Programming Exercises After Omni-Contraction Course

Coach,

After competing the course, if I understand correctly, the same three lifts are used throughout the entirety of the accumulation, intensification, and realization phases.

I have two questions:

  1. For gen. pop clients, would you keep the same lifts, block to block, or to add some mental and hypertrophy variety, keep the same layout but maybe a different lift for the same movement pattern? Example. Accumulation = squat - heels elevated and Intensification = squat.

  2. For gen. pop, within a block, have you ever toyed with switching the lifts depending on the day? Example: Eccentric day = overhead press and Concentric day = bench press - flat - barbell.

Gen. Pop. get bored fast and many times do not have as many neurological stressors as an athlete.

  1. If using an Olympic lift for one of the three lifts, how do you program is for the eccentric or isometric day? Example: low hang power clean. For the isometric day, my guess would be doing it off of blocks, but I’m lost on the eccentric day.

Thanks!

Coach, I don’t know any other way to try to bring these questions to your attention, without them getting lost in the shuffle, than by posting something in hopes of bumping it to the top.

I’m not trying to be rude or impatient. I value your information and the time you put into this.

Puts on flame retardant suit

1 Like
2 Likes

I could not have asked for a more thorough answer. THANK YOU.

1 Like

The only thing I am still unsure of, and I’ve tried the search function now, is do the main lifts always stay the same for the entire macrocycle?

Or do they change based on the block?
Or does it depend on the neurotype?

I found an old program that suggested the main lifts can stay the same for the 1st two blocks and then change for the last two.

I can wrap my head around keeping a squat and deadlift for the entirety of a macrocycle. I just can’t wrap my head around keeping the same pressing movement for the entirety, as it ignores all the other pressing angles. OR, if this is fine and the 4th session each week can address the angles that are missed.

Example: if you’re flat bench pressing for 12 weeks straight, where does an overhead press get worked?

Man, I can’t remember off the top of my head what C.T. has said about this, or where he might have written about it. Have you looked around the Thib Army site?

At the risk of sounding arrogant, I can tell you what I would do.

If you’re doing Eccentric, Concentric and Isometric focused days, alternate bench and overhead. So week 1 day 1 is eccentric bench, week 1 day 2 is concentric overhead and week 1 day 3 is isometric bench.

Then just keep up the rotation so week 2 day 1 is eccentric overhead. Week 2 day 2 is concentric bench. Week 2 day 3 is isometric overhead. And on and on

So it takes 2 weeks to get through the whole rotation instead of hitting it all in one week.

1 Like

That makes sense. I realize nothing is perfect but I’m having a hard time because:

1 If we go that route and alternate overhead press and flat bench, we’re really not maximizing the different contractions on only that specific movement pattern.

In your example: bench = isometric and eccentric. Overhead = eccentric. So the horizontal pushing pattern is not receiving all the benefits of the eccentric day, only the concentric and isometric. If the purpose of the eccentric is to activate the motor cortex to better learn the movement, strengthen the tendons in that movement pattern, increase firing rate in that movement pattern which will then transfer over to the concentric day, desensitize GTO on that movement pattern, etc., then the flat bench press is not receiving any of this.

  1. You solved that challenge by extending the micro cycle to two weeks but now the cost is a block that is twice as long or half as efficient for each pressing exercise. I’m just thinking out loud.

  2. If we switched the exercises, block to block, it would increase the neurological stress and you really wouldn’t be carrying over the acquired skills from the previous block. You’d be starting fresh with brand new movement patterns.

It seems like a damned if you do and damned if you don’t scenario.

Maybe it’s different for the athlete as the major theme of the online course seems to be minimizing neurological stress.

Maybe Gen Pop would do better with what you suggested and alternating the pressing movement.

Yes; I have searched online, went through all of my notes, and searched the forum to no avail. The posts you shared are highly appreciated.

1 Like

It doesn’t have to be the same on every day (for example sometimes I use different variations on mon/wed/fri) BUT I normally stick with the same set of basic exercises for the whole 12 weeks cycle. There are some exceptions, mostly if the individual needs more variation psychologically.

I have athletes with whom I stick to the same lifts year round, others with whom I have more frequent variation.

1 Like

Thank you!

Can this apply to neurotyping as well?

For type 3, you could potentially keep all the lifts the same, in perpetuity. Maybe variety in terms of hand position, fat gripz, different heel height OLY shoes for squats, IF you even added any variety.

For a 1b, you could potentially use an overhead press on eccentric day, 45-degree incline on iso day, and flat bench on concentric day. Thus, you’ve worked three of the four pressing angles and the 1b is efficient enough to transfer all of his skill acquisition to the main lift, flat bench, on the concentric day.

A 2b, maybe more variation in terms of flat barbell press, flat dumbbell press, flat press with football bar? Keeping the movement pattern the same, but changing the bar, hand position, thickness of bar. Maybe bamboo bench to increase stretch/feeling?

Type 1A, lifts stay the same.

Do you feel some of these ideas are on the right track?

1 Like

Yep, that is pretty accurate.

Thank you—much appreciated.