Prime Time Beast: CT PHONE HOME

I’m here til 9pm… I’m there for you!

What are your best lifts in:
-snatch
-clean/jerk
-deadlift

What do you think of reverse grip deadlifts? Palms facing away?

CT, I recently found out I have a very rare congenital condition in my lower back that would make it dangerous for me to deadlift, even with strict form. What other ways would you go about strengthening the posterior chain (preferably without a hyperextension or glute-ham machine)?

Also, would gymnastics type training (planche stuff, handstand training, etc.) be implemented instead of a lifting day or as GPP?

How important do you feel it is for a strength coach (or personal trainer with athletic nad/or non-athletic clients) to have had a competitive career of their own?

If I never take the stage compete in bodybuilding, or powerlifting, for example, would you say I’m missing an essential element for coaching?

Can a strength coach be taken seriously, and be respected without that lvel of personal knowledge? (I think that’s all the same question, reworded 3 times, sorry). Thanks. And thanks for all of your info, ever.

CT any chance of an in-depth article dealing with cluster training? You talk about it alot but i’d love to see an actual article based on theory and all that other good stuff you give us

CT aside from your dvd is there any strength dvd’s/videos that you could recommend?

CT I have aquestion for you. I am training westside for the last 2 weeks post BB contest and I got a photo shoot for a modeling gig in 3 weeks. I am going to reduce my calories for the next three weeks and was wondering your thoughts on training westside on a hypocaloric diet? How should I implement energy systems work into the mix. I have been using kettlebells and farmers walks on my extra workout day and was wondering what your thoughts on how I should approach the next 3 weeks before the photo shoot? I gotta go but will check later. Thanks in advance.

I gotta thank you for the energy system article. It has brought much success to my clients both male and female.
Even though it works great with women, are there any changes that should be implemented for females doing energy system training?

[quote]BPC wrote:
What are your best lifts in:
-snatch
-clean/jerk
-deadlift

What do you think of reverse grip deadlifts? Palms facing away?

[/quote]

I see no reason to perform that exercise whatsoever and I think that it would probably be dangerous in regard to biceps or shoulders injuries.

[quote]KombatAthlete wrote:
CT, I recently found out I have a very rare congenital condition in my lower back that would make it dangerous for me to deadlift, even with strict form. What other ways would you go about strengthening the posterior chain (preferably without a hyperextension or glute-ham machine)?[/quote]

Does your condition also rule out goodmornings and powerlifting-style squats? If yes go in the archieves and look for my article called “Magnificent seven” dealing with 7 hamstrings/posterior chain exercises.

Hi mate,
what are the two best weighted exercises for punching power in your opinion? I am still getting great results from your “Different Destinations” article. Really fits in well without taking anything away from the important skill work. I am actually losing unwanted muscle mass and still getting stronger by the week. Which i feel is the most understood part of boxing training today.

[quote]KombatAthlete wrote:
Also, would gymnastics type training (planche stuff, handstand training, etc.) be implemented instead of a lifting day or as GPP?[/quote]

It depends … it won’t build as much strength as strength training nor as much conditioning as true GPP work. Plus, the learning curve make it unpractical for many individuals. Personally I would never use this type of training with any of my athletes. It doesn’t mean that I think it’s worthless. It can be used as an adjunct to other methods, but not to replace them.

[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
CT any chance of an in-depth article dealing with cluster training? You talk about it alot but i’d love to see an actual article based on theory and all that other good stuff you give us

CT aside from your dvd is there any strength dvd’s/videos that you could recommend?[/quote]

I wrote one a while ago and TC said it would be for the paper mag. Don’t know what happend in that case.

[quote]Minotaur wrote:
How important do you feel it is for a strength coach (or personal trainer with athletic nad/or non-athletic clients) to have had a competitive career of their own?

If I never take the stage compete in bodybuilding, or powerlifting, for example, would you say I’m missing an essential element for coaching?

Can a strength coach be taken seriously, and be respected without that lvel of personal knowledge? (I think that’s all the same question, reworded 3 times, sorry). Thanks. And thanks for all of your info, ever.[/quote]

Charles Poliquin never competed in neither powerlifting or bodybuilding (he did some olympic lifting but don’t know if he competed) and he is regarded as the best strength-coach in the world.

