My Layer Results So Far...

Bigger Stronger Leaner Christian Thibaudeau Coaching
1

i’ve been toying with the layer system for a while now, but have only really been using it for 4-5 weeks.

first off, i class myself as an ‘advanced beginner’ at best, but university has given me theoretical and practical knowledge/experience in athletic training.

anywho, just wanted to share some of my results for anyone contemplating the layer system.

my weekly split varies slightly, but i usually do SGHP’s twice a week, incline bench press once a week, clean grip muscle snatch once a week, and front squats every now and then.

the first 2 weeks i was bulking (eating everything in sight) and with the layer system i gained 6lbs… 2lbs was fat. for the last 2-3 weeks i switched to the fast-feast diet (eating just below maintenance, all my calories within 4 hours after my workout) to kick start some fat loss for summer…

interestingly enough, my body weight has stayed exactly the same, even though my stomach has gone from ‘flat’ to almost 4 pack?! i’ve been so obsessed with my abs that i didnt notice how much bigger my shoulders, upper back, chest, triceps and especially traps have become! my body weight has gone down 1lb in the last 3 weeks, although my body fat measurer equates to a 4lb fat loss… meaning i’ve actually gained 3lbs of muscle, which shows just how anabolic the layer system is, and how important peri-workout nutrition is (which is my entire food intake!).

looking back through my excel training log, my lifts have improved by the following…

Incline Bench Press 80kg >102.5kg
Front Squat 75kg > 100kg
CG Muscle Snatch 50kg > 75kg
SGHP 55kg > 92.5kg <god bless wrist straps after 80kg!

i actually can’t believe how quick the strength gains come, especially on high pulls but to be fair i hadnt tried them until this system.

overall this system is absolutely golden. CT you are a true credit the modern fitness world.

i know its only been 5ish weeks, and i’m in no way a strong guy, but i’d been stuck in a rut for ages and this truly broke that rut! plus its the only thing i’ve ever done that allowed me to build muscle (in the right places!) and some fat with the right diet system.

EDIT: updated the below values… calculated them wrong in a rush haha
weight total improvement: 260kg > 370kg

approximate muscle built > 7lbs
fat lost > 2lb (and counting!)

Shoulder increase > 2inch (circumference)
upper arm girth > 0.75inch
waist circumference > slight decrease, fat loss is still a newish goal for me!

anyway i’ll shut up now. just want to fortify the already sterling reputation of the layer system with some personal experience.

i will continue training this way for as long as i can, and will post before/after pics when i’m 2-3 months down the line.

good luck to anyone that tries this system -not that you need it!

thanks again to CT for embodying this program.

2

Great progress!

I’ve been noticing very steady gains on the high pulls as well using the minimalistic layers from the fat loss thread (switching to alternating strength/hypertrophy in about a month).

How did you structure your sessions? Was it the ramp, cluster, HDL version?

B.

3

during the initial 2 weeks, it was ramp, 3x clusters then 2-3x HDL (5-4-3-2-1 style).

i noticed 2 things;

  1. i don’t seem to respond well to clusters, as i was able to get the same amount of reps using straight sets.
  2. the HDL (5-4-3-2-1) felt too easy even using 75% of the weight.

going into my fatloss (current) phase, i followed CT’s guidelines about focusing on strength, along with my own experience and now i use the following set up…

  1. ramp to 1rm
  2. 3-4 sets of 3-5 straight reps using 90-95% of ramp (95% for high pulls -manage 4 reps, 90% for everything else)
  3. 2-3 sets HDL; a hybrid between CT’s methods… using 70-75% i do 4 sets of 5 reps with 30 seconds rest.

EDIT: what i mean is 2-3 HDL set, each set is: 5reps, 30’ 5reps, 30’ 5reps, 30’ 5reps, @70-75% =1set.

i normally just do 2 sets because its higher volume… IF i only do 3 sets of the >90% work, i’ll do a third set of HDL but with 75-80%, using mini sets of 3 reps rather than 5.

I don’t do any accessory work (apart from bicep stuff), but i do 2-3 sets of high rep isolation once i get home and have my post workout shake. for example;

high pulls, home and have a high protein and carb shake, 2-3x15-20 full lateral raises with my dumbbells then start my 4 hour feeding phase (fast - feast diet).

on a side note, something that works really well for me is doing 3 sets of max pump style rope curls straight after High Pulls (still at the gym). CT told me that the brachialis responds to iso-holds, plus the rope curls imitate the same hand position that high pulls do, so it feels like the max pump hammer rope curls build on the SGHP’s. -my arms look wider from the front on now :slight_smile:

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in terms of my work week;

SGHP -focus on >90% work
Incline Press
Front Squat
SGHP -focus on HDL work
CG Muscle Snatch
OFF

to be honest, i sometimes skip the front squat session because my goal is to build nice wide shoulders, and would rather hit SGHP’s and muscle snatches more frequently.

i would have done decline press over incline (to round out my pressing with the CG Muscle Snatch) but due to an AC injury i can only incline press and just about manage dips at the minute.

i’ve started doing light neural charge workouts like 20-30min before my actual workout (i walk to my gym in 10minutes) and i feel it really helps me get in the zone quicker. especially for high pulls… i don’t know if its a placebo affect but i don’t want to rock the boat haha

5

@OP, Whats your peri-nutrition look like?

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i’m following the fast-feast diet, so all my calories are eaten in a four-six hour window. because of this, peri nutrition is hard to workout… basically i start my 4 hour feeding phase directly after my workout, so my entire calorie in take is one big post workout supply haha.

before my workout i have BCAA and creatine supplements and thats literally it.

my feeding phase starts with a weight gainer shake (37protein 52carbs 5g creatine, + glutamine etc.) which may sound stupid on a fat loss diet but IMO a ‘weight gainer’ is just a protein shake with carbs, and really helps flood the muscle’s with nutrients. then i usually have a big 800Kcal meal then snack until i hit maintenance kcal’s.

Chad Waterbury, leangains and many others talk about this kind of diet, and i have tried it before on a normal bodybuilding split (push/pull) and i lost fat and just about managed to maintain muscle… but with the layer system i’m able to build muscle while loosing fat! its a truly powerful ‘body-recomp’ formula in my experience so far, i think the main reason is the layer system workouts.