I’ve never heard of Aruba but the pics I saw on the internet… wow, great!
Enjoy your honeymoon!
Thib,
You’re too good to us here as it is(plus at your usual rate it can be somewhat daunting just keeping up with all the fantastic knowledge you so generously dish out in addition to your articles).
Enjoy Aruba and time with your new bride!
[quote]Black Cat wrote:
Just wondering if you still keep fat as the dominating food source in your body and if you separate fats from carbs at the times that carbs are consumed. Thanks.
[/quote]
It depends on the goal. Building muscle is an energy-dependent process. I do not like to talk about calories as the body only recognize nutrients… calories are only a measure of heat.
However building muscle will depend on both the intake of protein (must be high enough to provide the building blocks from which muscle is built) as well as on energy intake (if energy intake provided either by carbs, fat or both, is too low, you will not be able to build muscle). Protein represent the bricks needed to build the house, energy intake represents the salary you pay the workers.
How does this relate to your question? If, when you change your diet, your goal is building muscle the strategy to use as far as fat intake goes will be different than if you want to continue to get leaner or maintain your current level.
If you want to build more muscle you will need a higher energy intake. If you lower your fat intake too much as you gradually increase your carbs you might fall short on the energy requirements needed to build muscle.
On the other hand, if you want to focus on getting leaner you might want to lower your fat intake to compensate for the increase in carbs intake.
[quote]Jelena Abbou wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
- DHEA … well … it has several drawbacks. First of all the oral version has really poor bioavailability, our of a 50mg pill around 5-10mg will be usable, the other 40-45mg being destroyed by the liver. A DHEA cream (which exists) or spray would be more effective… BUT … in males DHEA will often be converted to estrogen rather than to testosterone. The fatter your are, the more you will convert it to estrogen. On the other hand, DHEA is almost as anabolic in females than some steroids (but it has most of the same side effects).
So you recommend (for female) to stay away from it?[/quote]
It’s an individual decision. I know of several female bodybuilders who use it and get great results and no sides, but I’ve seen a few get side effects as well.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Black Cat wrote:
Just wondering if you still keep fat as the dominating food source in your body and if you separate fats from carbs at the times that carbs are consumed. Thanks.
It depends on the goal. Building muscle is an energy-dependent process. I do not like to talk about calories as the body only recognize nutrients… calories are only a measure of heat.
However building muscle will depend on both the intake of protein (must be high enough to provide the building blocks from which muscle is built) as well as on energy intake (if energy intake provided either by carbs, fat or both, is too low, you will not be able to build muscle). Protein represent the bricks needed to build the house, energy intake represents the salary you pay the workers.
How does this relate to your question? If, when you change your diet, your goal is building muscle the strategy to use as far as fat intake goes will be different than if you want to continue to get leaner or maintain your current level.
If you want to build more muscle you will need a higher energy intake. If you lower your fat intake too much as you gradually increase your carbs you might fall short on the energy requirements needed to build muscle.
On the other hand, if you want to focus on getting leaner you might want to lower your fat intake to compensate for the increase in carbs intake.[/quote]
so for getting leaner what do you recommend? mod fats, low carb, high protein. or high protein, mod carbs, low fat?
[quote]smbarney wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Black Cat wrote:
Just wondering if you still keep fat as the dominating food source in your body and if you separate fats from carbs at the times that carbs are consumed. Thanks.
It depends on the goal. Building muscle is an energy-dependent process. I do not like to talk about calories as the body only recognize nutrients… calories are only a measure of heat.
However building muscle will depend on both the intake of protein (must be high enough to provide the building blocks from which muscle is built) as well as on energy intake (if energy intake provided either by carbs, fat or both, is too low, you will not be able to build muscle). Protein represent the bricks needed to build the house, energy intake represents the salary you pay the workers.
How does this relate to your question? If, when you change your diet, your goal is building muscle the strategy to use as far as fat intake goes will be different than if you want to continue to get leaner or maintain your current level.
If you want to build more muscle you will need a higher energy intake. If you lower your fat intake too much as you gradually increase your carbs you might fall short on the energy requirements needed to build muscle.
On the other hand, if you want to focus on getting leaner you might want to lower your fat intake to compensate for the increase in carbs intake.
so for getting leaner what do you recommend? mod fats, low carb, high protein. or high protein, mod carbs, low fat?
[/quote]
My answer was in regard to someone who was on a low carbs diet and decided to add carbs.
