Thib's Q&A

Training
3901

Hey CT, I bought your get jacked fast program and it looks great. Could you please answer a few questions about it?

  1. Should I add extra fiber, maybe psyllium husks?

  2. Im assuming I follow the diet immediately even if it’s much less calories than I usually consume. Is this correct?

  3. Can I only eat the green veggies and fruits that you listed and no others and can any of the veggies be juiced?

  4. How big should the cheat meal be?

  5. I was thinking of taking an introductory basketball class that meets 3 times a week for a little over an hour. I don’t think that it’ll be that intense for the first half of the semester, since they will probably teach rules mostly. How should I adjust the program if I take this class?

Thank you for all of the great information that you have shared over the years.

Jon

3902

Coach,

Out of interest, what is your current peri-workout protocol? I was intersted to read your current diet.

Also, is your training at present still based around a powerlifting template, i.e. Bench day, squat day, deadlift day etc?

Thanks in advance, I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes.

3903

Thib, in your get jacked…fast. For the protein portions, is that raw or cooked?
(or does it really matter as long as you stick to one or the other for the whole duration of the diet, and not switch from day to day. Ex. Don’t weigh the chicken raw one day, then the next weigh it cooked.)
Thanks Thib

3904

[quote]Italiano wrote:
Thib, in your get jacked…fast. For the protein portions, is that raw or cooked?
(or does it really matter as long as you stick to one or the other for the whole duration of the diet, and not switch from day to day. Ex. Don’t weigh the chicken raw one day, then the next weigh it cooked.)
Thanks Thib[/quote]

Raw

3905

[quote]JJP wrote:
Coach,

Out of interest, what is your current peri-workout protocol? I was intersted to read your current diet.

Also, is your training at present still based around a powerlifting template, i.e. Bench day, squat day, deadlift day etc?

Thanks in advance, I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes.[/quote]

My workout is as follow:

DAY 1
A1. Bench press
1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6

90 sec rest

A2. Pull-ups
8 x max

90 sec rest

B1. Isolation chest exercise (changes every week)
3-4 x 6-8 reps
45 sec rest

B2. Lat pulldown
3-4 x 6-8 reps
45 sec rest

DAY 2
A1. Top half squat from pins (basically a half squat starting from the bottom position) with added bands
1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6

90 sec rest

A2. Leg curl
8 x 4-6 reps

90 sec rest

B1. Full squat
3-4 x 6-8 reps

90 sec rest

B2. Standing leg curl
3-4 x 6-8/leg

90 sec rest

DAY 3
A1. Top half close-grip bench (basically a half bench press starting from the bottom position in the power rack)
1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6

90 sec rest

A2. Preacher curl
1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6

90 sec rest

B1. Lying DB triceps extension
3-4 x 6-8 reps

75 sec rest

B2. DB hammer curl
3-4 x 6-8 reps

75 sec rest

DAY 4
A1. DB shoulder press
3 x 8-10 reps

60 sec rest

A2. Face pull
3 x 8-10 reps

60 sec rest

B1. Cable lateral raise
3 x 8-10 reps

60 sec rest

B2. Bent over laterals
3 x 8-10

60 sec rest

C1. Barbell front raise
3 x 8-10

60 sec rest

C2. Cuban press
3 x 8-10

60 sec rest

3906

[quote]ThetfordMiner wrote:
Thib,

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)?[/quote]

Leg curls should indeed be trained with less reps because they only involve the hamstrings, which are fast-twitch dominant while the romanian dead/goodmorning should be trained with intermediate reps because they involve the glutes and lower back which are mixed.

3907

Thib, thanks for the reply.
Hopefully this is the last question about your Get Jacked…Fast program. For the intervals, you have the elliptical. In a case at the gym where these machines are all used up, what machine would you suggest as the next best choice to use for intervals? Treadmill? Bicycle?

Thanks Thib, my shitty gym only has 2 of the Elliptical machines.

3908

[quote]Italiano wrote:
Thib, thanks for the reply.
Hopefully this is the last question about your Get Jacked…Fast program. For the intervals, you have the elliptical. In a case at the gym where these machines are all used up, what machine would you suggest as the next best choice to use for intervals? Treadmill? Bicycle?

Thanks Thib, my shitty gym only has 2 of the Elliptical machines.
[/quote]

Bikes… it’s not possible to use the treadmill for the format I gave… the machine takes too long to accelerate or decelerate

3909

Thibs, I realize this is a long question, but it’s been driving me crazy lately, and I was curious to hear your thoughts.

It is often said that ?to lose fat you have to eat less calories than you use and to gain muscle you have to eat more calories than you use.? I have always had a hard time with this statement.

If it were re-phrased to say ?to lose weight you have to eat less calories than you use and to gain weight you have to eat more calories than you use? then I would agree. But, to say that fat and/or muscle will be lost or gained always seemed incorrect to me. (Note: I realize that most people say that you?ll gain a little fat with muscle or a little muscle with fat, but bear with me on the main point).

Anyway, suppose the following: A person looking to build muscle lifts three days a week, with a good program, good intensity, good parameters, etc. Now suppose that person?s caloric expenditure is 3,200 calories on lifting days, and 3,000 calories on non-lifting days.

