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Reaching Your Potential in the Big 3
by Lee Boyce and Todd Bumgardner -

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Everybody wants to add more wheels to their squat, bench, and deadlift. But sometimes it's the little things that trip us up. Give this a read and start hitting some PR's.

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Christian Thibaudeau: @ Rawminded... It has been my observation, that ring work mostly hits the brachialis. And it would seem to be in accordance with what you experienced since the brachialis will give you a better peak but wont do anything for width

Christian Thibaudeau: (cont) BUT if your goal is to maximize power production and do not care about competitive performance, going to the full extension is more effective. Remember there is a BIG difference between training a movement to maximize lifting numbers on that movement, and using a movement to maximize the physical gains you get from it.

Christian Thibaudeau: @ Chigichev... there is a BIG difference in doing the full squat lifts to maximize competition results and doing the power variations to build power/strength. By not fully extension at the ankle joint you sacrifice some pulling power BUT you gain by being able to go under the bar much faster. So yes you will produce less bar height but you will also have less bar drop since you are faster under it. It is widely believed that the best olympic lifters are those who can get under the bar th fastest

Christian Thibaudeau: @ BigIron... with isolation exercises/partials you want constant tension... imagine flexing the muscle while moving the weight. If you are using a compound movement to achieve a pump I suggest what I call a gradual tension build-up...externally the movement is rythmic, but internally you are trying to increase the intensity of the muscle contraction as you progress through the range of motion... it's basically the opposite of explosive lifting: where you produce a ton of force at the start

Chris Shugart:

Chris Shugart: @bayoubengal: Yep, that's correct.

Christian Thibaudeau: @ Lonnie... first of all a true L-sit is mostly a back movement (if done right)... and if done for relatively long durations, the psoas not the abs, will do most of the work.

John Paul Catanzaro: @jason64... Hold tight, I just sent T-Nation a follow-up article on this subject with even more superset routines. In the meantime, consider "The New Old-School Circuit Training" system as a nice change of pace.

Chris Shugart: I would feel very safe with cam534 as my pilot.

Chris Shugart:

Chris Shugart: @westnole: Saw something similar to that the other day: a free "diabetic" cookbook with order of diabetic testing supplies. The recipes in that book with give most people diabetes!

Chris Shugart: @strange: Much more simple that using the older formulas. That's a big plus.

Chris Shugart: @strange: Just follow the labels on the new formulas and add FINiBARs pre-lifting if you'd like.

Chris Shugart: @Eric: Thanks! Christian did a great job with this series. Two more parts to go, which will run Thursday and Friday.

Chris Shugart: @Jud68: That's the report we've been hearing from a lot of Indigo-3G users who've done a full 6-12 cycle at full dosage. Great to hear!

Tim Henriques: @tyciol cont - my advice would be to try the exercise and if you think it sucks move on, you have good ideas on how to modify the stuff it sounds like. Even if the exercise ends up sucking - for you - the person who suggested the exercise can be still very knowledgeable - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak

Tim Henriques: @tyciol - Both parts of the muscle experience the load but depending on the exercise it can be more significant in 1 area or the other. Muscles respond very specifically, not generally, which is why there are a ton of exercises and some are better than others. I agree the reverse squat would be tough to load but keep in mind those muscles aren't nearlly as strong as their antagonists, one would not expect to reverse squat 500 lbs. You could anchor your feet and put the straps around your arms

Chris Shugart: @wallstrt: Glad you like it!

Chris Shugart: I was an editor for Ian King back in the early days of TNation, and every set in his programs came with a three or four number tempo description. I guess by over-analyzing and over-thinking movement speeds, people at least started paying attention to these things and realizing that they mattered. No need to actually count though, as CT wrote.

dayne_lathrop: am in much better place to start indigo, which I am next week. I am about to make I giant order next week for 8 weeks of indigo and anaconda and mag 10 for the summer, put my ass to the grind like never before, and see how it turns out. I am currently in a fat loss phase and I am doing well so far, and I have gotten to about 11-13 percent body fat without any cardio added (added cardio yesterday) which is great for a genetic fatty like myself. Being in the acting biz, I am shooting for being lea

dayne_lathrop: Hey CT, man it's been quite some time since the last time I have been on here and contributed. Hell it's even been almost a year since I have just sat down and read stuff for an hour like I used to but I have been keeping up enough to know all the new stuff going on. First of all, great work on everything. Seriously. Although I had taken a hiatus for a while, I am right now, in the best shape I have ever been in. Lean as I have ever been and 20 pounds of muscle heavier, I am excited to say that

BiP: @BigIron: That's what I'm planning, although to start with going largely by hunger, then maybe pushing it past that a little bit, since my hunger tends to be on the low side, at least for someone trying to grow.

DSQ98: @CT- I performed your your HP MASS hypertrophy program followed by your HP Mass Strength program. I made great strides using the High Intensity Frequency exercises. You have been writing about new techniques and methods at a crazy pace these last few months and I'm wondering what you would deem as a good follow up to the programs I performed. Any insight?

BigIron77: @BiP - I think the smart thing to do is bump it up gradually. But then again, no one ever accused me of being smart :)

BiP: So I think I'm doing ok for now. Might bump up a bit next week, depending on how I react to the new training plan.

BigIron77: @CT - thanks for the answer. I will try the tension buildup today

BiP: Speaking of food - I was worried I might be undereating a bit yesterday. Then I got asked by a guy MUCH bigger than me how the hell I managed to eat 175g of carbs in a single meal :P

BigIron77: And it is so nice outside, I sat on the back stairs and almost fell asleep

BiP: Hmmm, you might have a point there :P

BigIron77: When you're not sure if you are going to vomit or pass out, or both, it may be too much :)

BiP: NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH SUSHI!

BigIron77: Can't.....move.....too much....sushi.....uugghhhh......

RawMinded: I have long arms, from the front they don't look very big but from the side they look much more dense

RawMinded: I'll take it Christian, i'm curious to see if i see any more results after i get the iron cross and front lever.

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Lee Boyce is a sought-after strength coach to clients and athletes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He competed nationally as a sprinter and long jumper while studying kinesiology in university. When he's not writing for T NATION, he trains intermediate clients and sports athletes, does media appearances, and works with clients for preventive care at a busy medical clinic. To contact Lee and to also see more of what he has to say about training, check out his newly renovated website www.leeboycetraining.com to follow him on twitter.

Todd Bumgardner is a co-founder of Beyond Strength Performance. Todd holds an MS degree in exercise science from the California University of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Lycoming College (PA), where he played football and served as a strength and conditioning coach. Bumgardner is certified as Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He's a competitive powerlifter, and presently pursuing additional graduate studies in nutrition.