I was looking to start the OVT workout by CT soon, however i came across a couple of posts made by CT on another forum. I just wasn’t sure if its CT himself making them comments or someone posing as him.
What was written;
I’ll try to give an answer to everybody’s satisfaction (I’m the one in the article).
The program DID suck!!! I wrote this 6-7 years ago when I was just starting in the training/coaching business. And I honestly didn’t know that much at the time! I was a former olympic lifter who was just starting out training for aesthetics.
I recently wrote an article detailing what I would have done differently, since I have less than 10 posts I cannot post the link, but go to T-Nation and look for ‘‘Refined Physique Transformation’’ in the archive.
I was 100% clean when I did that transformation. I really did not gain any muscle, maybe 1-2lbs. It doesn’t look like it in the before picture, but I was actually quite muscular (albeit fat). I was just done competing as an olympic lifter and was fairly strong in all basic lifts (OL and PL). I won’t post numbers as not to attract the ‘BS callers’, suffice to say that my muscle mass was larger than what it seems on the picture.
The before picture is actually quite unflattering as it was taken in front of super bright lights (which washed out any definition I might have had). It wasn’t a ‘set up’ to make me look worse though. The picture was taken during a posture analysis that I performed as part of my M.Sc. biomechanics class. At the time I had no intention of doing a physique transformation… if anything the pic itself motivated me to start.
So basically all I really did was lose 30lbs of fat in 16 weeks (not 14, it was a miscalculation). It really was 16 weeks… I really was natural.
I dunno if it will help clear things out, but when I was 18 (4 years prior to the transformation) I used steroids for football. Long story short I had a majopr health problem that required emergency surgery. Had I waited 24 hours before going to the ER I would have died. These things make you think about using drugs you know! You can believe what you want anyway, anything I can say will not make you change your mind.
[quote]BantamRunner wrote:
Coaches change their training methodology over time. I’m sure CT would even disagree with his own HSS-100 series given his current methodology.
Alan[/quote]
Correct. OVT was written when I was just starting out coaching and training for appearance. Prior to that I trained mostly for football and olympic lifting. So I was mentally due for a change. And the fact that OVT was completely different from all the training I had done the previous 10 years, it obviously had a positive effect on my gains.
I have since then understood more about how we build muscle and actually came full circle because most of my beliefs about training tend to go the same way as the way I was training when I was playing football or competing in olympic lifting.
I also used to believe that a low-carbs diet was the only way to get lean, but I have learned that this isn’t true. Yes, coaches change their beliefs. Those who don’t are those who stop looking for better ways to progress.
“I dunno if it will help clear things out, but when I was 18 (4 years prior to the transformation)…”
So you were only 22 when you wrote OVT? That article was written in 2003, so if I’m doing the math right, you’re not quite 30 years old. You’ve already come full circle by age 30. This is a good thing. Dan John had similar experiences - he tried steroids briefly, tried various programs, realized that the best way to get strong and muscular is to keep things simple and focus on the basic stuff. Dan is now a lovable curmudgeon. I predict that 10 years from now, you will become Dan John. I’m already noticing a little crankiness coming through in your posts. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There’s a reason why some people get cranky as they age (I’m one of them). It’s not that we’re jealous of the young guys. It’s that we’re tired of seeing young guys do stupid shit and thinking they know what they’re doing.
I am definitely on my way to becoming a curmudgeon. At least this definition of one, anyway:
What is a Curmudgeon anyway?
A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor. . . . . . They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment. . . . . . Nature, having failed to equip them with a servicable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.
Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.
Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor.
[quote]moe273 wrote:
Any of ur programs you recommend for bulk?[/quote]
[sarcasm] [curmudgeon]
CT has this new I, Bodybuilder program out now. It involves explosive lifts and heavy, low-rep sets, so it’s pretty controversial in terms of a Bodybuilding program, so I don’t know if it’s any good or not.
[quote]moe273 wrote:
Any of ur programs you recommend for bulk?[/quote]
[sarcasm] [curmudgeon]
CT has this new I, Bodybuilder program out now. It involves explosive lifts and heavy, low-rep sets, so it’s pretty controversial in terms of a Bodybuilding program, so I don’t know if it’s any good or not.
