QUESTION OF STRENGTH

34
by Charles Poliquin | October 30, 2006|Leave a Comment

BODYBUILDING, QUESTION OF
Tags

STRENGTH, TRAINING

When it comes to muscle and performance, Charles Poliquin is so

far ahead of most of the non-Testosterone pack it's scary. He's not
only on the cutting edge, he's the guy who sharpens it. We're glad
to be reviving his famous Q & A column here at T-Nation.

SWANKY NEW GYM GADGETS

Q: I still use the Ivanko EZ-Grips you recommended several years
ago. Any new gadgets you think are worthy of becoming gym
staples?

A: It's not a gadget, but it's a staple. New York Barbell sells an
Olympic dumbbell with a thick grip. It spins, so it's a lot easier on the
wrist. Fat handle dumbbells have a lot of carryover for sports, and
they're good for people into more functional training that applies to
real life.
There's also a new gizmo out there called the Multi-Grip Handle. It's
a new type of handle you can hook up to any pulley exercise you
want.
It allows your wrists, elbows, and shoulders to move in a more
ergonomic, "natural" way. You'll find that any exercise you perform
with it will feel smoother and easier on the joints. It's a nice little toy.
They can be purchased through www.multigriphandles.com.

I like bands too, but the problem with them is that you need a
fixation point. A bench press isn't really linear. Now, I know
Westside likes the linear pattern, but that's because the winner in
their sport is the person who lifts the most amount of weight for the
shortest range. But in real life with athletes, the bar actually moves
in a flattened J pattern.

Well, there's a new type of bands you can attach to a bench that
permit more natural movement. They're on a sliding device that
allows the band to follow the pathway of the bar.
One of the problems people report with band training is that it can
lead to tendonitis because of the fixed point. With these new bands,
there's no fixed point; it actually moves naturally. This is another
good tool to check out. You can get them at www.strengthcats.com.

SWISS BALL USE AND ABUSE

Q: You've written some articles in the past about the use of Swiss
balls. Today it seems like stability balls and their ilk are being
abused and overused. Have your feelings changed about Swiss
balls?

A: The problem with Swiss balls is that people started doing things
with them that their bodies weren't designed to do! For example,
squatting on the Swiss ball is completely moronic. It's a party trick.
One of the problems is that you have to squat bowlegged. There's
actually one guy in the industry who was showing off by doing it at a
seminar. He jumped off and blew his ACL! What happens is that
you put the ligament in a bad stretch from squatting bowlegged.

Now, if you use the Swiss ball to modify the strength curve like I've
done with some arm training movements, I think that's fine.
With Poliquin's lean-away eccentric curls, you sit with your back and
triceps resting against the side of a Swiss ball. Perform the
concentric (lifting) range of a seated dumbbell curl. Once you curl
the dumbbells to the top, raise your hips so that your thighs are
parallel to the floor. Your upper body should then be literally on top
of the ball. Lower the dumbbells down and away from you. Lower
the hips and repeat until you hit your target number of reps.

Also, Swiss balls are good for certain core exercises. The problem
is when people say that Swiss balls cure cancer and get the IRS off
your back. There are people out there making outrageous claims.

Recent research has shown that Swiss ball training for your core
works only for six weeks (which is what I've been saying since '94).
You'll get more abdominal activation from the squat and deadlift
than any Swiss ball exercise, no matter how difficult. So if you're an
untrained person, you can do the Swiss ball, but after six weeks
you'll top out on the gains you'll get.

About 70% of Swiss ball exercises are worthless. It's just one of
those things where people are taking an idea too far.
There's some value to it, but it's not a cure-all.

Most personal trainers and strength coaches just don't know how to
get people strong. I remember talking to this one trainer who uses
all these stability gizmos. I asked him why he used all that shit and
he said, "I'm not good, so I have to do these weird things so people
will come to see me."

I remember seeing him make this post-menopausal woman do one-

hand split jerks with a fat dumbbell. Now, Adam Nelson is one of the
best shot-putters in the world and I don't make him do that! The
risks are way too high.
The problem with using Duradisks and similar devices is that you
have to use loads that are so insignificant that none of the prime
movers really get activated. So if a woman can overhead press a
25-pound dumbbell, she'll only be able to use an eight pounder
while performing this circus act on a stability device. She just won't
be overloading her muscles.
I call it "entertainment training," not strength training. And any time I
see that horseshit, I want to kick the personal trainer in the head
with a pair of steal-toe construction boots.

And the BOSU ball? The BOSU ball is a Swiss ball for morons!
Again, when you stand on it you're always bowlegged. Why do you
want to get into a position that's not good for your knees and
ankles? What about doing it on one foot? So what, then you have to
reduce the load!

