Thib's Q&A

Training
1161

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
NiallC wrote:
Thib i found this page through an nsca web page tonight, its an assessment software, i was wondering if you had seen it and any thoughts on it.

for assessment and the like. i was thinking how it might be helpful with testing structural balance,gait, and things like 10yard dash/40 yard dash.
or do think there would be a better system?
thanks Thib

We used it when I was doing my M.Sc. in College (I worked at the Biomechanics lab). Decent software if you are into movement analysis.[/quote]

thanks for letting me know.
as a strength coach, who deals with speed sports… we ll say the charlie francis guys, it would prop be useful so ya?

1162

[quote]forbes wrote:
ok, but what if i experience a pump in the target muscle group after the exercise? i know “pump training” means nothing in regards to muscle growth, but doesnt a pump in the target muscle mean i worked it? also, what if i feel soreness the next day?[/quote]

A pump doesn’t mean ‘‘nothing’’. Quite the contrary. It indicates a local accumulation of metabolites which stimulate the release of several growth factors. It also help to know if you hit the target muscle group properly.

But a pump doesn’t mean that you are performing an isolation exercise, thinking that way is just plain idiotic. Don’t you get a leg pump from squats? And these are far from being an isolation move!

1163

[quote]NiallC wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
NiallC wrote:
Thib i found this page through an nsca web page tonight, its an assessment software, i was wondering if you had seen it and any thoughts on it.

for assessment and the like. i was thinking how it might be helpful with testing structural balance,gait, and things like 10yard dash/40 yard dash.
or do think there would be a better system?
thanks Thib

We used it when I was doing my M.Sc. in College (I worked at the Biomechanics lab). Decent software if you are into movement analysis.

thanks for letting me know.
as a strength coach, who deals with speed sports… we ll say the charlie francis guys, it would prop be useful so ya?[/quote]

Any SPORT COACH (e.g. golf teacher, tennis coach, etc.) can use it. I know a few olympic lifting coaches who use it too.

However from experience, most of these coaches tend to prefer to trust their own eye/on-field analysis than one enhanced by a software.

Individuals working with rehab patients can also greatly benefit from it.

1164

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
NiallC wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
NiallC wrote:
Thib i found this page through an nsca web page tonight, its an assessment software, i was wondering if you had seen it and any thoughts on it.

for assessment and the like. i was thinking how it might be helpful with testing structural balance,gait, and things like 10yard dash/40 yard dash.
or do think there would be a better system?
thanks Thib

We used it when I was doing my M.Sc. in College (I worked at the Biomechanics lab). Decent software if you are into movement analysis.

thanks for letting me know.
as a strength coach, who deals with speed sports… we ll say the charlie francis guys, it would prop be useful so ya?

Any SPORT COACH (e.g. golf teacher, tennis coach, etc.) can use it. I know a few olympic lifting coaches who use it too.

However from experience, most of these coaches tend to prefer to trust their own eye/on-field analysis than one enhanced by a software.

Individuals working with rehab patients can also greatly benefit from it.[/quote]

thats true… its easy to become dependant on a piece of technology…

1165

Thib… I cant get my elbows in to the correct postition on the front squat because of restriction in my shoulder.
would using straps be a safe way to do the front squat while still getting a high elbow position… does it make it less effective?

1166

Coach,
What would be a good alternative for the single joint quads and hams movements in relation to the Destroying Fat article. My gym has the leg extension and leg curl in a separate room from the free weights. So, for example, i could not do the superset(s) of:

Squat
Leg Extension

or

Romanian Deadlift
Leg Curl

I am looking for a suitable substitution for the secondary leg exercises. Thanks.

1167

Coach Thibaudeau,

I started your Beast Building program and was cursing your name after the first two workouts’ soreness set in! This week I notice my strength increasing already, thank you.

I started by using the exercise combinations you suggested so I can get a feel for these workouts. I have two questions: On the isometric holds, should they be in a range around the sticking point of each exercise (i.e. bench, squat, deadlift)? Also, on the speed portion, should there be a pause at the bottom (i.e. jump squats, speed bench) to eliminate the stretch-shortening effect, or does it matter? Thank you again for the program and thanks to all of you guys for T-Nation.

