Frequently Asked Questions to CT

[quote]synergy93 wrote:
What would you consider to be a “low protein intake” day? Pertaining to someone who weighs 235 lbs. , around 8% body fat, and has habitually consumed 300-400 grams per day, every day, and has done so for the better part of the last 3 years.

Also, a drug-free natural body builder.

Do you recommend a certain percentage of their total caloric intake for the day??

I would also assume, pulsing with CH and leucine (until Anaconda or another Biotest CH product becomes available) on this day would be optimal??? [/quote]

By low I mean the lowest amount one can take without negatively affecting the body’s functions. This is around 70-80g.

The best strategy would probably be pulsing with 12g of CHY 7 times a day. Although I have also used the strategy of eating all the protein in 1 or 2 meals, preferably in the evening.

Thanks CT. I sincerely appreciate your time.

I’ve been implementing the new para-workout protocol (various amounts of each ingredient depending on the day) for about a month now, and I can say with all honesty that I’ve NEVER experienced such a rapid increase in strength, work capacity, muscle density, and lean mass in such a short amount of time. I’m a former NFL defensive linemen and know my body very well. This protocol is without a doubt, the most effective performance increasing strategy I’ve come across in my many years of training.

I’ve used a lot of different supplements and stacks of supplements over the years, and this one blows them all away.

For any doubters out there, from my experience at the highest level of athletics, this protocol, when used properly is the real deal!

I’m curious CT, what originally turned you (and others at Biotest) in the direction of this protocol?

It makes complete sense looking back on it, but was it more of an “accident” than anything or did you originally set out to design it this way?

Thanks again.

Glycine would be of some help. PPS can reduce cortisol production by up to 30% in perfect settings, so in real life it’s more likely to be around 15%. Relaxation, although indirect, can have much more profound effects.

You really can’t… ketogenic diets are very effective for fat loss, sadly they do not leave room for optimal growth stimulation protocols.

Upon wakng up: PULSE
30 minutes later: Breakfast

40 minutes before workout: 1 FINIBAR
30 minutes before workout: 2 scoops Workout Fuel
15 minutes before workout: 1 scoop RECOVERY
During workout: casein hydrolysate, 2 scoops
60 minutes after workout SURGE RECOVERY 1 scoop, CH 1 scoop

60 minutes after solid meal

40 minutes before workout: 1 FINIBAR
30 minutes before workout: 2 scoops Workout Fuel
15 minutes before workout: 1 scoop RECOVERY
During workout: casein hydrolysate, 2 scoops
60 minutes after workout, CH 1 scoop

60 minutes after solid meal

It would be 30-45 minutes before the workout.

Since people are always asking “how did you come up with this protocol”, here’s CTs summary on the genesis of the I Bodybuilder peri-nutrition from the I Bodybuilder discussion thread.

On page 10, CT writes:

[quote]Here are some points that I want to mention again, just in case someone is not crazy enough to read the whole thread!

  1. This didn’t start out as a big project. I was simply Tim Patterson and I discussing about what stimulates muscles to grow and how we could build a program that would lead to an optimal response.

  2. From there, as two meatheads and training nerds, we started experimenting with the theory we came up with.

  3. From those discussion we came up with something like 6 different versions of the approach. Every time we tried something new; it worked well but always had some drawbacks.

  4. Despite the drawbacks, we started to see some pretty interesting results, and it was after discussing with Dr. Lowery and Dr. Z that we decided to tag on a supplement protocol to optimize the response to the program.

  5. It was at that point that the results started to become REALLY interesting, almost weird. So Tim asked me to test this on myself and some subjects to see what could be accomplished.

  6. I actually didn’t expect or actually want to add too much muscle. By experience I knew that every time I went above 220 I started to feel bad, and I never knew exactly why.

  7. This year I understood why. I was hospitalized for heart failure. The cause of it turned out to be a cardiac malformation. To be precise, one of my heart’s chambers never fully formed and the septum of the heart contracts in the opposite direction as it is supposed to. This is a defect from birth, but they were not able to see it at that time (no proper equipment).

  8. This is also the main reason why I didn’t take steroids or other drugs: Would you take them if you have a cardiac malformation? Me neither!

  9. When I went on the full protocol, training and starting to eat for growth (protein pulses) my weight shot up fast. I “concluded” the protocol at 242 after 8 weeks and 239 after 6. BUT I started to feel REALLY bad. Sleep apnea, narcolepsy, being out of breath all the time, arythmia. My body is simply not able to work optimally at that weight, even if my body fat is low.

