Thib's Q&A

Training
2481

[quote]ongar55 wrote:
Im not here to argue at all but a few things baffle me?
1:You are a very well repescted man/coach and i personally enjoy reading your work as i do Poliquin.

Any time you have to start off a conversation by saying, “I’m not here to argue but” you should rethink who you’re talking to, and how much more knowledge they have about something than you do.

but why are your methods SO unorthadox and so based on science?

Because this is a website for people who want to go above and beyond their current limitations, and are interested in exchanging ideas about how to get the best results possible.

Most people train hard and eat well and get good results why do they need to worry about all this insulin stuff and whats with the super low carb diets?thats bad FACT!You can get ripped and still eat carbs so why do you use this?

Human DNA has changed only 0.02% in the last 40,000 years. what caveman do you know of had a bakery in the next cave? we don’t need grains, you insolent pratt.

IMO all the baffling science and different supplements and training methods you use will raise anyones cortisol level…

That’s because you probably don’t know how to tie your shoes. This site and these contributors break their extensive research and knowledge base down to a level my cocker spaniel understands.

if you dont get it try primary school again. they finger paint there, and will tell you you’re brilliant no matter how many times you shit your pants.

I mean how many cheat meals a person can have etc…ppl have got to live and be happy not something a zero carb diet does is it?As ive already said i dont want ppl to write back and slag me off.if anyone has any usefull info on my opion please tell me thanks[/quote]

just exactly what useful information about your opinion did you ask for? if you think unregulated carbs are ok and see no reason to regulate a cheat meal then go back to watching King of Queens and eating Macaroni and Cheese.

You can stay mediocre, but don’t you dare question the people who do everything they can to be the best possible. Something you find so “baffling”

2482

CT, if you don’t eat many carbs for a long time do your muscles become less ABLE to hold them? So then if you start eating them again it takes less to “overflow.”??

If so can you “train” them to hold more glycogen and is this a good thing?

Also, I just re-read your “refined physique transformation” (a great article) and it would put me at 55g. of carbs per day…which is less than the veggies I eat, BUT you say you don’t even count the non-fiber carbs of green veggies?

I usually count the non-fiber ones, so 100g. of broccoli would have like 3-4g. of carbs, etc… Those 55g. could come from things like fruit on TOP of the 50-60 NON-fiber green veggie carbs I eat?

Also, would one do lactate workouts when GAINING?

2483

[quote]sarah1 wrote:
CT, if you don’t eat many carbs for a long time do your muscles become less ABLE to hold them? So then if you start eating them again it takes less to “overflow.”??

If so can you “train” them to hold more glycogen and is this a good thing?

Also, I just re-read your “refined physique transformation” (a great article) and it would put me at 55g. of carbs per day…which is less than the veggies I eat, BUT you say you don’t even count the non-fiber carbs of green veggies?

I usually count the non-fiber ones, so 100g. of broccoli would have like 3-4g. of carbs, etc… Those 55g. could come from things like fruit on TOP of the 50-60 NON-fiber green veggie carbs I eat?

Also, would one do lactate workouts when GAINING?[/quote]

I read, and I believe it was from CT himself, that the opposite happens. Going low carb increases insulin sensitivity so that when you carb up the muscles can actually hold more glycogen. CT, did I read this wrong?

2484

[quote]MikeTheBear wrote:
sarah1 wrote:
CT, if you don’t eat many carbs for a long time do your muscles become less ABLE to hold them? So then if you start eating them again it takes less to “overflow.”??

If so can you “train” them to hold more glycogen and is this a good thing?

Also, I just re-read your “refined physique transformation” (a great article) and it would put me at 55g. of carbs per day…which is less than the veggies I eat, BUT you say you don’t even count the non-fiber carbs of green veggies?

I usually count the non-fiber ones, so 100g. of broccoli would have like 3-4g. of carbs, etc… Those 55g. could come from things like fruit on TOP of the 50-60 NON-fiber green veggie carbs I eat?

Also, would one do lactate workouts when GAINING?

I read, and I believe it was from CT himself, that the opposite happens. Going low carb increases insulin sensitivity so that when you carb up the muscles can actually hold more glycogen. CT, did I read this wrong?[/quote]

Well, increased sensitivity means a higher PERCENT will go to muscles rather than fat. However, the amount your muscles can hold is independant of that factor…

2485

[quote]MikeTheBear wrote:

I read, and I believe it was from CT himself, that the opposite happens. Going low carb increases insulin sensitivity so that when you carb up the muscles can actually hold more glycogen. CT, did I read this wrong?[/quote]

Going low carbs indeed increases insulin sensitivity but raising insulin sensitivity itself doesn’t increase the amount of glycogen that can be stored in the muscle.

