So I saw Charles Poliquin today...

Off Topic
21

Okay, I’ll chime in: in defense of Poliquin, I too, hate it when I am interrupted during a workout. It doesn’t matter if it’s between sets either. I just want to be left alone so that I can finish my workout and get the hell out of the gym. Plus, lifting the weights I lift ain’t easy (despite how “easy” I may make it look) for someone of my “size” - so I need all the concentration I can muster.

Okay, now here on the forum we have had much discussion on our behaviour and demeanor, especially when trying to introduce others into the "bodybuilding lifestyle" - do you think by being all gruff and harsh, Poliquin is providing a "service" to all of us here and anyone else wanting to promote this lifestye? We all have to do our part, right? Now, I remember Arnold saying that when he was approached by people during a workout, he would politely ask them to wait until after his workout and THEN he would answer their questions. Couldn't Poliquin have done that?

22

I think many people here are just busting on him because of who he is. In the world of strength and conditioning, which i consider myself a part of as an exercise scientist(well three hours away anyway), he is a celebrity. Maybe not to the average trainer but for people in the know he is. I see these guys the same others would movie stars or singers. when i talked to Ian King on the phone i was almost speechless. all the questions i had in mind were suddenly gone. I will talk to anybody anywhere and am always polite because the one thing ive learned is that the person you piss off may be in a position to help you later on. but as soon as i step into the gym my personality goes out the window. i couldnt give a fuck about anybody and wont talk to anybody. not even my friends when they come in. i just say hey and keep everything i say short back to them so they know i dont want to talk.

23

A strength coach a celebrity? I just fell out of my chair laughing. Strength coaches, and trainers, and everyone else in that para-profession make money one way; providing simple minded people with simple minded concepts. Weight training is so simple its laughable, but yet people, both trainers and trainees, try to make it some sort of rocket science/brain surgery. The strength coaches capitalize on this monetarily. For anyone interested in hiring a strength coach, here is some advice; go buy a book written by a reputable strength coach, two if you want, read them, and empower YOURSELF.

24

Good posts by Bodyguard and Rexor. I agree with them, since when is a strength coach a celebrity? Why the hell would anyone be in awe of a strength coach?
How many people would even recognize Poliquin in a commercial gym? I’m guessing most of the people there wouldn’t? There is no reason for rudeness like that. He was advertising his own center by wearing his t-shirt. Intelligent marketing on his part…“act like n a$$h@le and they will come.”

25

I’m with Goldberg on this one,in the world of strength coaches,Poliquin IS a celebrity.Please re-read that before some moron writes that they haven’t seen him in a movie.Avoid Roids,I really don’t think this thread is going to hurt Charles too much,and he’ll likely know it as well.Ask TC,Bill Phillips(does he still believe in training?),Ian King,Paul Chek,Dave Tate,Louie,etc,to name the top strength coaches in the world,and Poliquin will be in top of the list somewhere.Like Goldberg said,people “in the know”,KNOW Poliquin.In my opinion,bashing someone on a thread in this manner is lame,I would tell him he was acting like a bitch(if I felt he was),rather than run home and cry about it on the internet!Poliquin has help me out tremendously,and if he isn’t Mr.I Need Someone to Talk to at the gym,oh fucking well.Poliquin (as a strength coach)was awesome,is awesome,and regardless of how he treats people that talk to him during his workout,will continue to be awesome!

26

“Im not defending him in anyway but dont you think he probably gets that at just about every gym he goes to. He probably just wants to go lift and be left alone. Im the same way when i lift except im not in the least bit famous” hahahahahahhahhahahahahah ahahahahahahahhahahha ok, ok let me read it again, hahaaahhhaaaha hahahahahaa. gee goldie, you were on espn with your pom poms, you have to be more famous then that idiot. how many times do people need to hear bad things about this idiot? I have never known anyone who met him that did not think he was a jerk (2 people I know well, one guy at my old gym, and too many people on message boards for me to count). did someone say that the gym might not have had a chin bar? what gym on this planet does not? I have worked out in probably 25+ gyms and EVERY one had a chin bar. gee he does not follow his own advice? maybe if he could transfer some idiots money from one of his accounts to another before he went to the gym he would listen to himself. here is my $300.00 advice, eat alot, rest alot, lift heavy, use compound exercises, protect your shoulders, back and neck, and if someone acts like this crap is real complicated DON’T DO ANYTHING THEY SAY! please send the $300.00 and I will call you back and insult you.

27

Okay, I’ve got to say something here. In fact, a couple of things:


One, the fact that Machine knew who he was (and yeah, maybe it was the shirt that tipped him off, but so what?) indicates that CP does have a certain level of notoriety. Maybe “celebrity” isn’t the right word, but everyone reading this thread knows who he is, has seen a picture of him, etc. So I’m sure that Poliquin has had people come up to him in the gym and ask for advice (or just wanting to shoot the shit) more times than he can count. So if he’s a little short (heh heh, get it, “short”?), well, I can see how that would happen.


Two, the above doesn’t excuse him from being an asshole. I agree with Patricia that CP could help himself out a lot if he took Arnold’s approach to “fans”. Being polite never hurts anyone.


