Thib's Q&A

Training
1581

[quote]partymonster975 wrote:
CT-
After a low carb diet, what should my macros look like if I am trying to gain lean mass? All I’ve done so far is add carb post workout.
I have heard of macros like 40/40/20 and 40/30/30 are good but also tend to bring back the fat gains. Aside from carb cycling(not a fan), what do you recommend.

On a side note, I have began training for strongman, incase that changes anything, but aside from comps. I dont see why it would.

Edit: I’m at 14% bf, Might try to go down to 10 with the get shredded diet but I’m not sure.

Thanks

haha, sweet pic + routine. Hows it working out alt. 1x1 and 1x6?[/quote]

I like to gradually increase carbs until I find the point where mass gaining is optimal without leading to too much fat gain. Macro PERCENTAGES don’t mean anything to me, only quantities.

The first step is, like you did, add carbs post-workout… start with 50g. And hold it there for 1-2 weeks. After which you evaluate your progress and decide if you need/can go up further.

If you can, then add 25g to breakfast. Hold it there for 1-2 weeks and once again assess your progress.

If you decide to go higher, add 25g more to the post-workout shake. Hold for 1-2 weeks and re-assess.

If you decide to add more, add another 25g to breakfast. Hold 1-2 weeks and re-assess.

If you decide to go up, add 25g more to the post-workout meal (up to 100g now). Hold 1-2 weeks and re-assess.

YOU SHOULD KEEP POST-WORKOUT CARBS TO 100G MAX AND 50G MAX FOR OTHER MEALS.

So if you want to add more carbs at this point you can’t add them to breakfast or post-workout. So you add 25g in the meal you ingest 60-90 minutes after your post-workout shake. Hold 1-2 weeks and re-assess.

If you decide to go up again, add 25g to the meal 60-90 minutes after your shake (up to 50g now). Hold 1-2 weeks and re-assess.

If you decide to go up, you add 25g in one of the meals before 6pm… but not one that is already ‘‘full’’.

And you keep going until you find your ideal carbs intake.

Obviously if you start to gain fat at an unacceptable rate, do not increase carbs further.

1582

[quote]Cyrus_99 wrote:
What phase would this be considered? It looks like you are sticking to relatively low rep range, with higher number of sets. Does this work for you in terms of growth? I knew a few middle eastern body builders who used a scheme like this.
[/quote]

It is a functional hypertrophy phase. In other words strength and size are both the objective, with a focus on strength rather than size.

1583

[quote]JJP wrote:
Coach,

Thanks for answering my question in such depth about simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss. I was interested also in the possibility of strength increases whilst in a caloric deficit.

The reason I ask is I find some of the relative strength of athletes to be unreal, for example I have heard you talk about Pascal Caron’s strength before. Obviously these athletes are the elite but do you use any specific techniques to increase strength while maximizing cody comp.?

Thanks in advance,

James[/quote]

Pascal is one of the worst example of gaining strength while losing fat. The guy had a lightning fast metabolism and stayed under 8% body fat without even trying. He had a very bad diet, fast food, junk, etc. He is just incapable of gaining fat. He also has one of the most efficient nervous system that I have ever seen. Strength depends on both the CNS and muscle size. Someone whose strength comes mostly from muscle size will find it much harder to gain or maintain strength while leaning out while someone who relies mostly on neural efficiency for strength will gain strength while leaning out much more easily.

To be honest, I know very few elite athletes who have a rigorous diet. Some make a effort to eat ‘‘healthy foods’’ and some just don’t eat that well (some more are now starting to understand the benefits of proper nutrition though). Most of them stay lean because of their genetic predisposition but mostly because of their total training volume.

This is mostly true of Olympic athletes who will train 30-40 hours per week (this includes sport practices, strength training, speed/agility work, energy systems work, flexibility training, technical work, etc.) so their energy expenditure is so high that even with a less than perfect diet they will stay lean.

In fact some athletes almost have to eat junk food! Why because it’s the only way they can get enough calories in without completely wasting away. Road cyclists are prime examples. During a daily event of the Tour de France the average caloric expenditure is around 8000 calories… this is ON TOP of the daily metabolic rate of the rider, which is around 1750-2000 calories. So during a daily event their body will ‘‘burn’’ up to 10 000 calories.

So in that case they need 10 000 calories per day jus to maintain. Obviously this is during an event. It is a bit lower during a training day, but the daily energy expenditure still averages out to over 5000-6000 calories.

Just for fun, try eating 6000 calories from clean food only. NOT an easy task, especially for a 145lbs cyclist! So foods that are very dense in energy (junk being a prime example) are necessary for most, although more and more are using high calories shakes to get their required energy intake.