HOWEVER going low carbs also increases the enzymes responsible for intramuscular glycogen storage, which will allow you to store more glycogen for a short period of time. This is the whole basis behind carb depletion/carb loading in bodybuilding as well as in endurance sports. However the effect is not permanent.

2486

[quote]matt_t2004 wrote:
Hey CT I have a question on a fat loss training program. I am on a low carb diet, and have lost muscle on my past dieting attempts. Probably due to HIIT.

So should I follow a more tradidtional weight training program or should I be using metabolic training. I am confused as I have heard many different opinions on this.[/quote]

Metabolic training itself is probably not sufficient to prevent muscle loss on a severe diet, it’s a tool to maximize fat loss.

When you are dieting down you should keep your heavy lifting in to preserve and even gain muscle. My general rule of thumb is that if you are not losing strength you are not losing muscle (not always 100% true, but more often than not, it is). So you should actually strive to do everything in your power to get stronger when dieting.

2487

Coach,

Quick question with regards to carb-up/refeeds. I have read through your refined physique transformation and calculated the necassary carbs for a refeed. At 260g total, approximatly how many grams per meal would you shoot for? Thanks for your help!!

2488

[quote]MUthrows94 wrote:
Coach,

Quick question with regards to carb-up/refeeds. I have read through your refined physique transformation and calculated the necassary carbs for a refeed. At 260g total, approximatly how many grams per meal would you shoot for? Thanks for your help!! [/quote]

It depends on your body fat levels… depending on how lean you are, the length of your carb up can vary from 1 meal to 1 day.

Since you need to ingest 260g, chances are that you are lean enough to have at least 1/2 day of loading. So 3 meals of around 80-90g each. Or if it’s a full day, 6 meals of 40-45g each.

2489

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
MUthrows94 wrote:
Coach,

Quick question with regards to carb-up/refeeds. I have read through your refined physique transformation and calculated the necassary carbs for a refeed. At 260g total, approximatly how many grams per meal would you shoot for? Thanks for your help!!

It depends on your body fat levels… depending on how lean you are, the length of your carb up can vary from 1 meal to 1 day.

Since you need to ingest 260g, chances are that you are lean enough to have at least 1/2 day of loading. So 3 meals of around 80-90g each. Or if it’s a full day, 6 meals of 40-45g each.[/quote]

I am farily lean 208, 9.8%bf. I think 3 meals at 80-90g sounds like a sound plan. Thanks for the help.

2490

Thib, When a fairly lean individual 8-9%bodyfat following a targeted carbs approach (trying to maximize growth) must resort to grains as another carb source after veggies and fruits become to unrealistic to add more. How would go about adding grains to your diet? Thanks Coach

2491

CT,

In regard to taking leucine with meals to boost muscle protein synthesis, would this also be effective to help preserve muscle mass while dieting?

( Secondary question:
And for those trainees who are beginners or starting up after a long layoff, could leucine with meals assist them in the window they have to both gain muscle and lose fat? I’m thinking that since protein synthesis requires a lot of energy, it might use energy in the form of muscle glycogen and fat stores… )

Thanks,
Brian

2492

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
MikeTheBear wrote:

I read, and I believe it was from CT himself, that the opposite happens. Going low carb increases insulin sensitivity so that when you carb up the muscles can actually hold more glycogen. CT, did I read this wrong?

Going low carbs indeed increases insulin sensitivity but raising insulin sensitivity itself doesn’t increase the amount of glycogen that can be stored in the muscle.

HOWEVER going low carbs also increases the enzymes responsible for intramuscular glycogen storage, which will allow you to store more glycogen for a short period of time. This is the whole basis behind carb depletion/carb loading in bodybuilding as well as in endurance sports. However the effect is not permanent.[/quote]

Coach is there a way to make your muscles fully hold glycogen and water all the time. I don’t know if I’m crazy but it seems that as I’ve gotten older my muscles don’t feel as full and as hydrated a when I was younger.

I seem to deflate and lose water very easily even on lets say 200 gms of carbs a day. My muscles don’t feel full unless I constantly eat larger amounts of carbs and copius amounts of water. It even affects my performance when training if not fully carbed and water logged so to speak.

2493

Thib,

I did your deadlift complex (snatch-grip, RDL, Sumo) this week on my pull day. It was great way to break up the heavy pulls and throw in some volume.

