Hi,i’m curious, if it is not private info , where do you train ? and where do you coach?
I’m a french, and i was thinking that the clients of the gym you work in are so lucky to have a all-star coach near to them.
And you are lucky, because if you were in my gym, i ask you questions on training EVERY DAY 
ps: sorry for my Borat english
I do train some clients at a commercial gym in Quebec and also at two crossfit gyms (there I coach mostly olympic weightlifting)
An you do your personal training in the commercial gym and the crossfit box ?
[quote]SgtBalboa wrote:
An you do your personal training in the commercial gym and the crossfit box ? [/quote]
I actually train in my garage most of the time.
I train clients in the morning at the commercial gym and Crossfit athletes in the afternoon (2 days/week at each crossfit gym)
This is my garage. I do most of my own training there. To me training is my meditation and I prefer to train alone with no distractions.
I have…
So I can do most of what I want. I sometimes do accessory work at one of the 3 gyms I coach.
I plan on adding a glute-ham raise bench and a power rack in the near future. That’s my priority. And eventually dumbbells (not a priority as I rarely use DBs for big/main lifts).
Is that squat rack the one made by York Barbell? I almost bought that this year but stuck with a basic power rack instead.
[quote]mstorm wrote:
Is that squat rack the one made by York Barbell? I almost bought that this year but stuck with a basic power rack instead. [/quote]
I’m not sure to be honest. I bought that many many many years ago. It does the work for what I need, but I still prefer a full power rack.
Are those 3/4" horse mats for your rubber part of your platform? That’s an awesome setup and something I am working toward. I want my gym part of my bedroom, one huge room. Your Olympic lifting shoes are sweet! I never thought of using tires as lifting blocks, but that is genius!
[quote]sput79 wrote:
Are those 3/4" horse mats for your rubber part of your platform? That’s an awesome setup and something I am working toward. I want my gym part of my bedroom, one huge room. Your Olympic lifting shoes are sweet! I never thought of using tires as lifting blocks, but that is genius! [/quote]
Yes, 3/4 rubber mats, pretty cheap and does the job.
Those aren’t my “olympic lifting shoes” they are Crossfit lifter 2.0 which has the same heel as an olympic lifting shoe but with a more supple body. I use my old powerfirm shoes with a wooden heel for my olympic lifts and will likely buy Nike Romaleos soon.
I normally use tires (they are not “empty” there is the metal thingy that you attach to the car… I know nothing about cars!) I put a piece of the same rubber mat (about 16" wide and 24" long) on top of the tire… I use one tire per side to do lifts from below the knees and two per side to do lifts from above the knees… works out perfect for me.
Nice setup in your garage gym, you have an addiction to buy barbell lol
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
This is my garage. I do most of my own training there. To me training is my meditation and I prefer to train alone with no distractions.[/quote]
i think the same, i like to train alone, it’s my moment, my secret garden and the time that i can think. I can go to my private gym and not train, i’m happy and peaceful in this athmosphere. Now, i have no choice to train in commercial gym, and i don’t have the same motivation.
Another question coach, what are the best hybrid gym for you in the Quebec (Montreal, 3 rivieres, Quebec)?
For me a hybride gym , its a place where whe can sprint with the prowler on turf, some weightlifting platform, some leg press, a crossfit cage, strongman stuff, etc)
[quote]SgtBalboa wrote:
Nice setup in your garage gym, you have an addiction to buy barbell lol
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
This is my garage. I do most of my own training there. To me training is my meditation and I prefer to train alone with no distractions.[/quote]
i think the same, i like to train alone, it’s my moment, my secret garden and the time that i can think. I can go to my private gym and not train, i’m happy and peaceful in this athmosphere. Now, i have no choice to train in commercial gym, and i don’t have the same motivation.
Another question coach, what are the best hybrid gym for you in the Quebec (Montreal, 3 rivieres, Quebec)?
For me a hybride gym , its a place where whe can sprint with the prowler on turf, some weightlifting platform, some leg press, a crossfit cage, strongman stuff, etc)[/quote]
While I am from Trois-Rivieres, I haven’t been there in a while and do not know the gym situation. I trained in the basemement eof l’eglise St-Sacrement when I was there, all the strongmen and powerlifters trained there (probably still do) and my friend Pat Lemieux trains people there (his father too, who is a former canadian record holder in the clean & jerk).
In Quebec city there are a lot of hybrid gyms popping up everywhere, so it’s hard to know all of them. Of those that I know of, there is the Tonic Crossfit which is one of the places I coach at. It’s a crossfit gym but there is room to do regular strength training, there are sleds a a lot of cool equipment. No machines though. And a lot of strong people. There is also the Hardgymperformance/Le Chalet (you read that right) where I used to work at and I have quite a few friends still coaching there. There is both a performance room and a regular gym. The Mega-Gym is mostly a hardcore bodybuilding gym, but my friend Florian Bianchi opened a performance room, but I think it’s only opened to his clients. In Levis the Maxi-Forme fitness (where I work too) is a commercial gym with a small performance room.
I do not know the gym situation in Montreal well enough to make any recommendations. My friend Steve Dube has a powerlifting/strongman gym (Napalm powerlifting club) which is pretty good.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
This is my garage. I do most of my own training there. To me training is my meditation and I prefer to train alone with no distractions.