  10. So after I stopped the experiment I actually tried to lower my weight on purpose. I actually started to eat only once a day, plus kept using a lower intake para-workout protocol. I was able to bring my bodyweight to a more comfortable 222, and I’m feeling much better.

So the whole point here is that we never actually intended this to be this “super program and protocol.” And even when it started to take that shape I didn’t expect (or desire) to gain that much size. When we stumbled upon the results, and their reproducibility, we decided to go even deeper and re-modified the program and turned it into what is starting to happen right now. [/quote]

Has he mentioned the best time to take creatine

[quote]daffyduck wrote:
Has he mentioned the best time to take creatine[/quote]

I can’t recall the post but I do remember him saying 30 minutes prior being the best time to take creatine.

and also 30 minutes after… at night on an off day with some green tea will do just fine.

where and when did he mention this.

Regarding timing of a pulse:

Dynamo Hum wrote: [quote]The pulse is quite flexible. The only essentials for it to be effective are:

  1. Plasma amino level must be decently depleted so as to be primed for a spike. That means 2 hours after a quick digested meal (like egg whites or pork tenderloin or tilapia, etc.) and 3 hours after a slower digested meal like beef, fattier cuts, salmon, etc (these meals are preferred in evening after you are done with pulsing for the day).

  2. Once the amino pulse has done its job, you are free to have a meal after 1/2 hour since the quick absorbed protein and aminos have been assimilated. If you prefer to wait longer than 1/2 hour; that is fine too.[/quote]

CT wrote: [quote]…After discussing it further with Tim Patterson and his team of scientists, it would seem that you can consume solid food closer to a pulse than I expected. The pulse is used to activate the anabolic/protein synthesis process, then you can eat.

The pulse does the job within 10-15 min. if you use the proper protein (casein hydrolysate). So you can actually have your meal 15 min. after your pulse shake.[/quote]

from page 7 the pulsing thread “Questions About Protein/Amino Pulsing”

**formatting edited for clarity

TRAINING:

Ramping:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote: You stop the exercise when you can’t add more weight for the prescribed number of reps.

Basically start at roughly 60-70% of your 1RM on an exercise and add 10,20,30 or 40lbs (depending on the exercise you are using). Each set you can do two things:

A) add more weight
B) stop the exercise

Basically reach the top of the mountain for the number of reps selected and then stop. This way both volume (number of sets) and weight will be adapted automatically to what your body can do on that day.[/quote]

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote: Let’s assume a 400 lbs max bench press… a bench progression could look like this:

Bar x 15-20 reps (warm-up)
135lbs x 1 (feel set)
185lbs x 1 (feel set)
225lbs x 1 (feel set)
240lbs x 5 (work set)
270lbs x 5 (work set)
300lbs x 5 (work set)
320lbs x 5 (work set)
340lbs x 5 (work set)
350lbs x 5 (work set) … barely got that 5th rep = end of exercise

Bands and chains can be used [/quote]

[quote]pflifter wrote: Do you ever do higher reps (i.e. 8-12) and if so do you utilize priming sets as well?

Christian Thibaudeau wrote: Not often… I personally stick to 5 or less most of the time. I sometimes go up to 8, but rarely. [/quote]

Auto-regulate:

Rest [quote]Efuchs7 wrote:
Coach Christian, With rest period to the methods you’ve prescribed what’s the best way to go? Do you set specific rest periods or do you also go by “feel”? Do the goals of the session whether it is strength or size dictate the rests as well?

Christian Thibaudeau wrote: Rest for as short as possible without losing performance capacity.[/quote]

General:

Recovery/Volume [quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote: What I meant to say is that if you are training to your limit on all muscle groups you will not achieve maximal growth in any of them. Because your body resources will be spread over the whole body. Whereas if you focus on a few muscles at a time while reducing the workload (but not intensity) for other muscle groups the muscles you are really focusing on will progress faster. And in the long run doing that as a system (focusing on 2 muscle groups) might lead to faster overall progress.[/quote]

Anyone remember CT reasoning for taking all 4 Alpha Males at night?