1168

CT,

What are your thoughts on single-leg training versus double-leg training for athletes and how to find the optimal balance between the two for a specific trainee’s chosen sport and current needs?

I’ve seen various schools of thought in this area, especially vis a vis topics such as which choice is more critical to overall lower body muscle balance and the appropriateness or lack thereof of one choice versus the other relative to the forces encountered in a particular sport.

1169

[quote]Thunderstruck88 wrote:
CT,

What are your thoughts on single-leg training versus double-leg training for athletes and how to find the optimal balance between the two for a specific trainee’s chosen sport and current needs?

I’ve seen various schools of thought in this area, especially vis a vis topics such as which choice is more critical to overall lower body muscle balance and the appropriateness or lack thereof of one choice versus the other relative to the forces encountered in a particular sport.

[/quote]

It depends on the individual’s body structure, the demands of the sport and the athlete’s muscle balance.

Longer limbed individuals need more unilateral work.
Those with left to right imbalances obviously needs more unilateral work.
Neurally inefficient individuals would benefit from more unilateral work, etc.

1170

Coach, do you need to train a slow-twitch dominant muscle differently than a fast-twitch one? Or this doesn’t matter much and I should keep heavy weights in the “6-12” rep range for growth?

1171

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thunderstruck88 wrote:
CT,

What are your thoughts on single-leg training versus double-leg training for athletes and how to find the optimal balance between the two for a specific trainee’s chosen sport and current needs?

I’ve seen various schools of thought in this area, especially vis a vis topics such as which choice is more critical to overall lower body muscle balance and the appropriateness or lack thereof of one choice versus the other relative to the forces encountered in a particular sport.

It depends on the individual’s body structure, the demands of the sport and the athlete’s muscle balance.

Longer limbed individuals need more unilateral work.
Those with left to right imbalances obviously needs more unilateral work.
Neurally inefficient individuals would benefit from more unilateral work, etc.[/quote]

Would a bodybuilder get away with more unilateral work longterm regardless of how large or small his bilateral deficit was, since having a larger bilateral deficit would not necessarily be as big of an issue as it would for an athlete engaged in various other sports?

1172

Thib,

Given the current trend to focus on promoting a stable spine versus dynamic spinal flexion, should the ab wheel rollout or “1-knee” ab wheel rollout be initiated from a flexed-spine position and done until just before the natural lumbar lordosis is lost or should you start from a hips-flexed position and maintain the natural lumbar lordosis throughout being sure to never flex the spine/making it a pure stability/isometric abdominal exercise?

1173

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
crod266 wrote:
Thib, is there a diffrence between standing facing a low cable pulley or with your back facing it when preforming a low pulley cable curl with on arm?

Yes. When the back is facing the machine you can get a better stretch of the muscle in the extended position (by bringing the shoulder back slightly) which can increase MU actvation. However the tension at the peak contraction position is less. So no version is better than the other, only different.[/quote]

o ok thanks thib, so you could acually do both in one session to get good results

1174

Hi, CT,

I have a question about training an athlete in his off-season so that he can most effectively practice his sport (or do sport-related drills) on non-weight-training days.

Let’s say there is an athlete whose sport primarily taxes the lower-body, such as a downhill mountain bike racer.

(1) During his off-season, would you favor 1 leg day or 2 leg days (hip–dominant movements on some days and quad-dominant days)?

(2) Do you think it’s important for this athlete to work the upper and lower body on different days, or should he weighttrain both the upper and lower body on the same day, so that his whole musculature is fresh for sports practice and drills later in the week?

I know this question involves some generalizations here, and the formula for every individual is different. But I’d like to know what seems to be beneficial for more people, in your experience (or reading of literature).