I have…
So I can do most of what I want. I sometimes do accessory work at one of the 3 gyms I coach.[/quote]
Are those your crossfit lifter 2.0s? If they are, do you like them? I have been thinking about getting a pair, but have read mixed reviews. They seem a little more “walk around” friendly, just from trying on a pair.
Thanks for your time.
Just out of curiosity, what do you get from a power rack that you don’t get from that squat rack (I ask as I was looking to choose between a very similar squat rack or a power rack) ? Can see lower starting position and somewhere to attach bands…
[quote]tsantos wrote:
Just out of curiosity, what do you get from a power rack that you don’t get from that squat rack (I ask as I was looking to choose between a very similar squat rack or a power rack) ? Can see lower starting position and somewhere to attach bands…[/quote]
Place to attach bands
Being able to do lifts from pins
The downside is that it takes up a lot of room and I also want to add a glute-ham raise
[quote]StateOfPsychosis wrote:
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
This is my garage. I do most of my own training there. To me training is my meditation and I prefer to train alone with no distractions.
I have…
So I can do most of what I want. I sometimes do accessory work at one of the 3 gyms I coach.[/quote]
Are those your crossfit lifter 2.0s? If they are, do you like them? I have been thinking about getting a pair, but have read mixed reviews. They seem a little more “walk around” friendly, just from trying on a pair.
Thanks for your time.[/quote]
Yes they are. They are not a real weightlifting shoe. They do have the elevate solid heel like a regular weightlifting (olympic) shoe but they lack the stability. Still works, It doesn’t cause any problem for me when doing squats, deads, push presses and power snatches/cleans… also work for my snatches and cleans but I will still get real weightlifting shoes as I’m doing a lot of work on these last lifts and my powerfirm weightlifting shoes are getting old.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Yes they are. They are not a real weightlifting shoe. They do have the elevate solid heel like a regular weightlifting (olympic) shoe but they lack the stability. Still works, It doesn’t cause any problem for me when doing squats, deads, push presses and power snatches/cleans… also work for my snatches and cleans but I will still get real weightlifting shoes as I’m doing a lot of work on these last lifts and my powerfirm weightlifting shoes are getting old.[/quote]
Sorry to jump on the thread with a question - Do I read that correctly in that you are wearing the platformed shoes for the deadlift and press? I wear some Do-Win shoes for my squats and it feels good, but I normally wear minimalist shoes for deadlifting (vibram 5 fingers).
I have never tried using my Do-Wins for deadlifts, but should I?
[quote]daniel4738 wrote:
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Yes they are. They are not a real weightlifting shoe. They do have the elevate solid heel like a regular weightlifting (olympic) shoe but they lack the stability. Still works, It doesn’t cause any problem for me when doing squats, deads, push presses and power snatches/cleans… also work for my snatches and cleans but I will still get real weightlifting shoes as I’m doing a lot of work on these last lifts and my powerfirm weightlifting shoes are getting old.[/quote]
Sorry to jump on the thread with a question - Do I read that correctly in that you are wearing the platformed shoes for the deadlift and press? I wear some Do-Win shoes for my squats and it feels good, but I normally wear minimalist shoes for deadlifting (vibram 5 fingers).
I have never tried using my Do-Wins for deadlifts, but should I?
[/quote]
I’m doing deadlifts with the same pulling technique as when I clean, with the objective of strengthening my 1st pull in the clean… I’m not doing it to be strong at deadlifts and I’m not using the deadlift form a powerlifter would use. I try to mimick exactly what I do when starting a clean, and that includes having the same shoes.
CT, With regards to weightlifting shoes, I’m considering purchasing a pair of the Adidas Powerlift 2.0, but I’m just evaluating the general criteria for these types of shoes and could use some guidelines of what are most important. You’ve recommended the Powerlifts previously, but I’m wondering if you have a criteria in mind when you evaluate a lifting shoe.
On another note, how heavy are your KBs? Do you use KBs for swings only, generally, or do you perform snatches, cleans, etc as support for your OLY training or for conditioning purposes?
[quote]itisfinished wrote:
CT, With regards to weightlifting shoes, I’m considering purchasing a pair of the Adidas Powerlift 2.0, but I’m just evaluating the general criteria for these types of shoes and could use some guidelines of what are most important. You’ve recommended the Powerlifts previously, but I’m wondering if you have a criteria in mind when you evaluate a lifting shoe.
On another note, how heavy are your KBs? Do you use KBs for swings only, generally, or do you perform snatches, cleans, etc as support for your OLY training or for conditioning purposes? [/quote]
I bought the Powerlift 2.0 they felt fine at first but I gave them away. Didn’t like them after a more thorough analysis. Low quality shoe, especially for a company like Adidas.
If you are looking for a pure weightlifting shoe go with Nike Romaleos, Addidas Addipower/Adistar or Do-Wins.
If you are looking for a hybrid shoe (elevated solid heel but more flexibility in the front of the shoe) go with Crossfit lifter 2.0… the 2.0+ aren’t really better, the biggest difference is a second strap that doesn’t add much.