Curls, Bulls and Bob Harper

By John|2013-02-03T19:24:21-06:00April 25th, 2011|FAQ, Lifting Weights, Talk to Me Johnnie|10 Comments

John, many thanks for the awesome program!

I know that you would of course include them if you thought they were necessary, but I’ll ask anyway. If you were to include curls or other direct arm work, what would be the optimal way to do so?

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience with us.

Emil J.

Emil,

I do not program much assistance work on CFFB, as I find it to be very individualized. Assistance work should supplement the CFFB training and be focused around lagging body parts. For example, if your upper back constantly breaks on a heavy deadlift, I would focus my assistance work around pulls targeted at the upper back.

You should include curls on most bench press and overhead press days. I personally like heavy DB hammer curls for 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps. Another favorite taught to me by Tom Kanavy, head strength coach for the Minnesota Vikings, is heavy fat bar curls. Those are always done to failure. Pick a weight and go for broke.

Going through life with skinny arms is no way to go through life.

Hi John,

Thanks for the great sites and great programming. I was wondering what your take on taking creatine was. I was wondering how much for how long is effective and safe.

Thanks for everything!

Patrick W.

Pat,

I started taking creatine in 1990 and have taken it ever since. I have always included it in my post workout shake as I have found it effects to be greatest after the workout. I take 5-10 grams of creatine monohydrate in my post workout shake and only take it on training days. I include glutamine, protein and 50 grams of carbs in their to help the creatine get where it needs to go.

Keep up the hard work.

Thanks for the great website. I wanted to know what day I should do my cardio? Since Wednesdays and Sundays are rest days, would it be best to do cardio on these days?

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

If you are following CFFB daily and think you need more cardio, you are a better man than most. If you are taking about fat burning cardio done by legions of body builders around the planet, I would say to do it 3-4 days a week for 20-45 minutes first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. That is at least what I read on T-Nation and saw Bob Harper do on The Biggest Loser.

John

About the Author: John

John Welbourn is CEO of Power Athlete and host of Power Athlete Radio. He is a 9 year starter and veteran of the NFL. John was drafted with the 97th pick in 1999 NFL Draft and went on to be a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2003, appearing in 3 NFC Championship games, and for starter for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2004-2007. In 2008, he played with the New England Patriots until an injury ended his season early with him retiring in 2009. Over the course of his career, John has started over 100 games and has 10 play-off appearances. He was a four year lettermen while playing football at the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric in 1998. John has worked with the MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympic athletes and Military. He travels the world lecturing on performance and nutrition and records his podcast, Power Athlete Radio, every week with over 800 episodes spanning 13 years. You can catch up with John as his personal blog, Talk To Me Johnnie, on social media @johnwelbourn or at Power Athlete Radio.

10 Comments

Jade April 25, 2011 at 10:43 pm - Reply

Wait… sooooo MORE cardio? 😉
Matt Z April 25, 2011 at 11:25 pm - Reply

haha, curls! Your timing is impeccable, i was just bitching about being the only guy at my CF box not to have the bicep vein; it could be because I’m 20# overweight though…

Have you ever heard of taking DMSO with your supps? Its delivery method is supposed to be unparalleled. But the thought scares the ish outta me.

I’m down almost 20lbs from last fall and what has helped me a ton is doing Insanity at night! Corny, sure. But it is effective. I wod at 10am and do a vid at 7pm (even started using my weight vest) and it has helped me clean up my diet and keep my metablism spiked. Though I did have to find a recovery supp to be able to be consistent.

Love the site, thanks man.
MZ
Aaron April 25, 2011 at 11:42 pm - Reply

Hey John,

My grip sucks. I mean really sucks. I have small hands and I have a real problem keeping ahold of the barbell, especially, during heavy deadlifts. I use straps to help counter this but don’t want to become dependent on them. What would you recommend I throw in to help strenthen up my grip? Also I was wondering what your post workout carb of choice is (aside from whole milk).

Thanks for your time!
Aaron

If you need to improve grip strength, ditch the straps. Actually, do not anything with straps. Start focusing on drip specific movements. Weighted strict pull ups, one arm DB rows, bb rows and my favorite…the farmer carry.

Nate told me you also start dating big women. He said that guys that date big girls and are regularly wrestle larger women in bed have big forearms and better grip strength.

Now you have two methods to employ. Good luck.

John
Jake April 26, 2011 at 10:29 am - Reply

Hey John,,

After reading, you mention pulls for the upper back because it breaks during heavy deadlifts, what kind of pulls are you talking about? I’ve noticed that my upper back breaks during my deadlift and need to fix this.

Thanks, and can never thank you and your team enough for the work you guys are doing for us

JAke
Andrew April 26, 2011 at 10:42 am - Reply

Jamie Eason….. yum!
Kenny April 26, 2011 at 2:17 pm - Reply

Hey John,
My problem in the deadlift is more in the lower back — which days of the week would you recommend adding in assistance work there (back extensions, ghr’s, etc.)? (following the amateur wod if it makes any difference)
Patrick Weed April 26, 2011 at 6:39 pm - Reply

John,

Thanks for the informative answer on the the creatine question!

Pat
04/27/11 – FRAN! April 26, 2011 at 7:03 pm - Reply

[…] Curls, Bulls, and Bob Harper – TTMJ […]
Tommy April 27, 2011 at 10:06 am - Reply

Jake,

I’m sure you want John to answer your question, but if by your upper back breaking you mean you are losing your lats during the deadlift then I have used RDLs (romanian deadlifts) to fix this problem and it usually has a noticeable effect in 1-2 weeks. You can google the lift if you don’t know it, but I have athletes do them from mid-thigh to mid-shin for sets of 5. This shorter range of motion keeps the tension on. Start with the bar and slowly add weight only when you can keep the lats tight for all 5. I think it fixes the problem by creating muscle awareness as much as it does for creating strength.
haryf July 22, 2011 at 1:16 am - Reply

i need abs and some arms strenght exercise pls.