One of the dumbest things I see is the lying dumbbell press on a

Swiss Ball using only one arm. The most a 180 pound guy will be
able to use is about 45 pounds. Why? Because if you use more,
you're going to flip over. Now, the same guy can use much more
than 45 pounds to do regular flat dumbbell presses. So what's the
point?

"Oh, it activates the core." Yeah, and to what degree? All you're
doing is firing some stabilizers just to control yourself so you don't
flip over, but you're not overloading the pressing muscles. So again,
this is just entertainment training. It's circus training and it doesn't do
anything!

Now, these devices do work well... in marketing terms. It's like those
speed ladders. Parents see them and get impressed, but no world
class sprinter has ever used a speed ladder. It's never made
anyone faster on the track or the field, only made them better at
doing speed ladder drills. Once the speed ladder has become an
Olympic event, I'll train my athletes for it.

The same is true for cone drills. How often do you run in a perfect
pattern in a football game? It's never perfect, especially once you
add in a 300 pound defensive player running at you with the intent
of trying to take your head off.

I did some consulting for a top soccer team last summer. Their
strength coach is one of the highest paid in the world, making
700,000 euros a year. He has his athletes do all their energy
systems training with a soccer ball. He's figured out that perfect
running technique goes to shit once you add in a ball you're
responsible for. So if you're going to be doing energy systems
training, you might as well be using a ball with it.

The same is true with a hockey puck. You see a lot of guys doing
these power skating classes, which is basically a cute looking figure
skating coach who teaches a hockey player how to skate perfectly.
But as soon as you put a puck on the ice and a 210 pound monkey
who wants to ram your head into the boards, all those motor
patterns you learned are gone!

What we know from an industry standpoint is that all those centers

that rely on gimmicks and games, especially the ones geared for
teenagers, need to have 76 new clients a month to stay afloat.
Why? Because client turnover is very high. The kid goes there and
does all this circus training, but he doesn't get faster on the field and
he doesn't get stronger. He goes to camp and gets tested on the
bench and power clean and comes off like an eleven year old stamp
collector and gets cut from the team.

"Functional" training or just entertainment training?

There is such a thing as overcoming inertia. Whenever you sprint,

jump, or throw, you're always overcoming inertia. What makes you
overcome inertia? Getting stronger. Entertainment training gets you
better at the skill, but it doesn't make you stronger and it doesn't
transfer to the field. It's a way to make money as a personal trainer,
but it's not a way to make money as a strength coach because your
athletes won't get any real results.

And by the way, if you look at the studies on the core, it's actually
the least trainable part of the body (after the hands) of all the
muscles in the human body. (The calf is actually the most
improvable.)

THE #1 TRAINING MISTAKE

Q: DIET AND LIFESTYLE ISSUES ASIDE, WHAT'S

THE NUMBER ONE TRAINING MISTAKE PEOPLE
MAKE WHEN THEIR MAIN GOAL IS HYPERTROPHY?
A: THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE IS CHOOSING
THE EASY WAY OUT: CHOOSING THE EXERCISES
THAT DON'T RECRUIT THE MOST MUSCLE. LEG
EXTENSION VS. SQUATTING, BACK EXTENSION VS.
DEADLIFTING, ETC.

BASICALLY, HYPERTROPHY IS A FUNCTION OF

LOAD TIMES TUT (TIME UNDER TENSION) WITHIN A
CERTAIN LIMIT. IT'S ALWAYS A MATTER OF HOW
MANY MOTOR UNITS YOU CAN RECRUIT. SO
BENCH PRESSING WITH CHAINS
(ACCOMMODATING RESISTANCE) IS GOING TO DO
FAR MORE FOR YOU THAN THE SAME NUMBER OF
REPS WITH A PLATE-LOADED CHEST MACHINE.
YOU NEED TO CHOOSE THE EXERCISES THAT
GIVE YOU THE MOST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK.

LET'S SAY YOU HAVE TEN SETS OF TWINS AND

YOU DIVIDE THEM INTO EQUAL GROUPS. ONE
GROUP DOES DEADLIFTS WITH BANDS, SQUATS
WITH CHAINS, BENCH WITH CHAINS, AND CHIN-
UPS. THE OTHER GROUP DOES LEG EXTENSION,
LEG CURL, LAT PULLDOWN, AND MACHINE BENCH
PRESS. THE DIFFERENCE IN HYPERTROPHY
WOULD BE MONSTROUS BETWEEN THE FREE-
WEIGHT ACCOMMODATING RESISTANCE GROUP
VERSES THE MACHINE GROUP.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE: TAKE SOMEONE AND HAVE
THEM DO TEN SETS OF SIX IN THE PULL-UP
WHERE EACH SET IS HARD. TAKE HIS TWIN AND
HAVE HIM PERFORM TEN SETS OF SIX IN THE
PULLDOWN. THE DIFFERENCE IN MUSCLE MASS
GAIN IS GOING TO BE NIGHT AND DAY. YOU
RECRUIT MORE MOTOR UNITS WITH THE PULL-UP.

