CT'S Semi-Guest Forum

[quote]kpd315 wrote:
Hey CT

You are great…I am amino loading 12 grams in between meals and I lost 60 pounds of fat with this diet . but Im stuck I cant loss the last 20 pounds to get to about 8 % body fat…so what would would you say I should do…[/quote]

My former intern is in the same boat as you are … he went from 235lbs down to 185lbs, but he’s been stuck now. The thing is that when you diet for so long, you kill your metabolism so at some point it becomes absolutely impossible to loose more fat regardless of how much calories you cut or nutritional strategy you use. You must wake up your metabolism if you which to continue loosing fat.

This may require a 1 step back two steps forward approach, in which you might gain a few pounds of fat to allow you to loose the 20 more you have. I suggest that you increase your caloric intake for two weeks. increase low glycemic carbs, consuming around 250-300g+ per day, Make those clean carbs (veggies, oatmeal, bio integral bread, brown rice, potatoes, fruits, etc.). Dropping calories and carbohydrates for too long will shut down T4 to T3 conversion which halt your fat loss.

After those two weeks, during which you may very well be able to gain 2-3lbs of lean muscle mass, gradually reduce your calories and carbs and you’ll start loosing fat again.

Red Bands can also drastically accelerate the process by restoring thyroid function which will wake up your metabolism. I used it myself recently as my fat loss came to a screeching halt, and over the last 2 weeks I actually lost around 5lbs of fat. Works great!

[quote]teekz wrote:
Thanks for the reply CT makes sense. I have another question pertaining to diet and supplementation. I know that during your first body transformation you used some thermogenic supplements. What I am interested in knowing is when one calculates their caloric requirements for a " fat loss" diet how many calories should one expect to burn using a typical fat burner and secondly what effect will that play on what the caloric intake should be?[/quote]

Most thermogenic fat burners increase metabolic rate by 3% or so … so if your daily expenditure is 2500kcals the thermogenic agent should help you use an additional 75kcals per day (woohoo!). As you can see, that really isn’t much … it’s like walking an additional 20 minutes per day! That’s one of the reason why I don’t use thermogenics anymore, not worth the pain.

I found that the biggest benefit of thermogenic agents during a diet is an increase in energy level which may allow you to keep on training harder even on a restricted caloric intake. However for my money I feel that 200mg of caffein with a serving of Power Drive twice per day is MUCH more effective.

[quote]kpd315 wrote:
ok CT

Here is a Question for you …I love to read about Nutrition and lifting…so here is a brain teaser for you …Im not really into the books…like tech type lifting books…i love your style of books …the tech mixed with layman’s and templates to do so…so can you give me your top ten…list[/quote]

Besides my own books (which, oddly, I use for reference myself!) I like the following:

In no particular order…

Supertraining by Mel Siff
Science and Practice of Strength Training by Zatsiorsky
Fats that heal, fats that kill by Erasmus
Manuel d’entrainement by Weineck
Science of Sports Training by Kurz
Periodization training for sports by Bompa
Managing the training of weightlifters by Laputin and Oleshko
The training of the weightlifter by Roman
The encyclopedia of bodybuilding by Ahnold (!!!)

OK CT …for a cutting cycle…what supplements do u think are right…and mass cycle what would you say…and for a strength cycle what would you recommend…thanks …CT

Hows it going.I have your book and I am a long time follower of the T-Nation site.
I have done a fair bit of power snatchs 165 lb 1rm and power cleans 215lbs 1rm from the floor but just recently I have incorporated these two lifts from the blocks above knees. My new 1rm for the snatch is 145lbs( blocks above knees) and for the clean it is 195 (blocks above knees) .
1.My question is will doing these lifts from the blocks above knees transfer to the lifts from the floor ? I had planned on doing
4 weeks above knees
Test
4 weeks above knees

4 weeks below knees
test
4 weeks below knees
then the same thing from the floor

gradually working the lifts towards the floor but I think I will skip the (blocks below knees) step.
2. Is skipping this step a good idea?
My goal is to be able to power clean 225 from the floor and power snatch 185. thanks

CT:

Questions on Squats (“Getting Into and Out of The Hole”)

  1. I guess the first question would be…do you advocate “butt-to-calve” squatting for the NON- Powerlifter or the “everyday” client seeking physique enhancement?

  2. What do you recommend as exerises for increasing ankle flexibility, therby eliminating the need for plates under the heel?

  3. Besides decreasing the weight and leaving the 'ole ego at the door, how do you work clients up to “butt-to-calve” squatting?

Thanks, CT!

Mufasa

One other thing, CT:

Sumo (wide stance), conventional, or alternate BOTH? (Again…this is for the “average” client seeking physique enhancement).

Thanks!

Mufasa

Hey Christian,
Do you have an E.T.A. for your Athletic Pedulum article? I hate to be a pest but I really feel that you have hit on something great. I have started my own but would like to compare it to what you have. Yours taking precident obviously. I feel like the pedulum training will give you alot of the benefits of Westside but you’ll never be far from peaking. A great benefit due to the fact that I have many, sporadic highland games through out the season.
Thanks -again- TP190

What types of set and reps schemes would you recommend for someone who has a bilateral imbalance where entire right side (from the traps to the soleus) of their body is stronger yet less hypertrophied than the right. I have had a professional rule out postural problems as the cause. I’m pretty certain it is result of years of wrestling. Anyway, I know this type of imbalance is an injury waiting to happen, so any type of advice you could offer would be appreciated.