Wouldn?t the caloric expenditure for the lifting day include the calories needed for the lifting and also the calories needed to begin muscle repair and regeneration? As for the non-lifting days, wouldn?t the caloric expenditure include the calories needed for muscle repair and regeneration? Why would you take in even more calories than would be needed? (Assuming, for the sake of argument, that you could ever know for certain your daily caloric needs so exactly and that they would be such nice round numbers).

Now, suppose the person above was lifting hard and doing everything right in his diet, but was only taking in 2,700 calories a day on lifting days, and 2,500 calories on non-lifting days, a deficit of 500 calories a day. Would the person not gain as much muscle, or would the body turn to its fat stores to produce the energy for the workouts and repairs (obviously it couldn?t turn fat into muscle, but why not look to fat as an energy source?).

Or, suppose the person was doing everything ?right? but was taking in 500 extra calories a day. Would muscle just start popping up because it had the extra calories? Wouldn?t the extra calories just be stored as fat? Why would the body just pack it on as muscle unless it was needed?

I?m not trying to step on toes or make some profound point, and I?m certainly not saying the above is right from a physiologic perspective, but would appreciate any thoughts on this issue.

3910

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

My workout is as follow:

DAY 1
A1. Bench press
1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6

90 sec rest

A2. Pull-ups
8 x max

90 sec rest

B1. Isolation chest exercise (changes every week)
3-4 x 6-8 reps
45 sec rest

B2. Lat pulldown
3-4 x 6-8 reps
45 sec rest
[/quote]

CT,
How long would this workout take? I’m surprised at the low volume of exercise’s and sets, but I don’t doubt your genius on the topic!

3911

[quote]Game Time wrote:

CT,
How long would this workout take? I’m surprised at the low volume of exercise’s and sets, but I don’t doubt your genius on the topic![/quote]

Right now I’m working 65-75 hours a week. The low volume is a practical necessity!

3912

Coach,
In your last article’s discussion thread you included a sample workout with “1 metabolic pairing, 3 exercises” etc does this mean pick 3 of the pairings in your Metabolic Pairings article and perform each 2 -3 sets. I’m just confused regarding the #1 in front of the word metabolic.

3913

Coach Thibs,

Would there be an advantage in training twice a day for fat loss? If so, what kinds of set/rep parameters would you recommend?

3914

[quote]signature166 wrote:
Coach Thibs,

Would there be an advantage in training twice a day for fat loss? If so, what kinds of set/rep parameters would you recommend?[/quote]

As long as you avoid overstressing the body, yes, training twice a day will give you superior results.

As for training parameters, this would be highly individual.

However, train the same muscle group(s) during both sessions. Go heavier in the AM session and higher in reps and volume in the PM session.

3915

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
moofs wrote:
CT-

hahaha like the “100% legal” comment lol

looks like things r going good for u.

I recently have been seeing a few people using casein post workout and saying it working out better. What do you think about this?
I was thinking of giving it a shot.

Casein HYDROLYSATE (not sodium caseinate or other types of caein) is arguably one of the best protein you can use post-workout. Turns out that it is more insulinomic than even whey hydrolysate.[/quote]

any suggestions on where to find this? have you tried it personally?

3916

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
GoDawgs wrote:
Hi coach. During my last fat loss phase, I was using the whey isolate, glutamine, glycine protocol and got good results. I’m looking to do the same, but could I use Grow! whey instead of whey isolate(for economic reasons) and expect to get the same or close to the same results?

Thanks

I’ve actually used it from time to time with good results. It’s mostly whey concentrate which has its own advantages over isolation. For one thing it is an immune system booster while isolate isn’t.[/quote]

Where do you get an isolate that you trust is what it says? Thanks!

3917

[quote]shoelessjones wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
moofs wrote:
CT-

hahaha like the “100% legal” comment lol

looks like things r going good for u.

I recently have been seeing a few people using casein post workout and saying it working out better. What do you think about this?
I was thinking of giving it a shot.

Casein HYDROLYSATE (not sodium caseinate or other types of caein) is arguably one of the best protein you can use post-workout. Turns out that it is more insulinomic than even whey hydrolysate.

any suggestions on where to find this? have you tried it personally?
[/quote]

Yes, it’s the main product in Anaconda … the upcoming Biotest carb-free post-workout formula.

3918

Coach,

You posted a thread on how to improve our clean and listed three different workouts for the week: technical, heavy and contrast. Assuming we did that on an every other day basis (MWF), should Tues and Thurs be complete days off? If not, what you recommend or suggest?

Thanks for your time.

3919

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
shoelessjones wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
moofs wrote:
CT-

hahaha like the “100% legal” comment lol

looks like things r going good for u.

I recently have been seeing a few people using casein post workout and saying it working out better. What do you think about this?
I was thinking of giving it a shot.

Casein HYDROLYSATE (not sodium caseinate or other types of caein) is arguably one of the best protein you can use post-workout. Turns out that it is more insulinomic than even whey hydrolysate.

any suggestions on where to find this? have you tried it personally?

Yes, it’s the main product in Anaconda … the upcoming Biotest carb-free post-workout formula.
[/quote]

Thanks.

3920

Coach,

I’m curious … What are your top 3 special exercises for lat width?

I’ve been using the old nautilus behind-neck machine and pull over, but now that I’m back at school I don’t have access to these gems.

By the way your “You Don’t Know Jack about your Back” article has really helped me target my lats and learn to take my dominant biceps out of the picture.

Thanks CT