Thanks,
Brian

1175

Coach,

Have you ever coached any ‘easy-hard gainers’ face to face (I think I recall you saying one of your bobsleigh athletes was amongst this category)? If so, did you use any strategies to increase overall calorie intake, such as increased feeding during and after workouts etc.? I am curious as to when the best time to add calories would be, what type of calories etc. as my diet is already high protein, high in essential fatty acids and high carb post-workout. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hope everything is well and the wedding plans are not too crazy!!

Best wishes

1176

[quote]Brian Smith wrote:
Hi, CT,

I have a question about training an athlete in his off-season so that he can most effectively practice his sport (or do sport-related drills) on non-weight-training days.

Let’s say there is an athlete whose sport primarily taxes the lower-body, such as a downhill mountain bike racer.

(1) During his off-season, would you favor 1 leg day or 2 leg days (hip–dominant movements on some days and quad-dominant days)?

(2) Do you think it’s important for this athlete to work the upper and lower body on different days, or should he weighttrain both the upper and lower body on the same day, so that his whole musculature is fresh for sports practice and drills later in the week?

I know this question involves some generalizations here, and the formula for every individual is different. But I’d like to know what seems to be beneficial for more people, in your experience (or reading of literature).

Thanks,
Brian[/quote]

It depends on what the priority is; improving strength/power or soorting technique during his off-season.

The approach I favor (we are talking off-season here) is to NOT do both on separate days, but rather to include the strength workouts on the same day as easier sports practice.

The logic is that by doing both on different days you cut down on the number of recovery days available. Physical progress occurs during the rest periods, not during training. As such, I prefer to have three hard physical days (two strength + sport days, one more intense sport day) rather than having 5 moderately hard/hard days. It’s all about maximizing recovery.

And yes, in that case I would use a whole body approach.

1177

[quote]crod266 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
crod266 wrote:
Thib, is there a diffrence between standing facing a low cable pulley or with your back facing it when preforming a low pulley cable curl with on arm?

Yes. When the back is facing the machine you can get a better stretch of the muscle in the extended position (by bringing the shoulder back slightly) which can increase MU actvation. However the tension at the peak contraction position is less. So no version is better than the other, only different.

o ok thanks thib, so you could acually do both in one session to get good results

[/quote]

NO! If you read my ‘‘how to design a damn good program’’ you will learn to avoid redundant exercises. Doing two variations of basically the same exercise (as far as muscle function is concerned) would be redundant and just plain dumb.

1178

[quote]Thunderstruck88 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Thunderstruck88 wrote:
CT,

What are your thoughts on single-leg training versus double-leg training for athletes and how to find the optimal balance between the two for a specific trainee’s chosen sport and current needs?

I’ve seen various schools of thought in this area, especially vis a vis topics such as which choice is more critical to overall lower body muscle balance and the appropriateness or lack thereof of one choice versus the other relative to the forces encountered in a particular sport.

It depends on the individual’s body structure, the demands of the sport and the athlete’s muscle balance.

Longer limbed individuals need more unilateral work.
Those with left to right imbalances obviously needs more unilateral work.
Neurally inefficient individuals would benefit from more unilateral work, etc.

Would a bodybuilder get away with more unilateral work longterm regardless of how large or small his bilateral deficit was, since having a larger bilateral deficit would not necessarily be as big of an issue as it would for an athlete engaged in various other sports?

[/quote]

It’s not just a matter of bilateral deficit, but one of neural activation. Longer limbed individuals and those with an inefficient nervous system generally get a more complete recruitment of the high threshold motor units when doing unilateral work.

Short limbed bodybuilders can normally get away with doing almost exclusively bilateral work.

1179

Coach,

Do you know of a good resource for verifying the accuracy of a supplement’s label?

Thanks

1180

Hey thib, I had 2 questions about low volume training and your pump down the volume article.

When preforming low volume training do you go to failure on big compounds, im saying if your benching and you go half way up and your partner brings it up the rest?

Also would it be a bad idea to pick a wieght that you hope to get 8 reps and you get 5 and you work at it until you get 8 or is that too much especailly with teqniques that take you past failure?