I think the whole point behind IBB was not to just give out a program to do for a while and go back to making another for the mass to get their hands on. It was meant to introduce concepts, ways of doing things. But in order to do that it had to be “packaged” in a program.
How is it controversal? Explosive lifting, heavy weight, low reps are not something new to the bodybuilding world. Many great bodybuilders, if not most, lift fast with heavy weights.
[quote]moe273 wrote:
Any of ur programs you recommend for bulk?[/quote]
[sarcasm] [curmudgeon]
CT has this new I, Bodybuilder program out now. It involves explosive lifts and heavy, low-rep sets, so it’s pretty controversial in terms of a Bodybuilding program, so I don’t know if it’s any good or not.
I think the whole point behind IBB was not to just give out a program to do for a while and go back to making another for the mass to get their hands on. It was meant to introduce concepts, ways of doing things. But in order to do that it had to be “packaged” in a program.
How is it controversal? Explosive lifting, heavy weight, low reps are not something new to the bodybuilding world. Many great bodybuilders, if not most, lift fast with heavy weights.
[/quote]
Forbes, please note the “sarcasm” tags. I was in a sarcastic, curmudgeonly mood. I agree 100% with the IBB principles.
I have a saying about all internet coaches/‘gurus’:
Respect Everybody, Idolize Nobody…
No one can be right all the time, but everyone can be right some of the time. CT is preaching and following what he thinks is true at this moment. The same can be said for Poliquin, Abel, etc. Abel has had a lot of success coaching. CT has had a fair amount of success coaching. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Both and Neither.
What will CT, me, you, or anyone else think is the “right way” in 5, 10, 15 years down the road? Who knows.
Prevailing “wisdom” changes with the sands of time. The only truth is getting your ass in the gym and eating iron. I can see success in doing things many different ways as there are many different ways to achieve overload which while may seem at opposite ends of the spectrum may in actuality lead to the same thing. Overload doesn’t always have to lead directly to increases in muscle size or strength to be considered successful. What you did 6 months ago is just as important as what you do today. The pounds you gain in size and strength at the end of this month have had little to do with your training this month yet more to do with your training in the last 6 months.
At the end of the day: Be consistent. Be diligent. Continue to seek more. More knowlege. More strength. More weight. More intensity. More goals.
Most will fail no matter what program they use because they lack the mental maturity to be consistent, to be diligent, to be competitive within themselves. Some will succeed simply by stepping foot in the gym either due to genetic predisposition or working hard-smart.
[quote]BantamRunner wrote:
I have a saying about all internet coaches/‘gurus’:
Respect Everybody, Idolize Nobody…
No one can be right all the time, but everyone can be right some of the time. CT is preaching and following what he thinks is true at this moment. The same can be said for Poliquin, Abel, etc. Abel has had a lot of success coaching. CT has had a fair amount of success coaching. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Both and Neither.
What will CT, me, you, or anyone else think is the “right way” in 5, 10, 15 years down the road? Who knows.
Prevailing “wisdom” changes with the sands of time. The only truth is getting your ass in the gym and eating iron. I can see success in doing things many different ways as there are many different ways to achieve overload which while may seem at opposite ends of the spectrum may in actuality lead to the same thing. Overload doesn’t always have to lead directly to increases in muscle size or strength to be considered successful. What you did 6 months ago is just as important as what you do today. The pounds you gain in size and strength at the end of this month have had little to do with your training this month yet more to do with your training in the last 6 months.
At the end of the day: Be consistent. Be diligent. Continue to seek more. More knowlege. More strength. More weight. More intensity. More goals.
Most will fail no matter what program they use because they lack the mental maturity to be consistent, to be diligent, to be competitive within themselves. Some will succeed simply by stepping foot in the gym either due to genetic predisposition or working hard-smart.
Alan[/quote]
Very well stated . . . this is why I, BODYBUILDER and the ANACONDA Protocol is not just for anybody. It is for those willing to put in the effort “to go that extra mile” (Thibaudeau, 2009) physically, mentally, psychologically, you name it . . .