[quote]daffyduck wrote:
Has he mentioned the best time to take creatine[/quote]

He said 5g before workout and 5g after.

just wondering if CT has mentioned what equipment will be utilised with I, BODYBUILDER…like power racks for example…I’m assuming yes…with video benching of pins and what not…thanks

I see CT has mentioned this:

-90 Alpha-GPC
-45 2 FINiBARs
-30 2 scoops Surge Workout Fuel
-15 2 scoops Surge Recovery
during the workout 2 scoops Anaconda
60 minutes after the workout 20g casein hydrolysate

The minimal protocol is 1 of everything instead of 2 and the heavy loading is 3 instead of 2

But should this be adjusted for fat loss purposes?

From the What I’m Doing Now thread Forums - T Nation - The World's Trusted Community for Elite Fitness :

Initial post in the thread[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
What I am doing is training following this split:

DAY 1 - pushing
DAY 2 - pulling
DAY 3 - legs

I am training 1 lift per session, 3 sessions per day.

DAY 1
1.1 Bench press
1.2 Military press
1.3 Close-grip bench or dips

DAY 2
1.1 pull-ups
1.2 barbell row
1.3 upright row

DAY 3
1.1 back squat
1.2 leg press
1.3 front squat

BTW I do have a small gym in my garage so it makes it easier.

  • 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.

  • I ramp up the weight relatively rapidly until I reach the max force weight, because I’m neurally efficient I don’t need that many ramp up sets

  • I train two competitive bodybuilders at the moment, and to keep them going as the diet and preparation take its toll I will sometimes train with either one of them when they are doing something that wont interfere with my main workouts (which is why I trained 4 times yesterday… I did biceps with one of the guys on my pulling day).

  • I have 2 scoops of Anaconda and 2 scoops of MAG-10 for the first session (half before, half during) and 2 scoops of Anaconda with 1 scoop of MAG-10 for the other sessions.

  • I take 2 FINiBARs 30 min. prior to the first workout and 1 for the 2 other workouts.

  • The Anaconda and MAG-10 are mixed in a big jug with 2000 ml of water (CRUCIAL! Fluids are KEY for growth, I can’t overemphasize that.)

  • I have 2 scoops of whey protein 15 minutes after my workouts

  • I use 1200mg of Alpha-GPC 60-90 minutes prior to the first workout

  • The other supplements I’m using are:

  • vitamin D3 20 000IU
  • Flameout 4 caps
  • FA3 4 caps
  • Magnesium (after my last session and before bed)
  • Zinc (morning and lunch time)
  • Curcumin 500, 8 caps
  • My diet is not super strict, but I normally have 3 solid meals a day (trust me, with the 3 peri-workout protocols you wouldn’t want to eat more than 3 times either!) which are mostly:
  • Yogurt, nuts and a small portion of meat in the morning
  • Chicken and rice at lunch
  • Red meat and green veggies in the evening
  • I wake up at 5:30 and go to bed at 9:30 (unless there is a hockey game on TV) [/quote]

Follow up posts:[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:
So, no pre-planned direct arm work?

how often per week are you doing each Day’s workout?

Yes I do some direct biceps and triceps (also delts, traps and hams) when I train with one of my two bodybuilders, which is anywhere between 1 to 3 times per week, as long as it is not interfering with my daily more important workouts.

I train 3 days on, 1 day off, repeat.
[/quote]

Also:[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
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.[/quote]

From teh “New Protocol We Are Experimenting with” thread Forums - T Nation - The World's Trusted Community for Elite Fitness :

First post:[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Part of the reason why I, BB is an ever going processs is that we are always trying new stuff. The original protocol works great, but it was somewhat complex and required a lot of product. So we are looking for a simpler one that is just as effective.

Right now I am using 2 Finibars 45 minutes prior to training, 3 scoops of Anaconda and 3 scoops of MAG-10 protein prior and during the workout (3 scoops of each total). With Alpha-GPC 90 minutes prior.

This actually gives me more of the amonia scavenging substances, more casein hydrolysate and more amino acids than the prior protocol. So far I’ve noticed in 1 day what I normally noticed in 5! So the protocol is at least as effective and much less complicated.[/quote]

[quote]Quickthinkin wrote:
An attempt to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time:

This was going to be his next test according to his post So its an IDEA NOT something he is recommending!! But I have seen MANY posts on trying to gain muscle while losing fat using the protocol so I thought I would post it anyways*****

[/quote]

Only one meal a day plus this protocol?