Thib's Q&A

Training
1501

[quote]gyakujujijime wrote:
Hi coach,

thanks a lot for the answer. I got your point, however since most of the people are weaker in the first half of the move, why do you generally recommend in your programs to perform partials in the second half? [/quote]

2 reasons for doing the iso at that point (besides if it is your weak point):

  1. potentiation: isos can be used to ‘‘wake-up’’ the nervous system. You can recruit up to 10% more muscle fibers during a max iso contraction. When you perform a max contraction it potentiates (improves/enhance) your strength during a subsequent action. This effect lasts up to 5 minutes but peaks at around 2-3 minutes after the max contraction.

If using isos to potentiate the nervous system you actually want to perform this exercise at a strong point of the movement (where force production is at its highest) to get a more powerful potentiating effect.

Why not use the lockout position in the deadlift then? Because at that point the contribution of the quads and hams is minimal, so these muscles would get little potentiation.

  1. to strengthen the ‘‘athletic’’ position common to a lot of sport, a position very similar to the mid-range point of a deadlift.

BTW, not many people actually have a REAL wak point at the beginning of the movement. Most of those who claim a weak point at the beginning of the movement simply pick a weight that is too heavy for them on the movement.

[quote]gyakujujijime wrote:
And when using the three part isometrics you’re talking about (start, mid-point and finish) should the alternance be performed during the same workout (for example, 6 sets, two of each), or should I rotate every week?

Thanks again [/quote]

All of them in the same workout.

1502

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Spencerulz wrote:

im at 16% now, so I guess it’s pretty much impossible to maintain anything in the single digits… oh well Id rather have a little fat on the gut than be a toothpick lol

Especially considering that droppin down from 16% to 8% should take, in theory, around 8 weeks of strict dieting. However in ‘‘real life’’ it may take more than that since fat loss slows down when you get down way below your starting point.

However IMHO, 16% is too fat for someone interested in body composition because if you go all out on your muscle gain objective you are likely to add around 2-4% body fat in the process, putting you at around 20% (IF your 16% is a real 16% and not just a number you are pulling out of your arse).[/quote]

in all honesty idk what to bielive, one fat calculator says 10 another says 16 hell the electrolisis machine at my school said 20%. so I went with the middle one. this just in the one I just tried is saying 8%(which I highly doubt). so ya if it helps any I weigh 183ish (it always seems to lie in between 181 and 185) and when I flex my abs I dont see a 6 pack I see the upper part of the abs. yet I see striation(a little) around the side abs(sorry dont know the technical term)

1503

Hi Coach Thib,

My question is, as a coach/trainer working with clients/groups all day long, what are some of the ways you manage to stick to diet/nutritional guidelines throughout the day.

As a young coach/trainer with a new business, I find myself having to rely too much on shakes/bars etc… when scheduling clients back to back, traveling for in-home sessions, sometimes not getting a whole food meal in for hours while running around with groups of young athletes.

I know you have an incredibly busy schedule. What are some of your strategies?

Thanks,

Patrick

1504

Coach, I have read most of your training articles and gravitate towards your programs because they seem to work well for me. My question is, are any of your programs meant for pre-contest use?

Also, once an FFB (endo, size king, or whatever you wanna call us) has lost the bulk of his weight, is thier any difference in how you would trin them versus an ect or a meso (for body comp purposes). Thanks.

1505

Hi CT,

What sort of footwear do you recommend for weightlifting? Anything in particular I should look out for?

Thanks,

Mike

1506

[quote]mpaterek wrote:
Hi CT,

What sort of footwear do you recommend for weightlifting? Anything in particular I should look out for?

Thanks,

Mike[/quote]

Do you mean olympic lifting? There shoes specifically desgined for that type of lifting. Do an online search for olympic lifting shoes.

1507

[quote]pvieira wrote:
Hi Coach Thib,

My question is, as a coach/trainer working with clients/groups all day long, what are some of the ways you manage to stick to diet/nutritional guidelines throughout the day.

As a young coach/trainer with a new business, I find myself having to rely too much on shakes/bars etc… when scheduling clients back to back, traveling for in-home sessions, sometimes not getting a whole food meal in for hours while running around with groups of young athletes.
[/quote]

  1. Prepare all your meals the night before, put them in individal containers, buy a small fridge and microwave for your office, store the meals in there when you start your day, use the microwave to heat the meals (or eat them cold).

If you don’t have an office, put the meals in a cooler.

  1. Become a better planner. Do not plan clients immediatelt back to back… leave yourself at least 15 minutes, preferably 30 between clients. This way, you have time to eat a small ‘‘already prepared’’ meal.
1508

What would the focus of each of the 3 workouts be if one were to use HSS-100 for legs?

1509

Ahh, no, just general-type weightlifting. Nothing specific, so not olympic lifting or powerlifting, just a “standard” bodybuilding programme.

Thanks,

Mike

1510

CT,

My wife just got me a competition bar and bumper plate set from Werksan as a birthday surprise. When it comes to maximizing the integrity and lifespan of the equipment, would you say that it is imperative to get a high-quality lifting platform?

