals per week in most individuals (leaner people can go up to 1 day), this facilitate fat adaptation.

2124

Hi Coach

As an endomorph, I always seem to be on a permanent fat-loss programme. I’m at the 12% body fat level currently and making steady progress.

However, I am keen to embark on a more hypertrophy-orientated phase of training (for bloody psychological reasons if nothing else!). The rationale is that if I have more muscle in the first place then I won’t be a skinned rabbit when I eventually reach the 10% body fat level.

As a general rule would you advocate such a switch or do you think it better to aim for the 10% now, then switch?

(Please note I’m not trying to suggest a bulk-up phase and an excuse to eat, I would aim for gradual muscle gain with minimal fat gain.)
Many thanks in advance for your time.

2125

Coach-

I am trying to select exercises for a non-specialized HSS-100 routine. The 100 Rep exercise is throwing me off. The way I understand it is to pick any iso exercise and ligthen it up. The problem I am having is how do you select for mucle groups that are inherently recruit other muscles. I having a proble with slecting a general back-100, Quad-100, and a Ham-100 (I was thinking leg curls but was using them as the pre-fatigue iso early in the routine).

2126

Thib

Each session should I try and progress as much as possible on one type (eg reps) to try and prolong the program so i can be progressing for longer or as much as possible with different progression methods(load and reps)?

2127

hi Coach im completely new to this forum so please take it easy on me!..lol…Basically i had 7months off training and diet due to a bad accident…Now im back into training and diet i wanna drop bodyfat whilst gaining some lean muscle back.

im currently doing 3 full body workouts a week…supersetting lower with upper body IE:squats with db bench press…Im told this is based on Charles Poliquin GBC training?

My diet is Lean steak mince and nuts
Whey isolate and 10grms of glutamine PWO
Tuna Salad
Protein shake
chicken breast
chicken and broccli
With a carb up day on the weekend…Am i heading in the right direction or is what im doing completly useless?

2128

Thibs,

Hope all is well-Due to ridiculous femur length I use the front squat as opposed to the back squat as I can’t realistically break parallel with the back squat version. Are there any performance advantages of the back squat or is it possible to achieve maximum potential with the exclusive use of front squats as the major squatting exercise?

I am interested in performance as a sprinter (i.e. increases in speed obviously and jumping ability).

Thanks in advance for the help, all the best.

2129

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
eggers wrote:
I’m currently cutting with the Anabolic Diet. I had a question about being fat adapted.

From my understanding, the main benefit to low-carb diets is becoming fat adapted, which will cause your body to use stored fat for energy in the absence of fat in the diet.

With that in mind, would it be beneficial, from a fat loss standpoint, to have one or two days a week were fat is kept low (maybe 20-30% of calories), carbs under the usual 30g, and protein making up the rest of calories? It seems to me that this would spare muscle loss for the day and really amplify fat loss.

Am I completely off base with this idea?

Thanks a lot.

Yes you are, well partially.

When you are truly fat adapted/in ketosis it is possible to lower fat intake somewhat to increase the reliance on body fat stores for energy.

However if misused or mistimed this can actually backfire. Why? Well if you are not truely fat adapted and you drastically reduce fat intake while increasing protein intake you will switch to using protein for fuel by turning protein into glucose (a process called neoglucogenesis).

This creates two problems… first it halts the process of switching to a fat-adapted metabolism; if you are not adapted yet, the fact that you indirectly increase glucose levels (by producing it from protein) will reset the process. Secondly you risk losing muscle mass by breaking down muscle tissue to produce more glucose.

Once you are truely fat adapted, then yes it becomes possible to decrease fat intake to increase relience on body fat for fuel, but not before that.

The problem with doing this with a ‘‘real’’ anabolic diet (which includes two high carb days a week) is that during the AD fat-adaptation takes a long time to be set, and oftentimes you actually have to start over again every week because the high carb days can switch you back to a carb-adapted metabolism or at the veyr least drastically slow down fat adaptation. The two days carb-up is actually the reason why I don’t like the original anabolic diet. After a 2 days carb-up it can take as much as 3-4 days to get back into ketosis, which only gives you 1-2 days of MAXIMUM fat burning.

