One question first… do you always talk like that or are you making an effort to sound extra smart on the internet? Seriously… I always say that ‘‘complexity is the lnaguage of the simple minds’’ … don’t overcomplicate things… [/quote]
That was funny… lol
Ummmm… you mention that you aren’t big on counting calories… does this also include context prep? or when you make a decision to get really ripped?? I’m just curious what you do/use? or do you know your body so well that it is all instinctual??
Initially I had posted this in the forum for your latest article but figured this would be where I should have posted my question. If posting here is unacceptable, please forgive me for doing so and disregard the rest of this message.
In your most recent article, you said that
“You should have a loading or re-feed day when your metabolism is starting to slow down (your morning temperature drops by one or two degrees) or when your glycogen stores are low (you’ll feel flat and have problems getting a pump).”
Is it necessary to have a pre-diet baseline temperature in order to compare body temperatures? i.e. if you’ve already been dieting for several weeks without checking morning temperature, is there any way for taking temperature to still be of use, or is the pre-diet measurement an absolute “must?”
Initially I had posted this in the forum for your latest article but figured this would be where I should have posted my question. If posting here is unacceptable, please forgive me for doing so and disregard the rest of this message.
In your most recent article, you said that
“You should have a loading or re-feed day when your metabolism is starting to slow down (your morning temperature drops by one or two degrees) or when your glycogen stores are low (you’ll feel flat and have problems getting a pump).”
Is it necessary to have a pre-diet baseline temperature in order to compare body temperatures? i.e. if you’ve already been dieting for several weeks without checking morning temperature, is there any way for taking temperature to still be of use, or is the pre-diet measurement an absolute “must?”[/quote]
Yes it’s a must. If you start to take it once the diet has started the initial values might be screwed. For example if you take it after 2-3 weeks of dieting the first measure you take might be 98.2 while in reality it might have measured at 98.8 before the diet.
[quote]VibeAlive wrote:
Ummmm… you mention that you aren’t big on counting calories… does this also include context prep? or when you make a decision to get really ripped?? I’m just curious what you do/use? or do you know your body so well that it is all instinctual??[/quote]
I function by nutrients amount, not calories. For example the starting value for a pre-contest client might be 1.75g of protein per pound, 0.75g of fat per pound and 0.25g of carbs per pound (this is just an example).
And those are adjusted depending on how the individual is progressing with his diet.
I do have some bodybuilding clients who insist on knowing how many calories they are taking in… in that case I simply add up the total from the diet I built for them, but I do not actually use calories to design the diet.
what i wanted to ask you is are there any changes you make when training with basketball players in mind becuase one of the toughest things i personally find for myself is recovery i mean i have to do skill work, as well as conditioning daily in order to improve so how do i tweak my training so that i can improve my explosiveness my current vertical is 24 inches and if i want to play pro i probably would like to get that up to around 29 inches this offseason. Is there any changes i should make to the way i train or what do you find effective for basketball players of tall heights? Also how does the ems work for some of your athletes i read the section on that and was wondering if you found it to be effective for explosiveness and recovery thanks for the time i appreciate it.
I have trained pretty hard the past few years main focus being on strength but have struggled and its getting a bit frustrating, i have done plyos as well but always the main focus was strength [/quote]
Ok, this was pretty long and boring to read Here’s my take on training basketball players, while I have not worked with as many of them as I have hockey and football players I have some experience training such athletes and my sister was named top basketball coach in the province a few times… anyway.
The first mistake basketball players (or their coaches) do is to perform too much jumping and plyometric drills in training. According to soviet literature, no more than 60-80 ground contacts should be performed, two or three times a week for no more than 4 weeks. After 4 weeks plyos loose their affectiveness and become more of a stress on the joints than anything.
Now, consider that basketball players are already doing TONS of jumps in their sport practice and you have a huge potential problem if doing plyos in training. My first recommendation is that plyos should be COMPLETELY AVOIDED as long as you are having sport practices or playing basketball. If you are playing/practicing year round, then never do plyos. Sounds radical, but it’s the smart way to do thing.
Very few basketball players are strong enough, especially in the lower body. I have rarely seen a basketball player do hard strength training for his lower body. Some do quite a lot of upper body work (mostly to look good) but reason that their running and jumping is enough to develop their lower body.
Remember that the basis of power is STRENGHT!!! Without strength you cannot produce power.
