Today’s episode features Christian Thibaudeau. Christian has been a strength coach for 2 decades, is a prolific writer and author, and has worked with athletes from nearly 30 sports. Christian has been a multi-time guest on this podcast, and is the originator of educational systems such as neuro-typing, as well as the omni-contraction training. I am unaware of another strength coach with the extensive knowledge of training methods that Christian does, and I’ve taken a small book’s worth of notes from our various podcasts together thus far.
For an athlete, a strength program is only as good as it can 1.) help them to prevent injury and stay robust and 2.) help them to improve their specific speed and power in their sport (and a possible 3. Of building needed size and armor). When we talk about strength, we need to know how specifically it can plug into helping develop power, and one of the best ways to do this is in light us using complexes.
Last time on the show, Christian spoke in depth regarding power complexes and their neurological demand, versus using more “simple” strength training setups and methods. In this episode, Christian goes into the distinct nature of power, and how to optimally use pure strength methods as potentiation tools in the scope of a training complex. He’ll get into his own use of overcoming isometrics in the scope of complex training work, how to progress complexes over the course of training cycles, speak on the “Gunthor complex”, and much more.
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Timestamps and Main Points:
3:28 – Concepts on training “seasonality”, and having a different emphasis on training in each season of the year for the sake of longevity in performance
6:34 – The importance of “de-sensitizing” and “re-sensitizing” athletes to a particular training stimulus for continual training gains
17:24 – The nature of over-training from a brain and body perspective
22:36 – Thoughts on the adaptations that come from a high-frequency training stimulus
26:07 – Training complexes in light of adrenaline, neurological load, and over-training
35:50 – Discussing the multi-stage “Gunthor” complex, and how to warm up for strength complexes optimally
42:18 – Strength work, as it relates to power outputs, and strength in complexes to build power
58:46 – “Descending” vs. “Ascending” complexes, and the role of each in the scope of power development
“I have changed my view bit on the impact of strength work on power development; I think the role of strength in power development is over-stated. I think it is important, but not as important as we once thought”
“The one thing I hate with the current trend with the evidence based crew is that it took all of the fun out of discovery, and made it very bland”
“It’s the calcium ion buildup that causes muscle damage (not “torn” muscles)… muscle damage is fixed pretty quickly”
“Hardcore overtraining mostly has to do with the over-production of adrenaline and cortisol”
“The more pressure you put on yourself to perform, the greater the cortisol response. You need that high adrenaline level to get amped up. That’s why a competition, even though there’s very little volume compared to what you are doing in training, is a lot more damaging from a muscle recovery standpoint, because the adrenaline is so high, that it de-sensitizes the beta-adrenergic receptors”
“If you are the type of person who needs to psyche themselves up to train, then you will crash very easily”
“The more effective the training methods are (neurologically intense), the less volume you do”
“The more exercises you have in a complex, the less sets you should do”
“The complexes are my favorite performance method of all time, but people tend to overdo them”
“Strength work is general, where power work is specific”
“Someone with a very very strong neural drive can recruit all (moderate and fast) twitch muscles simultaneously”
“The high-tension exercise serves only the purpose of amping up the nervous system for the following exercise or exercises. One complex I really like: overcoming isometrics all out, 90 degrees knee angle, followed by a plyometric exercise”
“With the Olympic lifts (for athletic power), I use a lot less weight, and I prefer the power snatch to the power clean”
“Every neurological complex only works for 4 weeks; you’ll get super-fast results for 3 weeks and after that, it tops out”
About Christian Thibaudeau
Christian Thibaudeau has been involved in the business of training for over the last 18 years. During this period, he worked with athletes from 28 different sports. He has been “Head Strength Coach” for the Central Institute for Human Performance (official center of the St. Louis Blues).
His specialty: being a generalist. He assists his athletes to develop the necessary qualities to increase their performances (eg: muscle mass, power, explosiveness, coordination). His work method enabled him to lead several successful athletes in a multitude of different disciplines.
Christian is a prolific writer with three books published, each of which translated into three languages (The Black Book of Training Secrets, Theory and Application of Modern Strength and Power Methods, High Threshold Muscle Building). In addition, Christian is co-author with Paul Carter in a new book, which will soon be released. He is also the author of two DVDs (Cluster Training, Mechanical Drop Sets).
Christian is also a senior author and head writer for the E-Magazine T-Nation his articles are read by over 200,000 people every week.
He competed in weightlifting at the national level as well as bodybuilding, He was also a football coach for 8 years.
As a lecturer, he has given conferences and seminars in both the United States and Europe, to audiences ranging from amateur athletes to health professionals and coaches of all types.
Christian Thibaudeau popularized the Neurotyping system. Neural optimization supersedes hormonal optimization because the neural response affects the hormonal response. This is essentially the founding principle and inspiration behind Christian Thibaudeau’s Neurotyping System. The bottom line is simple: you are more likely to train hard, be focused, and stay motivated if you like the type of training you are doing, and a training that goes against your nature causes a greater stress response that hinders optimal progression. “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein
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