As for your question… there is no universal answer. Around 70-75% of the population will respond best to low carbs when trying to lose fat, 15-20% to moderate carbs and 5-10% to higher carbs.
thanks coach
Thib,
I know you are keen on coconut oil, but how do you feel about the use of other coconut products such as organic dehydrated and shredded coconut or a coconut spread made from organic coconut that is ground into a paste? Other than making sure there are no sugars added and that the carbs naturally in coconut are accounted for, would these foods be beneficial for their healthy fat as well as fiber content?
And do you know anything about the risk of coconut products other than the oil itself possibly having issues with aflatoxin? I know that is said to be a major issue with peanuts, but I’ve heard that it can be a potential issue with coconuts and various other tree nuts.
p.s. have a blast in Aruba
Coach,
In the past you’ve said something to the effect of a person needs to learn the rules of basic program design before attempting to break the rules for a specific purpose.
Would an example of breaking the rules be someone who has trouble recruiting a muscle group using he pre-fatigue method and forgoing the traditional ordering of exercises from most CNS-demanding to lest?
What would some other examples of bending/breaking the rules be?
[quote]RustBeltGym wrote:
Coach,
In the past you’ve said something to the effect of a person needs to learn the rules of basic program design before attempting to break the rules for a specific purpose.
Would an example of breaking the rules be someone who has trouble recruiting a muscle group using he pre-fatigue method and forgoing the traditional ordering of exercises from most CNS-demanding to lest?
What would some other examples of bending/breaking the rules be?[/quote]
Read the following article series…
- How to design a damn good program
- The Thib system
Those articles present principles/guidelines. These are seen as ‘‘the rules’’. Anytime you do not applie these principles in order to correct a specific problem you are breaking the rules for an acceptable reason.
[quote]crowbar46 wrote:
When I’m doing a wokout should I stick to one plane of movement for upper body pushing and pressing movements, or is it OK to mix them. For example, should I do something like D.B. flat bench (upper body push–horizontal), bent-over BB rows (upper body pull–horizontal);
or is it acceptable to do, for example, dips (upper body push–vertical), and bent-over rows (upper body pull–horizontal)?
If it’s not OK to mix planes of movement could you please give a brief explanation as to why?
Thank you very much for your time,
Crowbar
[/quote]
Mixing planes of movement will not kill you… and it’s not like it will totally kill your gains either! There are NO SECRETS when it come to building muscle or strength. Well there is ONE… one thing that will allow you to consistantly improve your body: PROGRESSION!
As long as you are improving your performance in the gym on a systematic basis (ideally you should be a little bit better in at least 2 exercises per workout) then your body will change for the best.
Exercise pairings, training splits, exercise selection, rest intervals, no. of reps, no. of sets, tempo, exercise order, etc. These variable should serve only one purpose: to give you the best chance to progress at every workout!
So in that regard there is not magical mix of training variables that will unleash the power to progress! However every decision you make in planning your training will make progression a little bit easier or a little bit harder. Making sub-optimal choices when it comes to training variable will thus not kill your potential to progress and improve. It will just make it harder or slower to do so.
When it comes to planes of movement, there are several neurological phenomenon that makes same-plane/opposite direction training more effective. Specificially it generally improves strength production (in other words you can lift more weight). For that reason it makes progression easier.
This is especially important when performing big compound movements … however it is not as primordial when performing isolation exercises since the results on the later are not as much load-dependant as with the former.
[quote]HawkeyePierce wrote:
Do you recommend taking 1-2 seconds between reps to step away from the bar and/or re-set the grip rather than just banging out reps continuously(and possibly leading to bouncing/decreasing the reliance on starting strength as seen with the way many deadlift if they do it at all)?[/quote]
I prefer the rest-pause method myself, blame that on my olympic lifting background! I feel that the benefits from being able to readjust with each rep (makes using perfect form easier, allows for the use of slightly more weight) outweigh the possible benefits one could get from ‘‘banging out’’ reps. The banging out style generally leads to form breakdown during the set (potential injury risk), less efficient pulling style (less weight can be used) and also to improper breathing patterns (a lot of peoples will hold their breath during the whole set) which can be dangerous.
[quote]HawkeyePierce wrote:
If using the constant tension method with RDL’s, is stopping 3-4" short of lockout potentially detrimental, since keeping tension on the hamstrings would necessitate stopping short, which could result in dominance over the glutes longterm?[/quote]
As you pointed out, it is not a good option to stop the reps short. Plus, I do not see the RDL as a good constant-tension exercises. Constant tension is best kept for isolation exercises.
[quote]HawkeyePierce wrote:
Besides the above RDL’s, would cable RDL’s or pull-throughs be good constant-tension exercises for the hamstrings? [/quote]
No, constant tension is better used with isolation exercises.