THE PROBLEM WITH PLATE-LOADED MACHINES IS

THAT THE LEVERAGE IS OFTEN TOO GOOD.
EVERY KID IN HIGH SCHOOL CAN DO FIVE PLATES
A SIDE, BUT THEY CAN'T DO FIVE PLATES A SIDE
WITH ANY BARBELL EXERCISE. THE ONLY TIME
THEY DO FIVE PLATES IS WHEN THEY GO TO IHOP.
AND WHEN IN REAL LIFE WOULD YOU HAVE TO
OVERCOME RESISTANCE IN A SEATED POSITION?
NEVER.

ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH MACHINES IS THE

FIXED PATTERN OF MOVEMENT. FOR THAT SAME
REASON, I THINK DUMBBELLS ARE A BETTER
CHOICE FOR MOST EXERCISES THAN BARBELLS,
PARTICULARLY IF YOU'RE DEALING WITH AN
ATHLETIC POPULATION.

I WENT TO THE SOVIET UNION IN 1982. IT WAS

ASTONISHING HOW LITTLE VARIATION OF
EQUIPMENT THEY HAD. THEY HAD A LOT OF
BARBELLS AND A LOT OF DUMBBELLS, BUT
THERE WAS NOTHING VERY SOPHISTICATED. IT'S
WHAT YOU DO WITH THE EQUIPMENT THAT
MATTERS! YET I SAW A GUY DO FIVE SETS OF
EIGHT ON THE BENCH PRESS, PAUSING FOR TWO
SECONDS ON HIS CHEST, WITH 520. AND HE
WASN'T A LIFTER; HE WAS A WRESTLER! HE
BUILT THAT STRENGTH WITH BASIC EQUIPMENT.

NOW, THESE MACHINES CAN BE A GOOD SOURCE

OF VARIATION FOR THE "BEACH BODY" LIFTER. IN
BODYBUILDING, THE MUSCLES DON'T HAVE TO
HAVE ANY FUNCTION. THEY JUST HAVE TO LOOK
PRETTY. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU USE ROCKS
OR SELECTORIZED WEIGHT MACHINES, AS LONG
AS YOU HAVE ENOUGH LOAD AND YOU LAST
LONG ENOUGH (TIME UNDER TENSION), YOU CAN
HYPERTROPHY (JUST VARY THE EXERCISES.)

I'M NOT DOGMATIC ENOUGH TO SAY THAT

MACHINES ARE "EVIL." IT DEPENDS ON THE
POPULATION. THE EXECUTIVE DOESN'T CARE IF
HE CAN DO A PAIR OF 90'S ON THE INCLINE
DUMBBELL PRESS; HE JUST WANTS TO LOOK
GOOD IN A BATHING SUIT AT THE FIVE STAR
RESORT. WHETHER HE USED MACHINES OR
DUMBBELLS DOESN'T REALLY MATTER.

POLIQUIN'S "WIMP" BICEPS EXERCISE

Q: LOOKING BACK AT A LOT OF YOUR

PROGRAMS, I SEE THE SCOTT OR PREACHER
CURL BEING USED A LOT. WHY? THAT'S A WIMPY
ISOLATION EXERCISE EQUIVALENT TO THE
TRICEPS KICKBACK!