I feel that athletic experience is a BIG plus when combined with knowledge: it’s one thing to have ideas and theoretical knowledge (that’s the science of coaching) it’s another to be able to apply it in the training of athletes (that’s the art of coaching).

If a coach has experienced the demands of something, even if he wasn’t very successful,it gives him a better understanding of how an athlete feels while training and competing.

Few peoples understand how grueling and psychologically draining the last month of a bodybuilding prep is. If you haven’t lived it, NO WAY can you get it.

[quote]mike hanley wrote:
CT I have aquestion for you. I am training westside for the last 2 weeks post BB contest and I got a photo shoot for a modeling gig in 3 weeks. I am going to reduce my calories for the next three weeks and was wondering your thoughts on training westside on a hypocaloric diet? How should I implement energy systems work into the mix. I have been using kettlebells and farmers walks on my extra workout day and was wondering what your thoughts on how I should approach the next 3 weeks before the photo shoot? I gotta go but will check later. Thanks in advance.[/quote]

Cut down the assistance work to the bare minimum and increase GPP work (I’d add sled dragging or sandbag training).

[quote]gustojack wrote:
I gotta thank you for the energy system article. It has brought much success to my clients both male and female.
Even though it works great with women, are there any changes that should be implemented for females doing energy system training? [/quote]

It has been demonstrated that females respond better than males to lower intensity ESW of a longer duration. That’s not to say that they will not benefit for more intense work, but I’d had some work in the 70-75% MHR zone for 30-45 minutes. Estrogenic fat tissue is less vascularized and longer duration ESW might help release the stuborn lower body fat in females.

[quote]englishman wrote:
Hi mate,
what are the two best weighted exercises for punching power in your opinion? I am still getting great results from your “Different Destinations” article. Really fits in well without taking anything away from the important skill work. I am actually losing unwanted muscle mass and still getting stronger by the week. Which i feel is the most understood part of boxing training today. [/quote]

I don’t believe in using extremely specific strength-training drills to build up a sport skill like punching. I find that general exercises like the speed bench press at 45-55% of your max (+ resistance bands if you have them), the push press and heavy close-grip benching will produce good results.

You obviously need a strong torso too. Weighted abs work and sledgehammer striking are good options.

Thanks CT for the quick reply. Very interested in using some sort of band work though. I do not have any bands but i have some strong cord and many plates ranging from 0.5kg to 25kg. Could i just tie together some of the plates and loop them over the bar so that i get resistance near the top of the lift. And if so how much weight should i use, and should it be spread down the cord or in one position?

Hi there Christian I was hoping you would be able to point me in the right direction tonight.

I was laid off from serious training for about a year( family stuff and physical injury). I hurt my back and ribs in a car accident. Although my ribs were broken my back was just thought to be a muscle strain. Since then I have had some discomfort from time to time in my lower back area just sligthly up from my tail bone. It’s a tight feeling, sometimes it goes away sometimes it can really hurt.

I wanted to know what your thoughts on the matter might be along with one additional question. Since I have gotten back in the iron game for 6-8 months consistenly I really wanted to know what your thoughts would be on an appriopiate workout regimen. I really want to lose the fat I have gained and increase my conditioning level as well as preparing myself for a run on baseball again.

What kind of basic setup would be best. I am worried about lifting really heavy after being away for a while along with the fear of my back injury(though two doctors say muscle strain no x-rays though. Should I start using your beginnner recommendations for strength trying while first trying to lose fat or might starting out at a low intensity be best. I am looking to use training density as a means by which to lose some fat and increase conditioning along with my cardio. Any help is appreciated

[quote]englishman wrote:
Thanks CT for the quick reply. Very interested in using some sort of band work though. I do not have any bands but i have some strong cord and many plates ranging from 0.5kg to 25kg. Could i just tie together some of the plates and loop them over the bar so that i get resistance near the top of the lift. And if so how much weight should i use, and should it be spread down the cord or in one position?[/quote]

Well, why not go to a hardware store and buy some big chains? there is an article at www.elitefts.com on how to use chains.