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T NATION | Built for Bad: Strength Circuits

Building & Fueling High-Performance Muscle

Built for Bad: Strength Circuits

by Christian Thibaudeau11/20/13

Here's what you need to know...

Coach Thibaudeau is always physically impressive, but he was at his all-time most muscular condition using strength circuits. Strength circuits provide the perfect balance of heavy loads, rep volume, and work density to produce the very best gain in strength, size, and leanness. The plan consists of 5 sets of 5 big lifts, performed 5 days per week as a circuit, using a progressiveintensity 5/4/3/2/1 rep scheme.

Using this program, I ended up weighing 232 pounds with veins on my abs. At five-foot eight, that's not bad. And it's definitely the biggest and most muscular I've ever been. The gains came so fast and consistently that every week, even every workout, I could feel myself growing and getting stronger. I attribute a large amount of the gains I made from this program to Plazma. There's simply no way on earth that I could ever perform heavy whole-body workouts 5 days a week and recover without it. But beyond recovery, you still have to grow, and Plazma delivers gains like nothing I've ever experienced.

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The Methods
The most important loading zone for building strength is sets of 1-3 reps using 88-100 percent of your max. The problem is, training in that zone lacks the rep volume required for making optimal size gains but not by much. To achieve the added effect of maximum muscle growth, without limiting strength gains, simply add two sets of 4-5 reps using 80-82.5 percent of 1RM. Performing strength circuits using a 5/4/3/2/1 rep scheme each round decreasing the reps and increasing the weights on all exercises provide the perfect mix of load, density, and volume for maximizing strength and hypertrophy, as well as shredding up. With these strength circuits, you're going to finish strong every workout, which will lead to the greatest workout-to-workout progression. Your metabolic rate, insulin sensitivity, and recovery capacities will all be sky-high, while minimizing inflammation. This will put slabs of muscle on you while at the same time allowing you to perform at a high level on a daily basis. Expect circuit number three (3 reps) to be the hardest. Get tough and power through it, because after that is when the magic happens. The last two sets will actually feel easier, so much so that you'll wonder if you forgot to add weight. The set of 3 reps is where the activation of the nervous system surpasses the muscle fatigue. During the sets of 3, 2 and 1 there is partial muscle recovery occurring at the same time as neural activation. The result? At the end of the workout you are stronger than when you started. Always chase performance, not fatigue.

Program Notes
1. This is a 6 week program designed to help you create maximal muscularity: a combination of size, strength and leanness. 2. 3. You will train 5 days per week, Monday through Friday. Each workout consists of 5 full-body strength circuits, using a 5/4/3/2/1 rep schedule, performed with minimal rest between sets and circuits. 4. 5. 6. 7. A circuit consists of 5 exercises where you move through the circuit by performing one set of each exercise. If your workout lasts over 40 to 45 minutes, you aren't trying hard enough. Every week you will add weight to each exercise or die trying. Move to another program after 6 weeks or when you stop progressing, whichever comes first.

The Program

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Warm-up: Perform 3 sets of 3 reps on every movement, gradually increasing the weight on each set.

Monday / Wednesday / Friday

A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 Dead-Squat Bench Press High Pull Military Press Lat Pulldown Circuit 1: 5 reps x 85% Circuit 2: 4 reps x 87.5% Circuit 3: 3 reps x 90% Circuit 4: 2 reps x 95% Circuit 5: 1 rep x 100% Perform 1 set of each exercise per circuit. Rest 30 to 60 seconds between exercises. Change weights between circuits in 2 minutes. Add 5 lb to exercises each new week.

Tuesday / Thursday
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 Dead-Squat Bench Press High Pull Military Press Lat Pulldown Circuit 1: 5 reps x 80% Circuit 2: 4 reps x 82.5% Circuit 3: 3 reps x 85% Circuit 4: 2 reps x 90% Circuit 5: 1 rep x 95% Perform 1 set of each exercise per circuit. Rest 30 to 60 seconds between exercises. Change weights between circuits in 2 minutes. Add 5 lb to exercises each new week.