I plan on using it with my non-travel wrestlers in a few weeks. Right now they have dubbed my Olympic Circuit, the “Man Circuit”…Power Clean, Push Jerk, Front Squat, RDL, Power Clean. We go 5x5 at 52-61% of clean max or 80% of BWT.

“Mondays with Thibs” is great!

Coach Bob

2494

CT,

Are you at all familiar with something called protein steeping or protein ramping? I’ve heard these terms lately but was not exactly familiar with what this is referring to and if it is of any use or not.

2495

Coach, are you familiar with Glycine Propionyl-L-Carnitine GPLC (GlycoCarn)?

I know you are a fan Propionyl-L-Carnitine, but this new compound is getting some good buzz on the Sports Nutrition field. Dr. Bloomer from The University of Memphis seems to be the leading researcher, if you would like to research it some more.

2496

Also, I remember reading something about Taurine not too long ago. Could you repeat what you said about whether it’s excitatory or inhibitory of the CNS and it’s inclusion on energy drinks?

Thanks.

2497

[quote]DeadlySting81 wrote:
CT,

Are you at all familiar with something called protein steeping or protein ramping? I’ve heard these terms lately but was not exactly familiar with what this is referring to and if it is of any use or not. [/quote]

DS,

Here’s part of an interviwe with Dave Barr regrding proteinsteeping/ramping. I hope this helps…

"Protein is the best “bang for your buck” calorie source for pretty much anyone. It can help with both muscle building and weight loss. Guys in lab coats like to point out that protein can also be stored as fat, but they need to wake up to the reality that compared to carbs and fats, that idea is a joke. People aren’t getting fat off of protein.

Whey protein itself is particularly beneficial, so I like to see people consuming the standard 1g/lb to start (with whey supplementation). Once this becomes easy and people want to ramp up their results, this should be increased to 1.5g/lb. This comes at the expense of some carbs, but mostly it’s the addition of Calories in the form of protein. It’s called protein stepping or protein ramping, and I’ll explain how to do it during the Training Summit.

For those on low-carb diets, 2-3g/lb is not unheard of, but bear in mind that all of this is within the context of the persons lifestyle. In others words, we need to find a compromise between 100% dystopian ideal and what’s realistically possible for you."

2498

[quote]Bachovas wrote:
Also, I remember reading something about Taurine not too long ago. Could you repeat what you said about whether it’s excitatory or inhibitory of the CNS and it’s inclusion on energy drinks?

Thanks.[/quote]

In most people taurine is a CNS inhibitor, or a ‘‘calming agent’’. It’s inclusion is energy drinks would thus seem to be pointless… to users it is… but for the company it’s quit useful: the cafeine and other stimulants in the drink gets you amped up for about an hour. Then taurine kicks is and you have a drop in energy. What do you do? You buy another energy drink!!!

2499

[quote]as wrote:

Coach is there a way to make your muscles fully hold glycogen and water all the time. I don’t know if I’m crazy but it seems that as I’ve gotten older my muscles don’t feel as full and as hydrated a when I was younger.

I seem to deflate and lose water very easily even on lets say 200 gms of carbs a day. My muscles don’t feel full unless I constantly eat larger amounts of carbs and copius amounts of water. It even affects my performance when training if not fully carbed and water logged so to speak. [/quote]

Several things can increase intramuscular pressure. Eating carbs is obviously the easiest of them all since every gram of carbs brings in 2.7g of water into the muscle. But that strategy can lead to gaining fat.

Creatine, glycine and glutamine also increase intermuscular pressure so does glycerol. In fact, glycerol is used by both pre-contest bodybuilders and endurance athletes to keep the muscles hydrated.

2500

I finished your skinny leg routine the other day, and it felt awesome, so i would like to continue but i have a questions.

i have not done alot of deadlifts in the past, but i did do stiff legged dumbbell dead lifts, and i learned to get the form perfect and not use my back. i also practiced alot of snatch deads and i feel i have pretty good form. obviously as i get tired it may worsen. my problem is my lower back and just above my hips on both sides starts to burn and that seems to give out before my legs. Is that incorrect form or just the need to strengthen those muscles???

To be honest i have struggled with low back pain for the last few years. i paint automotive bumpers on the vehicle basically for a living so needless to say i bend over ALOT! my chiropractor friend has almost given up because it stays so fired up back there that his adjustments go right back a day or two after i leave.

any suggestions?? sorry for the long post just wanted to try and get u all the correct info and maybe u can help. cause i want to keep doing deadlifts. i’m a skinny guy trying to build mass.