Coach,
I was going to do the arms spec from jekyll and hyde and was also going to do the twice a week hungarian oak leg workouts. I figured since bi/tri are smaller muscles it and the leg workouts were short that this would be ok for a month. I know we are not supposed to specialize on more than 2 muscle groups but didnt know if hungarian leg routine was a specialization.I just wanted to know if u feel it might be too much. thanks
CT,
Hi, in one of your earlier answers to a question you suggested that it’s best to diet for 12 weeks and not much longer due to the effect it can have on ones metabolism. But what if you diet for 12 weeks and don’t reach your goals.
For example, in my case I did the V-Diet and then followed the diet and your training advice that was given to Gus for his NLT and as a result I went from 232 lbs on May 18 to 195 lbs which is my current weight. So I’m very pleased with the results. I’m at about 7%-8% BF but I’m not at the point where I can clearly see all 6 of my abs.
I’m on my 13th week of dieting, so is it best to stay on it until I get to where I want to be as long as I am still losing weight and feel ok or is it best to up my calories for several weeks and then go back to dieting?
Thanks for your time.
[quote]mse2us wrote:
CT,
I’m at about 7%-8% BF but I’m not at the point where I can clearly see all 6 of my abs. [/quote]
Congrats on your progress so far. But if you can’t see yoiur 6 pack then you are not anywhere close to 7-8% body fat, more like 10-12%. A TRUE 7% isn’t that far off from a bodybuilding contest condition.
[quote]mse2us wrote:
I’m on my 13th week of dieting, so is it best to stay on it until I get to where I want to be as long as I am still losing weight and feel ok or is it best to up my calories for several weeks and then go back to dieting?
Thanks for your time. [/quote]
I would honestly recommend taking at least a 1-2 weeks break in the diet. DO NOT start to eat crap… stick to something close to what you are doing now, but increase calories slightly, mostly from clean carbs.
Christian-
I�??m scheduling myself to begin a transformation program September1. I�??ll be following the principles outlined in your series of articles on your transformation. I did follow this program about 1 year ago with some good results. However, the eating plan left me extremely hungry for the greater part of the day. Is there any thing you would suggest to help curb my appetite while on the eating plan? Also, any suggestion on how to transition back to a more regular eating pattern following the low-carb/high-fat plan?
Thanks
Hey! I just read some previous posting that stated you where on your Honeymoon! Congratulations!!! May you be blessed with many happy years!
Coach,
I seem to be constantly battling lower back pain, like cramping type pain, when I do any exercise even remotely close to using the lower back. Lower back and glutes get numb. It’s been going on for months now. I dropped weight, used shorter ROM, took long breaks from lifting, got massages, use foam roller to loosen up and stretch. I don’t want to completely give up deads, bent over rows, etc…, but I don’t know what else to do. It gets to where I can barely walk and can’t sit for more than 5 seconds and lasts for several hours sometimes. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Congrats on the wedding and have a great honeymoon.
[quote]socrgod wrote:
Coach,
I seem to be constantly battling lower back pain, like cramping type pain, when I do any exercise even remotely close to using the lower back. Lower back and glutes get numb. It’s been going on for months now. I dropped weight, used shorter ROM, took long breaks from lifting, got massages, use foam roller to loosen up and stretch. I don’t want to completely give up deads, bent over rows, etc…, but I don’t know what else to do. It gets to where I can barely walk and can’t sit for more than 5 seconds and lasts for several hours sometimes. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Congrats on the wedding and have a great honeymoon.[/quote]
Dude, he can’t give you an online diagnosis. Read the rules. Besides, it’s clear that the only good recommendation you can be given is to see a doctor.
Coach,
I respond very well to super low carb diets (under 50g/day, the less the better), both in terms of fat loss and general well-being. I fell off the wagon about a year ago and gained over 30 lbs (no excuses huh)…
Now I’m back on track. Since I know 30 lbs will take a while to lose, I’m concerned about slowing my metabolism with an extended calorie deficit. I’ve tried doing weekly “carb-ups”, but they only seem to “rouse the sleeping dragon” - I have blood sugar swings and carb cravings for days afterwards.
Would you consider a higher calorie day once a week, with carbs still held under 50 grams and the extra calories coming from fat and protein, as a good strategy for this case to prevent metabolism slowdown? Would it have the same effect as a high carb meal in spiking leptin, etc.?
Everywhere I read it seems to be taken for granted that spiking metabolism involves large amounts of carbs… I would rather avoid that route if possible until I’m a good deal leaner.
*Stats: I’m 25 years old, female, weighed 105 lbs at about 12% bodyfat (I’m short!) and my goal is to get back to the same size.
Thanks in advance. Looking forward to your reply!
G