My Workout Supplementation

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I was on this program at the time Biotest started testing various Plazma protocols. Since I was training the whole body at every session, I sometimes went as high as 5 doses of Plazma in my periworkout period! This was critical, and to this day I use the same recipe every time I want to bring up my lean body mass and I always have shocking results. Here's the exact protocol I used most often:

Workout Supplement Protocol

Finibar - 1 bar Pre-Workout Indigo-3G - 6 capsules Plazma - 1 dose (65 g / 500 ml) Warmup Practice sets 30 min. prior to warmup 30 min. prior to warmup 15 min. prior to warmup 2-3 sets of each exercise

Plazma - 1 dose (65 g / 500 ml) Strength Circuit 1 Strength Circuit 2 Workout Plazma - 1 dose (65 g / 500 ml) Strength Circuit 3 Strength Circuit 4 Strength Circuit 5 Mag-10 - 1 pulse (35 g) Mag-10 - 1 pulse (35 g)

Prior to starting Circuit 1 5 x 5 reps 5 x 4 reps Prior to starting Circuit 3 5 x 3 reps 5 x 2 reps 5 x 1 rep Immediately post-workout 30 min. post-workout

Post-Workout

Simple But Effective

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That's all there was to it. The same simple workout done five days in a row. It lasted roughly 40-45 minutes, sometimes a bit less if I increased the pace, but far from training 3 hours a day. Despite the simplicity and duration of the program, it got me to the largest, most muscular physique I've ever had. Imagine what it might do for you?

Comment | Discuss in Forums | Print Version

11/20/13

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All Comments
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94 Comments
Christian Thibaudeau: @ Jeffrey, ask questions not related to this article in my forum
Today 01:09

Jeffrey T.: P.S. I'm not talking about gear I literally mean in the nutrition department. Jeffrey T.: @Christian Thibaudeau: This question isn't for this article, but the one it's about is older than the comment ability. In your article Hungarian Oak Leg Blast, what would you think the proper nutrition would need to be for gains? I'm semi-familiar (only from reading articles) with MAG-10 and other plans here on TNation. But the gains that wrestler achieved I feel would need a little more than good supplements. Hope I asked this right. Thanks
Yesterday 21:26

Christian Thibaudeau: @ rff600... there is really no substitute for the high pull. The biceps/elbows thing is most probably because you are using bad form and pulling with your arms too much and too early If you can do power cleans or power cleans from the hang it would be a good choice. Any other movement wouldn't give you the same thing as the high pull. You could go with a barbell row... it will not have the same magic, but it will help you build a thicker back
Yesterday 18:17

Christian Thibaudeau: Respeezy... It's not an add as it is exactly what I took when doing that program... to the "T"
Yesterday 18:14

Respeezy: I know you guys need to get paid, but it was a big turn off so to say when the article started turning into a supplement add.
Yesterday 17:51

rff600: @CT: Coach could you recommend an alternative to the High Pull for me? I have some issues with my elbows and biceps, and the high pull just doens't feel "good" for me. Thank you.
Yesterday 14:12

Mutsanah: @Braccini: I ran into a similar issue with lack of enough bars but was able to work out a solution. I posted it in CT's forum.
11-22-2013 21:56

Christian Thibaudeau: @ Braccini... as I mentioned earlier, doing them as straight sets doesn't work as well. But you can substitute some of the exercises for DB work. I prefer barbell work, but if it makes it possible to do the program, DBs are exceptable... for example: Deadlift / DB bench press / High pull (same bar as deadlift but less weight) / DB shoulder press / Lat pulldown or weighted chins
11-22-2013 20:15

Braccini: @CT: Coach, I train at a commercial gym and it would be literally impossible to perform these S how A ll

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