Staley 6/29 Prime Time

What’s on your mind tonight teamt

I’d just like to point out the debut of the space between Charles and Staley.

  1. What do you think are the 3-5 best all around moves for strongman stuff? farmer walk, car pushing, deadlift/press odd stuff, etc?

  2. For a healthy individual who has no pre-existing knee issues, do you recommend squatting ass to grass or only slightly below parallel and why?

  3. Do you only practice/incorporate Tim Larkin’s stuff in your mma training or other stuff too such as grappling, rolling, etc?

  4. Do you think assistance exercises (e:reverse hypers, glute ham raises, etc) are beneficial or even necessary or should one just focus on the big moves such as squats,deads, olifts, presses, etc?

  5. How important is it to incorporate unilateral movements in order to prevent injuries/imbalances (ex: step ups, lunges, split squats, etc?

  6. How long have you been “throwing” stuff?

What are your favorite GPP activities?

How would you modify the standard Westside Barbell template to emphasize size or would you recommend another program for size and strength?

To me, it looks incredible. Technology just freaks me out…

[quote]Mod Zilla wrote:

I’d just like to point out the debut of the space between Charles and Staley.
[/quote]

Charles, here’s one for you:

Gaining muscle while on a maintenance level calorie intake.

Possible or impossible?

How about gaining muscle while on a slight calorie deficit?

A defiance of physics, or possible?

[quote]BPC wrote:

  1. What do you think are the 3-5 best all around moves for strongman stuff? farmer walk, car pushing, deadlift/press odd stuff, etc?

Ah! A FUN question! Well look, if the goal is to be a better strongman, then specificity dictates specializing on the events themselves. So I vote for all of the above (unless I’m not fully understanding your question)

  1. For a healthy individual who has no pre-existing knee issues, do you recommend squatting ass to grass or only slightly below parallel and why?

If healthy, I’d recommend doing all variants, unless there is a specific goal that warrants otherwise (O lifters for example, should only do deep squats)

  1. Do you only practice/incorporate Tim Larkin’s stuff in your mma training or other stuff too such as grappling, rolling, etc?

I don’t (I’m a thrower). But TFT rules, trust me when I say that.

  1. Do you think assistance exercises (e:reverse hypers, glute ham raises, etc) are beneficial or even necessary or should one just focus on the big moves such as squats,deads, olifts, presses, etc?

I think they’re more beneficial when you’re a novice/intermediate. As you become more advanced, the core lifts must be adhered to most of the time

  1. How important is it to incorporate unilateral movements in order to prevent injuries/imbalances (ex: step ups, lunges, split squats, etc?

Very. But not all the time. I like clients to do 2-3 months a year on unilateral stuff for assessment purposes

  1. How long have you been “throwing” stuff?[/quote]

Started throwing disc for first time at age 33 (13 years ago). Dropped it for several years due to lack of coaching and other factors, and resumed again late last year.

Hey TC ? I think it’s possible but probably more difficult. There’s a VERY interesting character out there by the name of Art Devany, who’s 68 years old, 6-ft 205, about 7% fat, who can slam dunk a basketball. He’s also a scientist. Here’s his take on the question, should be good food for thought:

Thermodynamics and Muscle

In an earlier post on Mass I made the point that one can build muscle without being in positive caloric balance. I didn’t claim that is the best way to gain muscle, but I think it is the best way to change your body composition to make a leaner and more muscular body. If you want to grow beyond that point, then a slight caloric excess is all that is required.

The problem is that most people have no idea what their energy expenditures are or what their intake is. Nor do I. So, in accordance with the rule athletes and body builders tend to follow “If a little is good, then a lot is even better”, people eat too much trying to put on muscle. Most body builders I have seen over many years are too fat. Even pros may get smooth in the off season. And most of the young men I see these days in my gym who are body building are way too smooth.

Here is the most direct evidence you can find, better than some lab study. What do most people who eat more than they expend look like? We call them fat. Excess energy goes into fat after the muscle glycogen is restored (a trivial amount). Eating more protein doesn’t mean that protein is what you get when the body is through with it. A lot of it will go into fat.

The hard thing is to gain muscle mass and maintain or improve your body composition as you do so. That is why it is important not to overeat on a long term basis.

Protein pools in the body are excreted as they turn over. The protein pool varies and its size is affected by protein intake, by cell turnover and loss, and by nutrient partitioning into body protein or fat. It has a lot of places to go and you certainly need plenty of it. It does not violate thermodynamic equilbrium to gain muscle as you lose fat. Working out and fasting promote GH which is protein sparing and directs resources to repair and maintenence. You have plenty of fat to fuel this process, even those of use who are lean have enough.

But, what about thermodynamic equilibrium?

We are always in it. You can’t violate the laws of thermodynamics, whether you eat too much or too little. If you take in excess energy, you store the excess. The energy is still there and none is lost or destroyed. As you gain mass your energy expenditure rises. You continue to gain mass until you reach a fixed point body mass where intake and expenditure are equal again. No laws of thermodynamics are violated. But, you sure look bad at your new equilibrium state because a lot of the gain will be fat.

It takes a while to get there though. And much depends on how much excess energy goes into fat or muscle. You don’t need a whole lot more muscle to burn the excess intake, but you need quite a lot of fat to carry around before your expenditures equal your intake. So, if you work out you will tend to partition the nutrients into more muscle than fat.

You do have to worry that continuous caloric excess brings other adaptations; you lose insulin sensitivity, which tends to shift nitrogen retention toward fat rather than muscle, you hit your liver with a lot of nitrogen or ammonia and it starts to adapt in ways not yet understood but can’t be good. A lot of other things happen too. Long exposure to caloric excess is bound to affect many metabolic and thermoregulatory functions. It has to mess up your appetite. And to overeat systematically you can’t eat enough bulk or roughage, you must eat calorically dense foods which we know to be unhealthful. Had enough? There is more I don’t have time to think about.

