[quote]lavi wrote:
Thanks for sharing your protocol! Very cool stuff.
This may be a stupid question, but is that everything you do? Do you do any mobility or prehab stuff, “gpp”, etc?
Also, what is the reasoning behind heavier supplementation with the first workout than the other 2 (for example, you don’t take alpha gpc with the other 2 workouts)?
How many days a week do you train?
How long do you intend to stick with your current workout protocol?[/quote]
I have never done and will never do pre-hab stuff. It just puts me asleep. Seriously it seems to kick me out of the zone so I don’t do it. I trained for olympic lifting, which some elite coaches and international level athletes and we never did any prehab stuff.
I might do GPP work come springtime, I do have big tires, sledgehammers, farmer’s walk implements and sandbags. But I’m not doing any… I can hardly justify spending more time away from my duties as a husband as it is.
I train 3 days on, 1 day off.
I’ll stick to this approach for at least 6 weeks, maybe up to 12 months! Seriously, I never know what my body will demand. I might be going in a completely different direction in 6 weeks. Always based on low reps, high-force lifting, but using different techniques and schemes.
I was wondering what a Thibaudeau warm up is like (any dynamic stretching, or mobility work)or do you immediately begin at 60% of your rep max and begin ramping?
Have you ever had any injuries? I wondered this question because a seated over press as heavy as you can as well as a full squat over 600ilbs do could be tough on the old joints and you said you do not do accessary prehab exercises?
Lastly I have been doing the mechanical drop set dvd and I have altered it a bit. I have ramped the first heavy exercise as well as ramped the mechanical drop set. For example I begin at 70% do 8 reps move on to the next exercise and do as many as possible. How should one go about doing a mechanical drop set to maximize muscle growth or should one no longer do muscle growth approach based on exhausting the muscle fiber and instead focusing attacking those high threshold motor units. By the way ramping is just so basic yet so much more fun.
8x3 and 5x5 - so these are straight sets ?
In this case they’re effective because max force set have been established for the day with ramping, so you don’t go blind by taking percentage-based number ?
[quote]Thy. wrote:
8x3 and 5x5 - so these are straight sets ?
In this case they’re effective because max force set have been established for the day with ramping, so you don’t go blind by taking percentage-based number ?[/quote]
The 8 x 3 are done in wave fashion, up and down, up and down, while staying in the 80-88% range
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
GoDawgs wrote:
Have you been using the new liquid form of Alpha-GPC? Are there any noticeable differences from the capsules?
Yes I have. It starts working faster which makes it easier to properly time the intake.[/quote]
Thats good to here because mine should be here today.
So how soon before your workout do you take the liquid form, still 90 minutes?
I have not done too much with push/pull split, I just always felt better doing bp splits. Seems as if doing push/pull might make it harder to put up big numbers on all those lifts for the day, especially for those of us who cant train more than once a day.
Whats benefits do you find with push/pull over a bodypart split? I understand you tend to focus on strength and low reps as do I, but it seems that weight progression might stall with such frequent and heavy training sessions, not to mention the CNS fatigue even with the supplements.
Pardon me if this sounds idiotic, I am currently doing splits and training each major muscle group once a week. Each workout consist of 2 excerises for the same muscle group. My rep range is also similiar to yours, only that after ramping up to the desired weight for the first excerise only. I continue to do use the same weight for 8 x 3 followed by another excerise for 5x5, this time without ramping.
For example, for a chest routine which looks like this:
BB bench press
Ramp up to weight that I can still accelerate but with some effort
8 x 3 at that weight
followed by
weighted dips
5x5 no ramping
Would this actually be far too much volume for a single workout or too low a volume for the entire week?
I have actually been meaning to ask you how your training has been structured for the 3 a day workouts that you have previously mentioned. After next week I will be fortunate enough to have enough time to do something similar. A couple quick questions though:
1- Why no deadlifts?
2- How are your joints holding up?
3- If one were to follow something similar but wished to add some ‘beach/mirror’ work which workout or part of the day would you put it in? Last workout of the day? ( for example direct arm work, shoulders, calves and core; using supersets, strip sets and circuits)
4- Did you have to increase your calories per day to fuel the workouts or not?
5- With regards to fluid intake do you have a specified goal you aim for each day? Litres per kilo of body weight or anything like that? Or just constantly sip on annaconda?
Each workout lasts around 30 minutes and consists of doing 8 sets of 3 reps with the maximum weight I can accelerate (around 85%) then drop down by 20-40lbs (depending on the lift) and perform 5 sets of 5 reps.
Ct , can you give more of an explanation about acceleration with a maximum weight? I’m assuming this the same as max force weight? Thanks
Each workout lasts around 30 minutes and consists of doing 8 sets of 3 reps with the maximum weight I can accelerate (around 85%) then drop down by 20-40lbs (depending on the lift) and perform 5 sets of 5 reps.
Ct , can you give more of an explanation about acceleration with a maximum weight? I’m assuming this the same as max force weight? Thanks [/quote]
It’s the maximum amount of weight you can accelerate for all 3 reps… I do not mean max acceleration, but a weight you can still dominate. Basically pick a weight you can master for 3 reps.