A cyclist friend of mine routinely drop down 20lbs during his season and that is even if he eats like a horse!

1584

Coach please help!
I am interested in losing body fat I just can’t get right. I work full time and go to school part time and I don’t have the time to do a lot in the weight room and I am welcome to all advice. Right now I follow a regime of 3x5 squat 3x5 bench and chinups 3xfailure one with a rest day in between and 3x5 squat 3x5 over head press and 1x5 deadlifts, pullups 3x failure. I alternate the two m,w,f.

Thank You for your time and advice.

1585

Hi coach.
Have you any idea or research feedback about this:
“ephedra and grapefruit can increase Estrogens which lowers Testosterone, with significant T:E ratio changes”.
Thanks again.

1586

Hey Coach,

My breakfast is steak (Rib-eye) and a mix of almonds and macadamia nuts. I was wondering what your thoughts were on dry cured meats, e.g. Bresaola, Biltong as a substitute. Nice, hot medium rare steaks can be a bit tricky to do in the morning so I mainly make it the night before and it is nowhere near as satisfying.

  • snaxft2ss - if you read this you could be getting the LIST.
1587

Coach,
Are there any trainers in New York City that you would recommend to teach the Olympic lifts? I am really interested in learning them, but I don’t want to teach myself because I think I’ll end up doing it wrong. Thanks.

1588

Trying to find your chart on how long one should do negatives but can’t find the article and I get error message when I try to search it. The article was Accentuated ecentric training, I think but I’m interested in your time under tension chart you had in the article.

1589

CT,

When trying to figure out optimal fat intake at any given point in time, are there any rules of thumb you tend to use to not only get a ballpark figure for overal fat intake but also to ensure proper amounts of the essential omega 3’s while filling out the remainder of fat intake with an acceptable blend of MUFA’s and saturated fats?

1590

Coach Thibs,
Where do you but your ezekiel bread? I can’t seem to find any (tried Maxi’s, IGA, Metro, Super C and even 2 diff boulangeries and when I asked about it, I got a look as if I were speaking chinese) maybe there’s a diff name for it in french. Your help would be appreciated.
rikz

1591

Hey coach,
I am starting a month-long cut, and will be looking to gain some size again after. My hope is to drop to 9-10% bf. When going back on the bulk phase, do you still recommend the 1TB glycerin + 5g creatine + 5g glutamine X 5 per day? Or have you changed the formula any?

I have done some research on the use of veg glycerin lately with regard to super-hydration of atheletes: Its funny that supp stores sell a drink made up of 20g glycerin and 3g arginine for $4 apiece when it costs $5-10 for a bottle of glycerin. Still on the fence about the arginine anyway.

1592

Thib,

I believe in the past you’ve said that 10-20 pounds of muscle/year is a reasonable expected rate of muscle growth once a person reaches the intermediate to advanced stages, with the rate becoming lower as you approach your given genetic potential. On the flip side, if you exclude extreme lows or highs, what is a reasonable amount of muscle growth per month or year for a beginner to expect if diet and training are spot on and very consistent?

I was also wondering what you personally do or recommend to your clients as far as ensuring the intake of the purest water possible, since it seems tap, most filtered, and bottled water all have their supposed drawbacks.

1593

Thib, When is the best time(s) to take Glycine outside of the post-workout window? And, can it still be take post-workout to lower cortisol levels even if you are using Surge?

Also, as for Taurine, before or after workout the best? (I have seen you recommend before and after, not sure what you prefer now)

Thanks Thib, and good luck this weekend!.. Hopefully everything goes great,Congrats!

1594

[quote]Italiano wrote:
Thib, When is the best time(s) to take Glycine outside of the post-workout window? And, can it still be take post-workout to lower cortisol levels even if you are using Surge?
[/quote]

  1. In the evening. Cortisol should be at its lowest in the evening and at night.

  2. Surge, glycine and Surge actually work very synergistically to create an anabolic milieu.

[quote]Italiano wrote:
Also, as for Taurine, before or after workout the best? (I have seen you recommend before and after, not sure what you prefer now)
[/quote]

After. I have read a ton of studies and taurine is actually a neural relaxant, not a stimulant. It is put in energy drinks so that you crash after a while and buy another one!!!

1595

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Sliver wrote:
CT I have this strange problem. I can bench till the cows come home, but if I try doing push ups, my shoulders get sore (posterior delts mostly).

It doesn’t start right away. The first set I don’t notice anything. Second set is a 1 or 2 on the pain scale. Third is a 3 or 4. And after the fourth I cut it out because I don’t want to make it any worse. I’ve tried varying my hand placement and it doesn’t seem to make a difference.

