[quote]Josh Rider wrote:
In a basic squat, when I have my feet shoulder width and pointed forward, I cannot seem to go down that much into my squat (not even to parallel) but when I move my legs apart a few inches past shoulder width and point my feet out at 45 degree angles, I have the mobility to squat beyond parallel.
The same exists with deadlifting; I find it very difficult to perform a standard deadlift in general because of this mobility issue but have no problem performing sumo deadlifts.
Is there anything terribly wrong with squatting the way I do and if yes, how can I improve my mobility so that I could squat the first way described more effectively(same goes for deadlift)?[/quote]
It’s not so much a question of mobility as it is one of levers. If you can squat deeper with a wider stance, and provided that you can maintain an upright posture, you’ll be fine.
However I would recommend including some front squats in your routine, you’ll find that you can go deeper with a slightly narrower stance which may help you with your back squat.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
One of my rules is that I do not answer anything related to an injury. I feel that it is idiotic to give such advices via the internet without being able to assess the client myself.[/quote]
Who would I want to go see in real life that would be able to give me a more accurate assessment of my injury? I don’t suppose you work in southern california, do you?
I normally wouldn’t go asking for a second opinion but my doctor’s unilateral ban of pulling movements and ignorance of sports medicine has made me take exception. (She seems to think it’s somehow related to some slight rotational scoliosis I have.
When I asked her how rotational scoliosis would give me pain in my elbows she flat out said," I wouldn’t know about that kind of thing.")
CT, sorry if this has been explained in of your articles,
but what method is best for testing 1RM?
i .e. doing proper warm-up sets, but not wasting too much energy on them so that they won’t cripple your REAL 1RM?
[quote]Thy. wrote:
CT, sorry if this has been explained in of your articles,
but what method is best for testing 1RM?
i .e. doing proper warm-up sets, but not wasting too much energy on them so that they won’t cripple your REAL 1RM?[/quote]
You need to have an approximate idea of what your max is. No need to be super precise, but at least have a broad number to start with.
If you have never do singles before you can extrapolate your theoretical max by multiplying the weight you use for X amount of reps:
For example if you are able to use 200lbs for 5 reps, to get your THEORETICAL max you would multiply 200lbs by 1.148 which would give you 230lbs.
HOWEVER understand that this is just an approximation, it will not give you your true 1RM. Furthermore, the less reps you use to calculate your theoretical max, the more precise it will be.
OK… now that you have your theoretical max, or a broad idea of what your max is, you can test it ‘‘in the trenches’’.
You do the following ‘‘warm-up/preparatory’’ sets:
1 x 4 with 50% of your theoretical max
1 x 4 with 60%
1 x 3 with 70%
1 x 2 with 80%
You take 1-2 minutes between these sets
Then you get on to the more serious business. You will do a series of sets of 1 rep, progressively heavier until you find your max. The first 1-3 sets should be fairly manageable.
1 x 1 with 85% of your theoretical max
1 x 1 with 90%
1 x 1 with 95%
1 x 1 with 5-10lbs more
1 x 1 with 5-10lbs more
etc. until your reach your max
You take 3 minutes between each attempt.
You’ve mentioned in one of your responses several months ago about staying in a lean state for 18 -24 months so that your body gets used to being that lean. If one were to follow that suggestion would you recommend trying one of your routines such as Beast Building or HSS-100 while trying to maintain that lean state? I realize with both of those routines the goal is to build muscle so to get the best results one should increase his calories. But would increasing calories to get the most out of the two mentioned routines jeapordize ones goal of trying to get the body use to being lean?
Also, is it best to keep your calories at maintenance level while trying to stay in the lean state for the desired number of months?
[quote]Oreste wrote:
Hi coach,If do U have only a month in your life and you would have the most gains in the pecs,what kind of exercises and set/rep do U do?Oreste[/quote]
If I only have one month left in my life, it would not be spent trying to build my pecs.
Furthermore there is no right answer. It depends on the individual, his strength/weaknesses, muscle dominance, training experience, etc.
do you feel your precesion nutrition program (off season and precontest training for bodybuilders) is a good template for someone to follow who has 5+ years of training under there belt and is making the transition from a power / olympic lifting backround towards bodybuilding. also my arms are a weak point i was wondering if this program will help bring them up. thanks
If designing a small training facility and the basics(power rack, lifting platform, barbells, dumbbells, bumper plates, etc.) and “second-tier” items(cable-crossover or functional trainer, low row, lat pulldown, reverse hyper, GHR, etc.) are already covered, would a belt squat machine be worth the cost?