So my advice would be to squat and deadlift hard twice a week.
Long limbed individuals respond better to unilateral (one limb at a time) training when it comes to muscular development. So while you should keep the squats and deadlift if to become as strong as humanly possible, use movements like lunges, step-ups, bulgaria squats, etc. to build more lower body mass.
I did a biomecanic study on the specificity of various training exercises to the vertical jump (jump squat, depth jump, romanian deadlift, squat, power snatch from the hang) and the one with the greatest specificity was actually the power snatch from the hang. If you have access to someone who can teach you this movement properly, then include plenty of it in your training.
Keep a minimalist approach; use as few exercises as needed to get the job done. For example on one lower body day you can focus on 2-3 basic lifts (power snatch from the hang, squat, romanian deadlift for example). Do plenty of sets, but only 3 exercises. On the second day include the lighter, more ‘‘muscle building’’ stuff (lunges, bulgarian squat, step-up, single-leg curl, etc.).
One question first… do you always talk like that or are you making an effort to sound extra smart on the internet? Seriously… I always say that ‘‘complexity is the lnaguage of the simple minds’’ … don’t overcomplicate things…
[/quote]
I was merely typing as thoughts came into my mind. So no, I was not making any special effort to “sound extra smart.” Nor do I tend to talk in a manner identical to the way that I type. I guess I am just a simpleton.
In light of that, I very much appreciate you taking the time to not only respond to my post but also give such a thorough reply. So thank you for that, coach.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Brian Smith wrote:
Do you still think it’s an efficient tool for hypertrophy? And would doing it for relative strength–say the first half of the set with your 3RM and the second with one’s 6RM–be effective? Thanks
As I mentionned, for hypertrophy purposes, the best drop set is the one that will allow you to perform a total of 8-12 reps with the highest possible load. From experience the 4-6RM + 25% drop is the method that suits this definition the best.[/quote]
Sorry, I tried to edit a post, but it looks like it resulted in two different posts. Thanks for your answer
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Recently I’ve been eating only twice a day: in the morning upon waking up (more of a shake than anything) and a lot of food from 8pm to 11pm (well, it might be 2-3 meals during that period but still…).
I will basically spend 12 hours without eating or having a shake.
Believe it or not, I gained mass during that time despite losing body fat. I do not weigh myself that often. Since I was getting leaner, I expected to be losing weight on the scale, quite the contrary!
I actually reached a high of 229lbs (on 5’8’') while being the leanest I’ve been in quite a few months. 2 weeks ago I was 222lbs on average, and even reached a low ot 216lbs (completely dehydrated though).
[/quote]
Really interesting stuff coach. This is kind of like a modification on the old Warrior Diet, no?
Could you see yourself eating like this in the long term and still expect to see positive results?(or at least not see negative results)
Is it possible that your body is responding to the diet in this way because of a possible shift in dietary stimulus due to the drastic contrast between this and the usual every 2-3 hrs eating?(kind of like how one’s body will respond to different muscle stimulus by changing a workout) I have no scientific backing to my question, just something I was thinking about.
thib, if i wanted to learn as much about specific hockey training as I could are there any books you would reccomend me read, either old soviet books or anything new?
Hey CT,
On your 5 Reasons for Failed Body Transformations discusssion you gave a sample routine of:
DAY 1
SECTION A - STRENGTH PORTION - CHEST & BICEPS
3 exercises for each; one in the 2-5 reps range, one in the 6-8 reps range and one for higher reps or a special technique.
Combine one exercise for each muscle and go back and forth between them…
SECTION B - METABOLIC PORTION (AFTER STRENGTH PORTION)
1 metabolic pairing of 3 exercises, 3-4 sets
How many sets for each exercise do you recommend for the STRENGTH PORTION? Would it be 1x2-5 reps db bench/reverse curl, 1x6-8 incline db press/incline curl? Or would you do multiple sets such as 2-3x2-5 reps db bench/reverse curl, etc?
I’ve done your metabolic pairings with great success and wanted to know the correct volume before doing the metabolic work.
Thanks for your patience and generosity. This thread is a gold mine of info.
Quick question: I’ve been thinking a lot about what you’ve said here about carbs. I’m planning to cut for a few weeks with reduced calories, lactate-inducing workouts and cardio. Would switching all my carbs to fruits and veggies (as opposed to the occasional oatmeal, Ezekiel bread, & sweet potato) make a big difference, too?
thib, if i wanted to learn as much about specific hockey training as I could are there any books you would reccomend me read, either old soviet books or anything new?