Rob

Also, if you need more information, I’d be happy to provide it. Thanks for generously donating your time to this forum.

Rob

Alright CT that thermogenic question impressed me, since I havent been able to get an answer to that from anyone.my last question for now okay.it has to do with the safety of a ketogenic diet, i was planning to do a month long keto diet to try to get my bf levels down one of the doctors i spoke to brought up a point about keto diets promoting diabetes through decreasing your bodys ability to process sugars. Do you still deem a ketogenic diet the best route for fat loss and could a bodyopus style diet with a cycling of higher carb days counteract the possible negative effects of a keto diet.

Mufasa,

Here’s how I worked to develop ankle flexibility to get rid of the plates under the heels. Before each squat workout I would do a few reps of one leg toe raises on a step (you’ll need something higher than a weight plate for this). Then I would hold the top position for a few seconds, then slowly lower down until I felt a good stretch in my calf. Hold this for a few seconds. After doing the other leg, I would repeat this one more time. Then go squat. I forgot what this method of stretching is called, by the muscle contraction followed by a stretch increases flexibility. I didn’t do anything specific for hip flexibility. Once your ankle flexibility allows you to squat parallel and below, hip flexibility will follow. The weight of the bar will help “push you down” and build flexibility. I eventually developed enough hip and ankle flexibility to overhead squat past parallel - another good exercise that’ll get you flexible.

BTW - I consider myself to be the most inflexible person on the planet. I can’t even touch my toes without bending my knees. But I can overhead squat. Go figure.

CT,
In your latest book you have a section on a different form of stretching, quasi-isometric i think its called. Is there another way to stretch out the glutes/hams besides the lunge position on two raised blocks? Just wondering if there were any other variations since you only listed a couple. Speaking of the lunge on blocks…how high should the blocks be?

When selecting weekly volume (taken from your BBTS), if someone wants to train a muscle group 2x/wk with 100 reps/muscle group would this indicate 50 reps each day for quads and hams? How would this be broken down for a quad dom day and a hip dom day since all of those muscles are getting worked during compound lifts. One of the splits you recomend is 2 upper body days and two lower body days, on the upper body days would the volume just be divided amoung the movements (horizontal pushing, vertical pulling, ect.) or would it still focus on each muscle group? Sorry for the confusing question, that section of the book is great, but i think i might be missing some of the more specific details of your method.

Hey CT,

Great to have access to your knowledge.

I am planning on implementing your current program design for a strength phase (day 1 = concentric emphasis, day 3 = Eccentric emphasis, day 5 = isometric emphasis).

I was curious what kind of results this training structure has yielded for you and your athletes? I would love to hear your thoughts on how effective these methods have proven to be for you.

Have you found that seperating the Rate dominant and Duration dominant lifting methods resulted in greater gains in muscle mass and strength levels for non-athletes as well? I guess I am just wondering if these methods yield better results for individuals whose primary goals are body composition and strength improvement?

I am also curious how to incorporate band and chain training into this format?

Thanks for your help CT!

Kyle Battis
Concord, NH

CT-

Can you describe how you incorporate sled dragging into your training programs?

ie., when you use sled dragging, why you use it, etc…

Thanks!

CT

In power cleans/snatches, how deep do you recommend the dip. My coach thinks that practicing a small dip builds poor mechanics for actual o lifts.

what do you think, miminal dip, focus on a sharp snap, or keep practicing what counts, full cleans/snatches

also, any tips for overhead squats?, as i’m struggling with them a bit

thanks

I think i remember you saying that you used to be a golfer but had to quit because you got too big. Is that true and what stats were you at when you had to?

CT, I’m currently trying to figure out how to get my arms to grow in size. I’ve tried differnet methods EDT worked somewhat but wasn’t geting the results I expected my diet is so so which I think is part of the problem cause it appears that if I dont eat big the arms wont get nice and big how I want them. One thing I had in mind that I thought was holding me back and I think it was was me running every day on top of my lifting. What I learned from this is that when I use my arms whe nI run my biceps get a pump so I stopped doing any bicep work and just let bicep work coem from my back excercises. My question to you is do you have any ideas on a way I can throw some xtra mass on my tri’s?

Mr. Thibaudeau, I sit in front of a computer most of the day. I do 12 hour shifts 6 days a week and it’s a pain to go to the gym after work because by the time I’m done and get home do my regular things, I have to wake up in less than 7 hours. I sit for 9-10 hrs at work. I began using John Berardi’s Growth Surge Project 1,2&3. I’m on part 1 right now and it’s going good. But, would this be enough exercise to make up for the time I am seated? Or do I need to dedicate more time in the gym. I am also using his Massive Eating Part I&II. Thanks bro.

Chris,
I’m an age-group runner (53) who wants to run in a nat’l senior track event. I read on another site where a former world-class 400M runner used the squat as a training exercise, squatting fast reps times the secomds of the event. In his case, 45 squats in 45 seconds. Uh, I’ll be doing, I guess more squats than that. IF you approve of that protocol. Also, is there anything else you’d advise for the 400M? Thanks.