Understand that you do NOT need to be in a fat-adapted state or in ketosis to burn fat. But it makes the process easier physiologically and more effective. Going low-carbs while not being fat adapted is very hard because the brain still craves carbs, when you are fat adapted the cravings go away.

I prefer to limit carb intake to 1-2 meals per week in most individuals (leaner people can go up to 1 day), this facilitate fat adaptation. [/quote]

Thanks for the response. I’m limiting the amount of carbs I consume over the weekend (about 450g over the 2 days, or 40% of my calories), while maintaining my healthy fat sources, so I’m (hopefully) not switching back to burning carbs at this level.

By the way, I’m reading through your previous Q&A Thread, and there is so much great information in there that I think it should be required reading for anyone that spends time on this site.

2130

Coach, what’s your take on stimulant non-responders? I don’t drink coffee, tea, soda, or consume other forms of caffeine, but when I drank Spike Shooter for the first time it had absolutely no effect on me at all. I’ve spent the last hour looking on google scholar for an explanation but could’nt come up with one. Any explanation you can give would be greatly appreciated!!

2131

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

OR, this is a strategy that I like to use during mass gaining phases, include 1 or 2 days per week of ‘‘damage control’’: you eat for maximum growth 5-6 days a week and include 1-2 days per week where you limit your energy and carbs intake. In other words you eat below maintenance; less than 50g of carbs during the day, keep fat relatively low too but keep protein high. On that day do not strength train, but do cardio and/or metabolic training (see my Monday with Thib article on the subject).

This(these) control day(s) will allow you to eat more on the other days of the week without fear of gaining too much fat because the control days are there to limit the damage.

Depending on how you are progressing, add or remove control days. For example, start at one control day per week. If you find yourself gaining fat too much, add a second one (control days should not be on consecutive days), if you are still pilling on fat too much add a third one (do NOT include more than 3 control days per week).

If you find that your gains are slowing down, remove one control day or make it less severe, etc.[/quote]

Thib,

Do you feel that mass-gain phases with these “damage control” days will always(or almost always) be the superior approach for most people seeking significant longterm gains in mass since they end up extending the time period you can devote to mass gain without allowing bodyfat to rise to unacceptable levels?

2132

Hello Coach: I am finally down to 12% bodyfat per the calipers at 215lbs and I would like to put on some mass utilizing a targeted carbs approach. I am consuming 25grams of carbs pre workout, 25 grams during and 50 grams post which is a 50/50 mix of dextrose and maltodextrin. Coming off of a diet where I was in ketosis most of the time and since I will be doing a targeted carbs approach and will not be in ketosis. I am a bit confused as to what my macros would look like.

I will be consuming 50 grams of carbs at breakfast and 100 grams around workouts and a total of 300 grams of protein, however, I am confused as to what the macros should look for fat. I am still currently taking 30-45 grams of fish oil, should I lower my intake of fat? Can I also start doing interval or hit cardio since I will be taking in carbs, becaue before I took your advice and only did about 45 minutes a day on the incline at a steady speed of 3.4 and an incline of 7.0. Thanks Coach.

2133

What are “damage control” days ?THX

2134

[quote]pal60 wrote:
What are “damage control” days ?THX[/quote]

They are explained in an earlier post, read it.

2135

[quote]labikes wrote:
Hello Coach: I am finally down to 12% bodyfat per the calipers at 215lbs and I would like to put on some mass utilizing a targeted carbs approach. I am consuming 25grams of carbs pre workout, 25 grams during and 50 grams post which is a 50/50 mix of dextrose and maltodextrin. Coming off of a diet where I was in ketosis most of the time and since I will be doing a targeted carbs approach and will not be in ketosis. I am a bit confused as to what my macros would look like. [/quote]

Normally in a targeted carbs diet you keep eating EXACTLY like you did when on your low-carbs diet BUT you add carbs peri-workout.