Really interesting stuff coach. This is kind of like a modification on the old Warrior Diet, no? [/quote]
Yep, pretty close to it, but even closer to the way bodybuilding great Serge Nubret ate. It’s also how Vikings would eat. I did use the warriors diet a while ago and lost muscle. I believe that the fact that I’m having something in the morning as well as BCAAs allowed me to avoid that problem.
[quote]GoDawgs wrote:
Could you see yourself eating like this in the long term and still expect to see positive results?(or at least not see negative results)[/quote]
It would be easy for me to eat that way as it suits my psychological profile (I’m the bullimic type… I like to eat a LARGE quantity of food at one time… I hate eating and not being full).
As far as if it would be detrmental to my physique. I do believe that as long as the proper training stimulus and nutrients intake are there, I would be able to progress.
Is it an optimal way to eat? I don’t know… certainly not for everyone.
[quote]GoDawgs wrote:
Is it possible that your body is responding to the diet in this way because of a possible shift in dietary stimulus due to the drastic contrast between this and the usual every 2-3 hrs eating?(kind of like how one’s body will respond to different muscle stimulus by changing a workout) I have no scientific backing to my question, just something I was thinking about. [/quote]
Yes, quite possible.
I had much of the same thing happen to me while taking a vacation to Cuba. Without going into too much details, we were able to eat only 3 times per day (the resort’s restaurant only opened 3 times a day for 2-3 hours each time) and my protein intake was dismal (I’d be lucky to get in more than 80g per day) and gorged on carbs that I normally avoid (bread, potatoes, even some pastries). Yep when I came back I was leaner and a bit heavier.
I always feel like I do better eating once large main meal a day with a shake or two here and there. I am waiting on my leucine (should come tomorrow)…How do you suggest I take it if I am eating like this?
Maybe I should have been more specific,
I already take bcaa if I am going longer than 3-4 hours between meals. i was just wondering when/where to use the leucine.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
GoDawgs wrote:
Is it possible that your body is responding to the diet in this way because of a possible shift in dietary stimulus due to the drastic contrast between this and the usual every 2-3 hrs eating?
(kind of like how one’s body will respond to different muscle stimulus by changing a workout) I have no scientific backing to my question, just something I was thinking about.
Yes, quite possible.
I had much of the same thing happen to me while taking a vacation to Cuba. Without going into too much details, we were able to eat only 3 times per day (the resort’s restaurant only opened 3 times a day for 2-3 hours each time) and my protein intake was dismal
(I’d be lucky to get in more than 80g per day) and gorged on carbs that I normally avoid (bread, potatoes, even some pastries). Yep when I came back I was leaner and a bit heavier.
[/quote]
Interesting. Would you say that one should change up his dietary routine every so often? Or should one just take a break from his diet after long period of dieting?
Also, does this pertain mostly to muscle growth or fat loss as well?
As far as if it would be detrimental to my physique. I do believe that as long as the proper training stimulus and nutrients intake are there, I would be able to progress.
Is it an optimal way to eat? I don’t know… certainly not for everyone.
[/quote]
Thib,
Although personal preference is bound to play a role, this way of eating seems like it would be optimal in terms of flexibility, especially for someone who is out and about or particularly busy during the day. If food quality and quantity were respected (and proper PW nutrition as you noted), consuming the bulk of daily intake over a several hour span in the evening seems much more convenient than a lot of other options.
I’d like to ask you about another commonly held notion today when it comes to carb intake.
It’s often claimed that we should consume the bulk of any daily carbs in the A. M. and peri-workout. Are there genuine differences in the way the body handles carbs between early in the day and later in the day, or would there be little difference results-wise between consuming the same type and quantity of carbs spread out over the course of the evening as opposed to the morning? For this question, I’m assuming that peri-workout nutrition would stay the same regardless of time of day.
How should RDL’s (or other hip extension movements like Good Mornings, Reverse Hypers, etc.) and leg curls be sequenced when occurring in the same session?
Even though the leg curls are more of an isolation exercise, should they be trained with low(er) reps prior to training the posterior-chain dominant lifts previously mentioned with relatively higher reps (8-15)?