Besides the obvious convenience when performing squats thanks to the safety latch feature, do you think it is useful as well as versatile enough to warrant purchasing or would rigging a belt squat setup using the functional trainer or cable-crossover make more sense?
Are sleds, kettlebells, leaps and jumps, running up bleachers, and agility drills, even medicine ball throws ok to use in lactate inducing circuits like the ones you discuss in the “Destroying Fat” article, as long as I keep the sets within 50-70 secs?
Thib, I would like to do somewhat of a chest specialization, but only doing chest twice a week. What would be the best way to do this while using “your” chest specialization article as an outline.
I was thinking of keeping “upper” chest day, and taking a couple exercises from each of the “thickness” day and “width” day and combining them into one day?
thanks
Are sleds, kettlebells, leaps and jumps, running up bleachers, and agility drills, even medicine ball throws ok to use in lactate inducing circuits like the ones you discuss in the “Destroying Fat” article, as long as I keep the sets within 50-70 secs?[/quote]
Wait for the next installement of ‘‘Monday’s with Thib’’… you’ll get your answer!
What are some of the best choices for a pre-bed meal and how close to your “bedtime” is appropriate/not to close to be ingesting this final meal of the day?
I Ive been lifting since I was 16(now I am 18), and with the help of my boyfriend I’ve been able to improve my squat to 385ib, my deadlift to 295ib and my bench press to 195ib. These were my best lifts with no equipment (except the squat and deadlift, I used a belt).
Now I am switching to Olympic lifts, but I am not sure how to organize my workouts. Can you help me? This is what my workouts look like:
[quote]stronggirl wrote:
Is my workout fine for improving my olympic lifts while maintaining my powerlifting lifts, and while trying to also lose weight?
By the way, I am looking for a coach in my area, do you reccomend anyone?
I live in Bronx, New York. I really have a passion for lifting and I need more guidance. [/quote]
Congrats on your powerlifts, these are some mighty results and do indicate some great potential. As a matter of reference, when I trained alongside former olympia Maryse Turcotte (4th at the olympics in weightlifting) she was squatting 335 x 5 reps, so at 385lbs you are in the same range (provided that you did full squats).
Provided that your main focus in the olympic lifts, boosting your squat even more will be of little help since it is already up to par with most national level weightlifters. However your deadlift, albeit very goood, needs to be higher… at least as high as your squat and preferably more since it is the foundation of the olympic lifts.
Your workout plan sucks! There are no bodypart split in olympic lifting! You can’t threat it like regular training. Olympic lifting is a sport in itself. Practice of the lifts is like practicing basketball or golf (for example): you have to practice the lifts often to become efficient at them. All elite lifters train on the lifts at least 4-5 times a week, with the extreme (Bulgarians, Chinese and most East European countries) train the lifts 6 days a week, twice a day. Obviously not all of these workouts are heavy, some are ‘‘technical practices’’.
To get technically efficient at the olympic lifts you will have to practice them often and NOT go to the max. Technique breaks down at around 95% with elite lifters and 85% with less advanced ones. Going to your limit right now will just make it hard to learn the perfect technique and you will develop bad habits.
You will have to drop your powerlifter mentality with the olympic lifts. Progress is much slower on the olympic lifts because progress depends a lot on technique and speed, not only on strength: you can muscle up a powerlift… not an olympic lift.
When I work with an olympic lifting beginner (which you are… a strong beginner, but a beginner nonetheless) I consider any lift not done with proper technique to be a missed lift. In other words, even if the person gets the bar up, if the technique used was horrendous I consider the lift to be a miss.
Ask any olympic lifting coach… there is nothing more difficult than teaching effective form to an athlete who is already strong. This is because:
a) a strong athlete will tend to muscle up or use bad technique to get the relatively light weights used at first and thus will learn bad habits.
b) a strong athlete often has too much ego to accept not going heavy while learning perfect technique.
c) a strong athlete will want to go up in weight too soon, when his technique is not automatic enough.
You have too many goals at once… imrpoving your powerlifts, your olympic lifts and losing weight. Jack of all trades, master of none. Do not chase two (or three) rabbits at the same time.
Regarding the program, I obviously cannot give you a full one since this is my job and people pay me to do it. But here is a basic structure:
Thank you so much for writing back. I appreciate all of your help. Yes I did squat 385 all the way down. And I was trying very hard to improve my deadlift (I’ll improve that soon).