[quote]Dwigs wrote:
I have actually been meaning to ask you how your training has been structured for the 3 a day workouts that you have previously mentioned. After next week I will be fortunate enough to have enough time to do something similar. A couple quick questions though:
1- Why no deadlifts?
2- How are your joints holding up?
3- If one were to follow something similar but wished to add some ‘beach/mirror’ work which workout or part of the day would you put it in? Last workout of the day? ( for example direct arm work, shoulders, calves and core; using supersets, strip sets and circuits)
4- Did you have to increase your calories per day to fuel the workouts or not?
5- With regards to fluid intake do you have a specified goal you aim for each day? Litres per kilo of body weight or anything like that? Or just constantly sip on annaconda?[/quote]
I’m already doing back squats and front squats as well as barbell rowing (I sometimes add power shrugs) I feel that my lower back is stimulated enough. That having been said, I will probably work in the deadlift in, in 6 weeks when I change some of my exercises.
Fine, none of the weights are maximal so the burden on the tendons isn’t that great. Not to mention that I’m using Curcumin and Flameout which seems to help. The protocol itself helps too because everytime I start using it, any lingering shoulder pain goes away. I do have a slight tenderness in my left elbow, but nothing severe enough to disturb my workouts.
I do train biceps, triceps and delts with isolation exercises either at the end of a regular workout, or as another session where I train with one of two bodybuilders I’m training. Once a week I normally add curls (preachers or standing) at the end of the last pulling workout and triceps (lying triceps extension) at the end of the last pushing workout. I have never trained calves in my life and I’m not about to start. As for abs, mine are already overdeveloped as it is (from years of olympic lifting) and rarely work them anymore. But you could add abs work at the end of the last lower body workout.
Not really, the peri-workout protocol takes care of that. I get anywhere from 50 to 100g of carbs, 60-100g of protein or amino acids and 8-16g of fat per peri-workout so the energy need is filled up by the peri-workout protocol. In a sense my calories ARE increased, but not at regular meals.
I drink as much as I can handle, which is a lot as I’m a drinking machine. I get 3 liters per workout and at least another 3 during the day.
[quote]traaviz wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
GoDawgs wrote:
Have you been using the new liquid form of Alpha-GPC? Are there any noticeable differences from the capsules?
Yes I have. It starts working faster which makes it easier to properly time the intake.
Thats good to here because mine should be here today.
So how soon before your workout do you take the liquid form, still 90 minutes?
I have not done too much with push/pull split, I just always felt better doing bp splits. Seems as if doing push/pull might make it harder to put up big numbers on all those lifts for the day, especially for those of us who cant train more than once a day.
Whats benefits do you find with push/pull over a bodypart split? I understand you tend to focus on strength and low reps as do I, but it seems that weight progression might stall with such frequent and heavy training sessions, not to mention the CNS fatigue even with the supplements.
[/quote]
Anywhere from 60 to 30 minutes prior to the workout should work.
I agree with the push-pull thing making it harder to lift big weight IF you are doing all the lifts in one session. My 3 main lifts are done during different workouts with at least 3 hours in between. I find that this type of training actually helps me lift more weight as my second session is always better than the first one (more neural activation) and my third one is ofter better than the second one.
Each workout lasts around 30 minutes and consists of doing 8 sets of 3 reps with the maximum weight I can accelerate (around 85%) then drop down by 20-40lbs (depending on the lift) and perform 5 sets of 5 reps.
Ct , can you give more of an explanation about acceleration with a maximum weight? I’m assuming this the same as max force weight? Thanks
It’s the maximum amount of weight you can accelerate for all 3 reps… I do not mean max acceleration, but a weight you can still dominate. Basically pick a weight you can master for 3 reps.[/quote]
So if you are struggling with the second or third rep then that would be too heavy? It sounds like stopping one rep short of failure might be a goal?? Thanks
Upright Rows: Do you perform them in typical fashion? Do you recommend them for the average lifter? Many coaches on this site advise against them, so I was just wondering what is your current take on them? Thanks.
[quote]mabbott29 wrote:
Are you performing the sets of 5 as straight sets? Just curious as you’ve really been advocating ramping weights.
Thanks.[/quote]
Ramping doesn’t actually refers to ramping up the weight, rather to ramping up the nervous system and one way of doing that is ramping up the weight from set to set. But once the CNS is fully activated you can switch to straight sets.
In essence I use the 8 x 3 to ramp up the nervous system then switch to sets of 5 with a weight determined by the results of my sets of 3 and can perform straight sets as the CNS is already in full gear.
[quote]BulletproofTiger wrote:
Upright Rows: Do you perform them in typical fashion? Do you recommend them for the average lifter? Many coaches on this site advise against them, so I was just wondering what is your current take on them? Thanks.[/quote]
I use a shoulder width grip, pull 6’’ away from my body and only up to low chest height. BTW, I’m not one to change my methods because so and so say that it’s not good. I’m smart enough and have enough experience in the trenches to find out stuff by myself. That being said I still read everything there is to read about training, but always make up my own mind.