My guess is weak rhomboids, serratus and rotator cuff muscles. You have no shoulder, and especially scapular stability. When doing the bench press it is not a problem because your shoulder blades are ‘‘pinned’’ against the bench. But with push ups it isn’t.

Do a search for serratus and rhomboid exercises and you’ll find several good options to use.[/quote]
Thanks a lot for the advice!

1596

Thib, you wrote the Pendulum Bodybuilding program like 4 years ago. Do you still agree with what you wrote ? Like, do you think i’ll do a lot of progress with that or I should go with something more like the Beast Building articles.

Sorry for my poor english I hope you understand what I’m trying to say.

1597

I’ve about to finish up your HSS 100 original program and gained at least a solid 15 pounds of lean mass. Thanks so much for a great program

How long after I complete the whole progam do you think I shoud have to wait do do another 16 weeks of it? Thanks again Coach

1598

[quote]HawkeyePierce wrote:
Thib,

I believe in the past you’ve said that 10-20 pounds of muscle/year is a reasonable expected rate of muscle growth once a person reaches the intermediate to advanced stages, [/quote]

No I didn’t. I said that 10-20lbs of pure muscle tissue is the most that a non-beginner, natural trainee is likely to achieve in one year if everything is done right.

Small different in working, big difference in meaning.

[quote]HawkeyePierce wrote:
On the flip side, if you exclude extreme lows or highs, what is a reasonable amount of muscle growth per month or year for a beginner to expect if diet and training are spot on and very consistent?[/quote]

20-25lbs in most individuals. But that is if the person starts correctly right off the bat. Most beginners waste their first 2-3 months of training because they simply don’t know how to lift properly.

Understand that in both cases I am talking about muscle weight. Every pound of muscle gained normally leads to a gain of around 0.5lbs of water. So 10lbs of muscle gained actually shows as 12-15lbs on the scale. Plus, when someone does everything perfectly to maximize muscle growth, some fat gain is almost impossible to avoid (although it should be minimized as much as possible). So a 10lbs gain in muscle might actually mean something like 20lbs on the scale.

[quote]HawkeyePierce wrote:
I was also wondering what you personally do or recommend to your clients as far as ensuring the intake of the purest water possible, since it seems tap, most filtered, and bottled water all have their supposed drawbacks.
[/quote]

Water purifier/filter.

1599

[quote]rikz wrote:
Coach Thibs,
Where do you but your ezekiel bread? I can’t seem to find any (tried Maxi’s, IGA, Metro, Super C and even 2 diff boulangeries and when I asked about it, I got a look as if I were speaking chinese) maybe there’s a diff name for it in french. Your help would be appreciated.
rikz[/quote]

It’s funny, the IGA where I live has it. However it is not with the regular bread, but rather in the bio section, and it is stored in the freezer, not on the shelves.

1600

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
BTW, my current training program looks like this:

DAY 1 - CHEST AND BACK

A1. Bench press
1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6
120 sec rest (alternate A1. and A2.)

A2. Chest-supported DB rowing
6 x 4-6
120 sec. rest

B1. Low-incline DB press
1 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 3, 1 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 3
90 sec. rest (alternate B1. and B2.)

B2. Pull-ups (weighted)
1 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 3, 1 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 3
90 sec. rest

DAY 2 - LOWER

A1. Front squat
1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6
120 sec rest (alternate A1. and A2.)

A2. Romanian deadlift
6 x 4-6
120 sec. rest

B1. Short steps walking lunges
4 x 6-8/leg
90 sec. rest (alternate B1. and B2.)

B2. Leg curl
4 x 6-8
90 sec. rest

DAY 3 - ARMS

A1. 1/2 close grip bench press in power rack
1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6
120 sec rest (alternate A1. and A2.)

A2. Scott curl
1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6, 1 x 1, 1 x 6
120 sec rest

B1. Lying DB triceps extension
1 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 3, 1 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 3
90 sec.rest (alternate B1 and B2)

B2. Chest-supported DB hammer curl
1 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 3, 1 x 5, 1 x 4, 1 x 3
90 sec.rest

  • NOTE: shoulders are not trained because of time constraints. This is the part I ‘‘skip’’ in that situation because:

a) they are a strong point of mine
b) the shoulders are already being hit indirectly during the chest/back workout

HOWEVER I do rotator cuff and rhomboid work at the beginning of every workout.

[/quote]

CT ,
If you did work shoulders into this program how would you go about doing so? Emphasis on the medial delts. Thanks