“If you’re 80% good and 20% terrible, you can’t expect to have 100% results.”
– Charles Poliquin
Charles Poliquin is back for another round of the podcast. Charles (@strengthsensei) is one of the best known strength coaches in the world. He has trained elite athletes from nearly 20 different sports, including Olympic gold medalists, NFL All-Pro’s, NHL All-Stars and Stanley Cup champions, and IFBB bodybuilding champions. His clients include long-jump gold medalist Dwight Phillips, NHL MVP Chris Pronger, and MLB batting champion Edgar Martinez, and the first women’s wrestling US Olympic gold medalist Helen Maroulis, among many others.
And as I creep up towards episode #200, his first appearance on the podcast is still one of the top-15 most listened to episodes, and he’s constantly requested by listeners for a round 2.
In this episode, you to play host, and I selected your most popular questions on Facebook and Twitter. This time, Charles goes deep on several topics, including:
- His favorite mass building program of all-time
- Recommendations for older lifters
- His latest thoughts on hormones and diet
- How to differentiate a bad trainer from a good one, and a good one from the “best of the best”
- His nighttime routine for improving sleep
- Why most people screw up abdominal training
- Ketosis and muscle gain
- And much, much more!
Enjoy!
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another episode with Charles Poliquin? — Listen to his first appearance on the podcast. In this episode, we discuss, muscle-building techniques, how to become stronger, warmup routines, why people struggle to lose fat, and more (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
- Connect with Charles Poliquin:
StrengthSensei.com | Facebook | YouTube | Google+ | Twitter | Instagram
- Charles Poliquin on Strength Training, Shredding Body Fat, and Increasing Testosterone and Sex Drive (Charles’s first appearance on this show)
- Charles Poliquin’s favorite mass building routine
- Charles’s recommended resources
- Dinosaur Training Secrets by Brooks D. Kubik
- Training Gains That Keep Coming: A Primer on Periodization That Works by Charles Poliquin, Strength Sensei (an explanation of accumulation vs. intensification phases)
- Charles recommends Gotu Kola capsules for repairing stretch marks.
- Prevention of Overuse Injuries in Strength Training — Updated by Charles Poliquin, Strength Sensei
- What is chelation therapy?
- Some of the reputable gyms Charles mentions: UP (Ultimate Performance), Shredded Strength Institute, Wolf Gate, and Average Broz’s
- IDEA Health and Fitness Association
- For sleep improvement, Charles recommends magnesium threonate and theanine
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
- The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
- What is the Preferred Ratio of DHA/EPA in Supplements?, DHA-EPA Omega-3 Institute
- Charles’s suggested fish oil is OmegAvail
- Squats — The Facts by Charles Poliquin, Strength Sensei
- Television Watching and “Sit Time,” Harvard School of Public Health (studies showing correlation between screen time and obesity)
- The Last Samurai
- Cluster Training: A Novel Method for Introducing Training Program Variation, Strength and Conditioning Journal
- Jailhouse Strong by Josh Bryant and Adam benShea
- What is cryotherapy?
- 5 Things I Learned at Charles Poliquin’s Advanced Program Design Seminar by Stefan Ianev.
- Video: Busting Through Plateaus in Squat Training — Updated by Charles Poliquin, Strength Sensei
- Helen Maroulis Wins USA’s First Gold Medal in Women’s Wrestling by Shawn Smith, NBCUniversal
- When learning a new language, Charles favors the Pimsleur Method and restaurant menus.
Show Notes
- Advice for older (40+) lifters. Is it all downhill from here? [06:44]
- How can you test your insulin sensitivity to determine if you’re lean enough to make good use of carbs or not? [09:33]
- What’s Charles’s best routine for gaining mass? [11:16]
- What dosage of Gotu Kola does Charles recommend for repairing stretch marks? [14:00]
- What injuries has Charles had to deal with over a career of maximizing swolertrophy (aka muscle hypertrophy) — and how does he treat them? [14:32]
- With YouTube giving so many so-called strength training “experts” a soapbox, how do we combat misinformation? [16:53]
- What distinguishes a good personal trainer from a great personal trainer — and what’s the best way to get started? [19:53]
- Which supplements does Charles recommend for improving sleep? [22:58]
- Does Charles have any regrets? [23:27]
- Is taking three-to-one EPA to DHA supplements worth it? [26:01]
- What’s Charles’s beef against foam rolling? [27:38]
- Does Charles have a go-to lifting plan for body transformation? [29:23]
- How do we know which supplements are more effective — or if they work at all? [30:36]
- When squatting: high bar or low bar? Type of shoes? With or without a belt? [32:50]
- Why something as simple as chewing can have an impact on your weight goals. [34:08]
- Is there a way to combine strength training and long cardio sessions? [40:01]
- What’s the use of scientific knowledge if it’s not put to practical use? [41:35]
- Is a trainer who can’t get a woman to do 12 pull-ups in 12 weeks a bad trainer? [47:05]
- How would Charles prioritize sleep, food, and exercise? [47:50]
- Are there any benefits to cryotherapy for the average person? [49:12]
- Top things Charles has learned in the last two years. [51:25]
- What does Charles know that’s not well-known among the scientific community? [53:08]
- For someone who wants to start coaching in the strength and conditioning world, is there something more beneficial than certifications? [53:55]
- Thoughts on intermittent fasting for trying to gain lean muscle. [55:35]
- What is the most effective and efficient way to increase strength in a squat and deadlift after you hit a plateau? [56:53]
- What “big idea” has Charles recently changed his mind about? [58:40]
- What new insights did Charles gain training women wrestlers Helen Maroulis and Elena Pirozhkova for the Olympic games in Rio? [1:00:09]
- His process for learning new languages. [1:04:59]
- Favorite books. [1:08:27]
- Charles discusses his “one thing.” [1:08:49]
- What is Charles most proud of? [1:10:16]