[quote]labikes wrote:
Can I also start doing interval or hit cardio since I will be taking in carbs, becaue before I took your advice and only did about 45 minutes a day on the incline at a steady speed of 3.4 and an incline of 7.0. Thanks Coach. [/quote]

Not with the amount of carbs you are ingesting and not if gaining muscle is your goal.

2136

[quote]T-Bone81 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

OR, this is a strategy that I like to use during mass gaining phases, include 1 or 2 days per week of ‘‘damage control’’: you eat for maximum growth 5-6 days a week and include 1-2 days per week where you limit your energy and carbs intake. In other words you eat below maintenance; less than 50g of carbs during the day, keep fat relatively low too but keep protein high. On that day do not strength train, but do cardio and/or metabolic training (see my Monday with Thib article on the subject).

This(these) control day(s) will allow you to eat more on the other days of the week without fear of gaining too much fat because the control days are there to limit the damage.

Depending on how you are progressing, add or remove control days. For example, start at one control day per week. If you find yourself gaining fat too much, add a second one (control days should not be on consecutive days), if you are still pilling on fat too much add a third one (do NOT include more than 3 control days per week).

If you find that your gains are slowing down, remove one control day or make it less severe, etc.

Thib,

Do you feel that mass-gain phases with these “damage control” days will always(or almost always) be the superior approach for most people seeking significant longterm gains in mass since they end up extending the time period you can devote to mass gain without allowing bodyfat to rise to unacceptable levels?

[/quote]

It depends on the individual, but when properly applied it is one of the best way to plan a long term mass gaining phase.

2137

[quote]eggers wrote:

Thanks for the response. I’m limiting the amount of carbs I consume over the weekend (about 450g over the 2 days, or 40% of my calories), while maintaining my healthy fat sources, so I’m (hopefully) not switching back to burning carbs at this level.

[/quote]

You probably are to some extent since a average human body can store 400-500g of glycogen. IMHO 2 days of carbs is too long if one wants to maximize fat adaptation.

2138

Christian,

I stumbled on this site completely by accident today. I love what I’ve read so far, so I have a question.

I just adopted a “Dave Palumbo” type zero-carb diet. I have been on it for exactly eight days now. I felt like crap for about three days, but now I seem to be adjusting.
I have taken no measurements, and I am using only the mirror for evaluation. Let’s say I want to be surprised.

I am working out 5 days a week, with cardio 2x a day 3 days a week, and 1X a day 3 days a week.

My question is, what can I expect my fat loss range to be (percentage wise) if I continue through the rest of the month? I am 5’7", 185 lbs. and roughly 10% bodyfat.

Thanks for your help.

w8lftr

2139

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
pal60 wrote:
What are “damage control” days ?THX

They are explained in an earlier post, read it.[/quote]
Thanx.Can you to do a example of Damage Control Day?

2140

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
T-Bone81 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

OR, this is a strategy that I like to use during mass gaining phases, include 1 or 2 days per week of ‘‘damage control’’: you eat for maximum growth 5-6 days a week and include 1-2 days per week where you limit your energy and carbs intake. In other words you eat below maintenance; less than 50g of carbs during the day, keep fat relatively low too but keep protein high. On that day do not strength train, but do cardio and/or metabolic training (see my Monday with Thib article on the subject).

This(these) control day(s) will allow you to eat more on the other days of the week without fear of gaining too much fat because the control days are there to limit the damage.

Depending on how you are progressing, add or remove control days. For example, start at one control day per week. If you find yourself gaining fat too much, add a second one (control days should not be on consecutive days), if you are still pilling on fat too much add a third one (do NOT include more than 3 control days per week).

If you find that your gains are slowing down, remove one control day or make it less severe, etc.

Thib,

Do you feel that mass-gain phases with these “damage control” days will always(or almost always) be the superior approach for most people seeking significant longterm gains in mass since they end up extending the time period you can devote to mass gain without allowing bodyfat to rise to unacceptable levels?

It depends on the individual, but when properly applied it is one of the best way to plan a long term mass gaining phase.[/quote]

When you say, “It depends”, would some exceptions tend to be ectomorph types and possibly beginners who already have their bodyfat ;evels in-check to start with?