A: ALLOW ME TO DISAGREE. THERE'S A BIG

DIFFERENCE IN THE SCOTT CURL AND THE
KICKBACK. IF YOU LOOK AT THE EMG STUDIES,
THE TWO BICEPS EXERCISES THAT RECRUIT THE
MOST MOTOR UNITS ARE INCLINE CURLS AND
PREACHER CURLS. THE MAIN REASON IS THAT
YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIRE ANY OTHER MOTOR
UNITS FROM OTHER MUSCLE GROUPS.
HOW MUCH LOAD CAN YOU USE ON A TRICEPS
KICKBACK VERSES A LYING DUMBBELL TRICEPS
EXTENSION? THE RATIO IS LIKE 10%. THE REASON
WHY THE RATIO IS SO LOW WITH THE KICKBACK
IS THAT WE HAVE POOR MOTOR UNIT
RECRUITMENT. YOU JUST CAN'T LIFT MUCH
WEIGHT. THE TWO BEST EXERCISES FOR TRICEPS
RECRUITMENT ARE THE ONE-ARM FRENCH PRESS
AND THE DECLINE TRICEPS EXTENSION,
WHICH ARE ISOLATION EXERCISES, BUT THE
LOAD CAN BE VERY HIGH COMPARED TO A
KICKBACK.
NOW, EVEN THOUGH I LIKE THE SCOTT CURL FOR
BICEPS, NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE EXERCISE
YOU ALWAYS WANT TO VARY THE ANGLE AND
THE IMPLEMENT. SO YOU CAN DO SCOTT CURLS
AT DIFFERENT ANGLES, WITH A BARBELL, WITH A
DUMBBELL, WITH A PULLEY, IT DOESN'T MATTER.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: THE ARM BLASTER

Q: CHARLES, SINCE YOU LIKE THE PREACHER

CURL, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE OLD ARM
BLASTER DEVICE ARNOLD USED TO USE?

A: ACTUALLY, THERE'S A STUDY ON THIS THAT

SHOWS IT DOES INCREASE RECRUITMENT IN THE
ELBOW FLEXORS, PROBABLY BECAUSE IT'S
HARDER TO SWING WITH IT. IF YOU SWING THEN
THE DEVICE DIGS INTO YOUR RIBS.
SO IT DOES INCREASE RECRUITMENT, BUT A
SIMPLER WAY TO DO IT WOULD BE TO JUST PUT
YOUR BACK AGAINST A POST.

THE BARBELL ROW: FINAL WORD

Q: YOU'VE KINDA POO-POO'ED THE VALUE OF THE

BARBELL ROW IN THE PAST. WHY? ISN'T IT THE
BEST MASS BUILDER FOR THE BACK?

A: ONE PROBLEM WITH THE BARBELL ROW IS

THAT IT'S REALLY HARD FOR PEOPLE TO JUST
USE THE LATS AND ELBOW FLEXORS. THEY
ALWAYS UNCONSCIOUSLY START TO DRIVE WITH
THE QUADS AND USE THEIR GLUTES AND LOWER
BACK.

THE SECOND THING IS THAT THE BAR EITHER

HITS YOUR GUT OR YOUR CHEST, WHICH
RESTRICTS YOUR RANGE OF MOTION. THE
BETTER WAY TO DO IT IS TO JUST USE THE ONE-
ARM DUMBBELL ROW.

THIS ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO SEND THE ELBOW UP

IN DIFFERENT PATHWAYS. ONE MONTH YOU CAN
SEND IT STRAIGHT UP, ONE MONTH YOU CAN
PRETEND YOU'RE ELBOWING SOMEBODY IN THE
FACE. THIS WILL ALLOW YOU TO RECRUIT
DIFFERENT PORTIONS OF THE SCAPULAR
RETRACTORS. THE BARBELL ISN'T A SHIT
EXERCISE, BUT THE DUMBBELL ROW IS A BETTER
ALTERNATIVE.

BY THE WAY, THE ONLY GUY I'VE SEEN DO

BARBELL ROWS REALLY WELL IS RONNIE
COLEMAN... AND HE USED FIVE PLATES PER SIDE.
I'VE ALSO WATCHED HIM DO SIXTEEN PLATES ON
THE T-BAR ROW, AND HE DID THEM VERY WELL.
SURE, THE T-BAR ROW IS A SHORT-RAGE
MOVEMENT, BUT IT HAS A LOAD, AND IT WILL
BUILD THE BACK. BUT NOT EVERYBODY IS AS
DISCIPLINED AS RONNIE COLEMAN TO DO THEM
PROPERLY.

PEOPLE JUST WANT TO HEAR THAT A CERTAIN

EXERCISE IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO. IT'S JUST
NOT TRUE. THE BARBELL ROW IS FINE, BUT
AFTER A FEW WEEKS, DO SOMETHING ELSE!

STRONGMAN FOR BEGINNERS

Q: I DON'T WANT TO COMPETE IN STRONGMAN

COMPETITIONS, BUT I WAS INTERESTED IN USING
SOME OF THE IMPLEMENTS FOR MY WEEKEND
WARRIOR ACTIVITIES. WHAT SHOULD I START
WITH?

A: THE TWO EASIEST ONES TO MANAGE ARE

SLED DRAGGING AND FARMER'S WALK.
IF YOU DO INTERVALS USING A SLED, IT WILL
IMPROVE YOUR SQUAT, YOUR DEADLIFT, OR
WHATEVER YOU'RE WORKING ON DEPENDING ON
THE LOADING PATTERNS YOU USE. MY BOOK
WITH ART MCDERMOTT, APPLIED STRONGMAN
TRAINING, GOES OVER ALL OF THIS.