IF not, are there any alternative set-ups that you’d also suggest to best preserve the bar and plates over a lifetime of lifting?

I was also wondering if lifting on a platform with some type of wooden center(such as oak) confers any performance advantages over alternative set-ups and also what you’d consider to be the absolute minimum size for a platform as well as what would be the optimal size.

Whether springing for a pre-made platform or making an alternative set-up, I was just wondering the pros and cons of various sizes (4 x 8, 6 x 8, 8 x 8, etc.)

Thanks coach, and congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

1511

[quote]mpaterek wrote:
Ahh, no, just general-type weightlifting. Nothing specific, so not olympic lifting or powerlifting, just a “standard” bodybuilding programme.

Thanks,

Mike[/quote]

As long as you have good foot support, any decent running shoes will do.

1512

Hi, Im french Canadian (Québec) and I wanted to know if there’s any biostest products who are not lequal in Canada and if the price is high for the shipping…

thanks,

Raph

1513

Hi,

Im french Canadian (Québec) and I wanted to know if there’s any biostest products who are not lequal in Canada and if the price is high for the shipping…

thanks,

Raph

1514

[quote]raphzomg wrote:
Hi, Im french Canadian (Québec) and I wanted to know if there’s any biostest products who are not lequal in Canada and if the price is high for the shipping…

thanks,

Raph[/quote]

HOT-ROX extreme (because of the yohimbe). Besides that, I never had any problems receiving anything in Quebec.

1515

And For the future can I post in french ? or isn’t a realy good idea… If i cant i’ll just practice my english :slight_smile:

1516

[quote]raphzomg wrote:
And For the future can I post in french ? or isn’t a realy good idea… If i cant i’ll just practice my english :)[/quote]

I think you’ll have to practice your english, like me :wink:

1517

Coach,

I recently attended a USA Weightlifting Sports Coach certification class, about two weeks ago, to prepare myself for an internship I have with the Strength coaches at my University.

I’ve been going over to PT’s in gyms around my area to soak up more information (techinque, what to watch for when athletes perform them, etc.).

I was wondering, if you were cool with offering your two cents, as to common errors you see when athletes first start to clean or snatch? Thank you for your time!

Btw, I brought up tail-under squats to some of the coaches attending the class, and one of them mentioned how he has been able to fix tail-under squats by having the athlete/client lay flat on their back, with feet up at 45 degrees.

While he holds their legs and applies resistance (by pulling back towards himself), he has them gradually bring in their knees until they can’t pull them in anymore. They rep this out until the athlete can bring in the knees closer, and they are able to squat better. Have you tried this technique?

1518

[quote]dreads989 wrote:
Coach,

I recently attended a USA Weightlifting Sports Coach certification class, about two weeks ago, to prepare myself for an internship I have with the Strength coaches at my University.

I’ve been going over to PT’s in gyms around my area to soak up more information (techinque, what to watch for when athletes perform them, etc.).

I was wondering, if you were cool with offering your two cents, as to common errors you see when athletes first start to clean or snatch? Thank you for your time!

Btw, I brought up tail-under squats to some of the coaches attending the class, and one of them mentioned how he has been able to fix tail-under squats by having the athlete/client lay flat on their back, with feet up at 45 degrees.

While he holds their legs and applies resistance (by pulling back towards himself), he has them gradually bring in their knees until they can’t pull them in anymore. They rep this out until the athlete can bring in the knees closer, and they are able to squat better. Have you tried this technique?[/quote]

I wrote a whole chapter on the most common mistakes in the olympic lifts in one of my books and discussed them further in another one. I can’t do the same thing in a simple Q&A post… it’s WAY outside the scope of this thing.

Furthermore, I always feel uneasy detailing proper olympic lifting technique only in text form. They are very dynamic exercises and IMHO, without visual support it is actually dangerous to attempt to teach them.

As for correcting a tail under position, I have a simpler method: the wall squat; have the person standing around 2’’ IN FRONT of a wall (facing the wall) in a squatting stance, have them put their hands to the back of their head, from that position have them squat down without touching the wall.

It is impossible to do so with a tail under position because the knees will hit the wall. Excessive forward bend is also prevented since the face would then hit the wall.

This is much faster and more effective.

1519

[quote]raphzomg wrote:
And For the future can I post in french ? or isn’t a realy good idea… If i cant i’ll just practice my english :)[/quote]

This is an english forum. Part of the objective of the locker room is for readers to learn. If you ask your questions in french then nobody besides you will benefit from it. So post in english.

1520

CT,

Re intolerences with certain foods…I ate 2 LARGE mushrooms(maybe 150g) last night with dinner(chicken), at have been weighin myself every morning for the last 2 weeks since I started dieting. I weighed 1.3 lbs heavier this morning than yesterday. Could MUSHROOMS, make me hold that much water?

keto diet btw.

Thanks coach,

GJ