#105: Christian Thibaudeau on Overtraining, Your Max Muscle Potential, Training to Failure, and much more!

Regular legend-of-a-guest joins us again! This Podcast with Christian Thibaudeau is another paradigm-shattering discussion – this time about Optimal Training Modalities, Training To Failure, Overtraining and Maximum Natty Muscle Building Potential.

Christian Thibaudeau, with 25+ years lifting and coaching experience, has written the book on weight lifting for athletic performance and bodybuilding gains. With 535 articles on T-Nation alone, combined with extensive courses on his website Thibarmy.com as well as his muscle training camps, Christian is a leading authority in this space. It would benefit you to cling on to his every word!

In episode #103: How To Maximise ‘Natty’ Muscle Growth ~Paul Carter, Paul dropped some foundational tenets of muscle growth that was hard to swallow. It butted heads with many opposing views of muscle development, but it sounded both plausible, logical and backed up be many successful physiques. Christian and Paul are close friends and respected peers, as regular contributors to T-Nation. It turns out that they share may of the same principles of muscle growth, with subtle takes on a few sub topics. Ultimately, they converge on what they have seen to work for them and countless 1,000’s of other lifters.

Well, think of this interview with Christian Thibaudeau as a part two to #103. We double click into some of the same topics, offering alternative perspectives with similar conclusions. It also extends the discussion on the detrimental effect of overtraining and how to know if you are overtrained.

We spend a lot of time unpacking the volume and training to failure debates, which is fascinating. We also cover Christian’s current training, his biggest training mistakes, and the most supported view on how much muscle you can add on to an untrained natural lifter’s body.

As always, this discussion with Christian is jam packed with science, logic and experience. It has the opportunity to fundamentally shift your approach to the gym and building muscle! It has for me… again!

So much so, that Steve has personally adopted Paul and Christian’s principles and is really enjoying their approach. We’ll be sharing our Christian/Paul inspired Workout Plan in the upcoming DEC-19 #HyperWorkouts Workout Plan. Subscribe to the AdapNation Newsletter to get informed when this drops (early December 2019).

Enjoy your Training Mentality Upgrade in this episode!!!! #BeYourBest

Here’s what we discuss:

1. Christian’s personal training objectives and priorities
2. Christian’s current training design and reasons why
3. Christian’s Biggest Training Mistakes through his lifting career
4. How much Muscle Mass can a natural lifter build in lifetime?
5. The key differences between Athlete Training and Hypertrophy Training
6. The role of Cortisol in the body, and how to manage levels for maximal results
7. What is Overtraining, what is happening and what are the negative consequences?
8. How to know if you are Overtrained or are Overreaching?
9. Is Steve Overtraining? – we dive into Steve’s lifting, current condition, and muscle gains to date
10. The double edged sword with Training Volume, and who is higher volume better suited to?
11. The reason you cannot take guidance from high-volume bodybuilder guidance for natural lifters
12. The tried and true rules of Getting Bigger and more Muscular
13. How Strong and/or Older lifters should think about their training volume and intensiveness
14. Is Training To Failure effective for muscle growth? A deep dive into what is happening when you train this way
15. Types of Training Failure, and how to use Training To Failure across lift-types
16. What are Maximum Effective Reps, and how many do you need for growth?
17. What is Junk Volume?
18. The downsides to training during a Fast

Where to find CHRISTIAN THIBAUDEAU online:

• Social for latest Insights/Info – Instagram (@thibarmy), Facebook (Christian Thibaudeau), Instagram (@Coach_CThib)
• YouTube – Thibarmy
• Website for Articles, Course, Tests, Guides and Training Camps and Online Coaching – thibarmy.com

Referenced in Show:

• Christian New and Existing Training Programs – https://thibarmy.com/training-program/
• Hypertrophy Course and Strength & Performance Courses – links available soon (Nov ’19 and Dec ’20)
• Game Changers Documentary Review – link available soon (Nov ’19)

AdapNation Useful Links:

1. #HyperWorkouts – Expertly written Gym Workout Plans, with video guides, print-outs & HeavySet import
2. Gym Lingo 101 – Your guide to the most commonly used gym terms
3. Steve’s Body & Mind Progress Journals – Follow Steve’s real-world progress, following all the principles within the Podcasts
4. Social – Instagram & Facebook
5. AdapNation Butler – An Online Personal Assistant that can inspire easy and tasty Home-cooking
6. AdapNation Food Diary – 100’s of Tasty Healthy Meal Ideas, that are focussed on helping you thrive