FLIPPING TIRES IS PROBABLY THE LEAST

PRACTICAL. YOU HAVE TO MAKE BIG JUMPS IN
WEIGHT, PLUS THERE'S SOME TECHNIQUE
INVOLVED. OUT OF ALL STRONGMAN STYLE
TRAINING, TIRE FLIPPING IS THE MOST
ASSOCIATED WITH INJURIES. THERE ARE QUITE A
FEW INCIDENCES OF BICEPS TEARS WITH IT
BECAUSE PEOPLE USE THE WRONG MECHANICS.
FARMER'S WALK AND SLED DRAGGING ARE
PRETTY SELF-EXPLANATORY THOUGH, SO I'D
START THERE.

NOW, ONE OF THE BEST TESTS OF ATHLETIC

ABILITY IS ASKING A GUY TO WALK WITH THE
FARMER'S YOKE.
TAKE A GUY WHO CAN SQUAT A TON AND
DEADLIFT A HOUSE AND ASK HIM TO RUN WITH A
SUPER YOKE. IT LOOKS LIKE AN EPILEPTIC
PENGUIN HAVING A FIT. WE DID AN EXPERIMENT
WHERE WE HAD SOME ALREADY STRONG
INDIVIDUALS TRAIN ONLY WITH THE SUPER YOKE
AND THE FARMER'S WALK FOR FOUR MONTHS.
NO SQUATTING, NO DEADLIFTING. AT THE END,
THEIR SQUAT AND DEADLIFT ACTUALLY WENT UP
A PERCENT OR TWO. THAT'S TRUE CORE
TRAINING. RUN 25 YARDS WITH A SUPER YOKE
AND YOUR ABS WILL FIRE FOR SURE.

NOW, WITH THE FARMER'S WALK, A LOT OF

PEOPLE SAY TO USE HIKING BOOTS TO PROTECT
THE ANKLE. I PREFER TO JUST USE RUNNING
SHOES SO YOU DON'T PROTECT THE ANKLE. I
WANT THE ANKLES TO HAVE TO STABILIZE
THEMSELVES AND ALLOW YOU TO INCREASE
ANKLE STABILITY. THAT WORKS FAR BETTER
THAN A DURADISK!
ATHLETIC POTENTIAL OR WHAT KIND OF WOMAN
TO PICK UP AT A BAR

Q: WHAT'S A GOOD WAY TO TELL IF A YOUNG KID

HAS GREAT ATHLETIC POTENTIAL FOR STRENGTH
SPORTS?

A: THERE WAS A STUDY DONE ONCE USING

WORLD CLASS OLYMPIC LIFTERS. IF YOU GIVE
THEM A HAND DYNAMOMETER GRIP TEST, YOU'LL
FIND THAT THEY'RE ONLY MARGINALLY
STRONGER THAN THEY WERE WHEN THEY WERE
TWELVE YEARS OLD. THE POINT IS, AT AGE 12,
THOSE WHO BECAME WORLD CHAMPIONS IN
WEIGHT TRAINING WERE ALREADY 95%
STRONGER THAN OTHER KIDS IN THEIR AGE
GROUP.

IN OTHER WORDS, HAND GRIP STRENGTH IS A

GOOD SELECTION TOOL. WANT TO FIND FUTURE
WORLD CHAMPIONS IN WEIGHTLIFTING? TAKE A
HAND GRIP TEST OF KIDS AT AGE 8 AND AT AGE
12. THIS WILL TELL YOU RIGHT AWAY WHO'S
GOING TO BE STRONG.

NOW, IN CHINA, FOR FEMALE LIFTERS, THEY

LOOK FOR HAIRY FOREARMS. IF SHE'S EIGHT
YEARS OLD AND HAS THE FOREARMS OF A
LEBANESE CAB DRIVER, THEN SHE'S GOING INTO
WEIGHTLIFTING! THIS IS BECAUSE FEMALES WITH
HAIRY FOREARMS HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF
ANDROGENS.

NFL FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO I'VE COACHED

HAVE USED THIS KNOWLEDGE FOR OTHER
PURPOSES. THEY TOLD ME THAT IF YOU'RE AT A
BAR AND IT'S 1:00AM AND YOU HAVEN'T CAUGHT
ANYTHING YET, LOOK FOR THE HAIRY FOREARMS.
WORD OF WARNING: SHE MAY BE ABLE TO
THROW YOU AGAINST A WALL AND FLATTENED
YOU!