Our human species never lived in a state of chronic excess caloric intake. Do you want to go against the adaptations that evolved in the long course of human life?

Suppose you continue to stay in excess caloric balance. Your body mass must continue to grow. You must then eat even more. But if you are always in excess as your mass increases, then you have to become fat and eventually obese.

Obesity is implied by the laws of thermodynamics; constant excess intake over a long period of time has only one equilibrium — gross obesity. You can see it all around you.

I do agree that if you are going to gain muscle, you need protein in excess of what is required for maintenance and to cover losses. One way to do this is to burn fat, with favorable effects on your body composition. This takes GH from a hard work out or from fasting.

Another way to do this is to eat less carbohydrate (which some claim to be “protein-sparing” when it is not). Carbs release insulin and generate a mild shock to the body when glucose rises. The sugar is toxic and the body works hard to sequester and burn it. So, it doesn’t burn fat. As your body becomes a carb burning machine, it burns less fat. When the sugar is gone from your blood stream, there is only one way to produce it: gluconeogenesis, the making of sugar from muscle protein. High carbs are muscle wasting, not protein sparing after you take first and second order effects into account.

The best way to do it is to alternate excess protein consumption with light fasting. Of course, you must work out as well. Intermittent excess protein intake is perfectly consistent with our evolutionary past and that is enough to put on plenty of muscle. Too much protein is toxic. Intermittency is protective because it lets you diversify your toxins (everything is economics).

[quote]Atomic Dog wrote:
Charles, here’s one for you:

Gaining muscle while on a maintenance level calorie intake.

Possible or impossible?

How about gaining muscle while on a slight calorie deficit?

A defiance of physics, or possible?

[/quote]

[quote]skirmish wrote:
What are your favorite GPP activities?

Well, I HATE the term GPP, (sorry), but if I’m understanding your question, I like hipp sprints, tire flips, rope climbs, truck pushing & pulling, sled dragging, etc

How would you modify the standard Westside Barbell template to emphasize size or would you recommend another program for size and strength?[/quote]

I’d use EDT for the aux exercises. AND I’d switch off and do Waterbury Method at least 4 months a year

For Compound EDT, would using a Pull+Hip/Push+Quad split be acceptable, or would this be too much volume? Is an upper/lower split preferable?

If you’re using any form of pull or squat, try pairing it with some form of pull-up or chins. This will help to decompress the spine between sets of pulls/squats

[quote]leon79 wrote:
For Compound EDT, would using a Pull+Hip/Push+Quad split be acceptable, or would this be too much volume? Is an upper/lower split preferable?[/quote]

Hey Charles! Could it be any hotter today? Sweet Jesus, I think I’ll skip my outdoor GPP work in favor of some shots of whiskey at the bar! Care to join me?

I searched T-Nation and Google for hipp sprints without any luck, could you please elaborate?

[quote]Chad Waterbury wrote:
Hey Charles! Could it be any hotter today? Sweet Jesus, I think I’ll skip my outdoor GPP work in favor of some shots of whiskey at the bar! Care to join me? [/quote]

…here’s something even scarier than the temp in AZ right now. I’ve got a tee time set up in Scottsdale on Friday morning! Oh man, I’ll definitely need to bring my rubber body suit and salt tablets. That should work, right?

Don’t be such a pussy…it’s only 113 here right now! Why, when I was a kid, I used to crawl on my hands and knees in 125 degree weather for 4 miles just to get to school!

[quote]Chad Waterbury wrote:
Hey Charles! Could it be any hotter today? Sweet Jesus, I think I’ll skip my outdoor GPP work in favor of some shots of whiskey at the bar! Care to join me? [/quote]

Sorry, I’m pre-dyslexic with a side of ADD…I meant hill sprints!

[quote]skirmish wrote:
I searched T-Nation and Google for hipp sprints without any luck, could you please elaborate?[/quote]

Sorry, I’m pre-dyslexic with some ADD on the side…I meant hill sprints

[quote]skirmish wrote:
I searched T-Nation and Google for hipp sprints without any luck, could you please elaborate?[/quote]

You really shouldn’t be playing golf Chad…I’m becomming concerned for you.

[quote]Chad Waterbury wrote:
Chad Waterbury wrote:
Hey Charles! Could it be any hotter today? Sweet Jesus, I think I’ll skip my outdoor GPP work in favor of some shots of whiskey at the bar! Care to join me?

…here’s something even scarier than the temp in AZ right now. I’ve got a tee time set up in Scottsdale on Friday morning! Oh man, I’ll definitely need to bring my rubber body suit and salt tablets. That should work, right?
[/quote]

[quote]Charles Staley wrote:
Don’t be such a pussy…it’s only 113 here right now! Why, when I was a kid, I used to crawl on my hands and knees in 125 degree weather for 4 miles just to get to school!

Chad Waterbury wrote:
Hey Charles! Could it be any hotter today? Sweet Jesus, I think I’ll skip my outdoor GPP work in favor of some shots of whiskey at the bar! Care to join me?

[/quote]

Well, at least it’s usually cooler in Tucson, compared to Phoenix. Given the amount of body fluid I lost walking from my gym to my SUV (about 15 feet), I’d say it’s a tepid 112.9 degrees in Tucson. Yeah, DEFINITELY cooler than Phoenix!

Charles-
In light of your conversation with Chad, and seeing as there are so many strength coaches in Arizona (particularly in the Tempe area), I am wondering if you often visit and collaborate.
I know you visited Jay Schroeder in the past. Have you visited with Jay recently? How about Poliquin?