Three, to those people who seem to think that BB is “easy”, my response is, it might be easy for you. But not all of us grow or get cut just by lifting heavy, eating heavy and so forth. I for one have benefitted hugely from CP’s advice, and I’ll continue to listen to whatever he has to say on the subject of weight training. And if anyone out there wants to accuse me of being an intellectual lightweight, well, I’ll happily agree to a comparison of mental dicks - we’ll see who’s larger. :slight_smile:


My question is: if weightlifting and nutrition are so simple, what are you guys doing here reading T-mag in the first place? You already have it all figured out, right? I mean, come on - it’s soooo simple! You don’t really need this ezine, do you? Oh, wait a minute, you say you learned something? Gee, and I thought that you already had it sussed. Huh!


(Look of wonderment as char-dawg hits the “submit” button…)

28

I come here because it is fun (at times). I have never said and will never say that there is nothing left to learn, I think there is plenty to learn about supps, nutrition (although most take that tooooo far also), scientific studies, drugs, etc… I don’t think there is that much more to learn about wt. training. face it, the HUGE people out there are huge because of drugs and genetics. if you have those 2 you can pretty much do anything and grow. everyone else should K.I.S.S. p.s. this is the “off-topic” side.

29

yall obviously cant fucking read. i said in the “world of strength training”, not general fitness, the world of ballys or any of that gay shit. im talking about real trainers who lift instead of workout. he is a celebrity in that world. not in the regular everyday ben affleck is famous world. and fuck rev. i for your comment on cheerleading. i dont know why that pissed me off because usually i dont care what pussys have to say about but you did. you couldnt do one goddamn thing i can do. i fucking guarantee it. thats anything. run, jump, lift, you name it. you fucking prick.

30

Ive finally figured it out. the only people complaining must be the ones that never get bothered at the gym because they dont even look as if they lift. that must be it because no one who lifts seriously wants to talk to anybody at the gym. its distracting. and as poliquin has said before, if your workout takes longer than an hour your not training your making friends.

31

Char-dawg, I would be more than happy to compare mental prowess with you, but as illustrated above, anyone who uses a term like “mental dick” doesn’t really have that much clickin up there anyways. And yes, I really am a Ph.D., conferred last year by a well-known southern u. in pharmacology. So, enough of that!
As far as simplicity of training goes, come on guys! Its just training. Like I said before, read “Get Buffed” or “Designing Restistence Training Programs” and BECOME as knowledgable as these strength coaches. They don’t know any secret keys to muscle growth, they are just proficient self-promoters who have figured out a way to earn a pretty good living giving out pretty rudimentary info. Nutrition, on the other hand, is a far more interesting subject, although you should still read all you can about it, empower yourself, and not let others design nutrition plans for you. But then again, we were discussing strength coaches, NOT nutrition, were we?

32

If you could just clarify who it was specfically, you just directed the last two posts to I would appreciate it (whether or not your intentions were to directly insult me would suffice). Thanks.

33

After reading this thread, I think everyone is taking waaaayyyyy to much Androsol.

Especially you Goldberg. Chill out dude.

34

Rexor,you just stated …"read “Get Buffed” or “Designing Restistence Training Programs” and BECOME as knowledgable as these strength coaches."PhD or not,you’re a fucking moron.Do you think these guys(King,Poliquin,Simmons) are this successful because they write one book.These guys are constantly improving,learning more.They will tell you they don’t know EVERYTHING!!!But you think because you have read these books ,you are as knowledgeable as they are.WOW,I’m going to read a Stephen King novel,then I’m going to write my own best seller,can’t wait.There is a lot to know,and 2 books won’t make anyone the next King or poliquin.Get a fucking grip.

35

Yeah, I figured the “mental dicks” bit would get someone worked up. I guess I could have said “intellectual penises” instead, but it wouldn’t have had quite the same impact.


Anyway, I was going to respond further to your comment, but The 'Ol Kid did a pretty good job for me. So I’ll just say again, if you’re so knowledgeable and if reading a book or two can bring someone up to a world class level of expertise in a given area (in this case weightlifting/strength training), why are you here on this forum? It’s a conundrum, huh?


Also, just as a side-note: reading Poliquin a little more closely would at least teach you how to spell “resistance” correctly. For a PhD, your spelling and grammar sure do suck. (I know, I know, “Don’t judge me by one or two thread messages. My English skills are PERFECT…I just don’t happen to care to demonstrate them here.” Yeah, yeah, yeah…)

36

I’m with Rexor on this one people, alot of you folks spend far too much time cruising the forum, and probably not enough time in the gym, or with your nose in a book learning. Most of us just check in periodically to see if anything funny or interesting is being said, we are not seeking “higher knowledge” in weight training, cause lifting is pretty damn simple, only a few concepts being needed to be learned.
Char-Dawg I’m also sure he didn’t do a spell check, but if he has a Ph.D., he probably knows how to spell most words and shouldn’t be subjected to a nagging-ass grammar teacher ( I always couldn’t stand those ladies in fifth grade). Now go lift some weight internet boys.

37

Been away for few days. All I have to say is WOW! Respond later when not falling asleep.

38

So are you saying that you’ve never learned anything about weightlifting from this site? Just curious…

39

Poman,you’re right,you are with Rexor,in the moron department.Am I jumping to conclusions,not really,just ANYONE that would state such a ridiculous comment is a few bricks shy of a load.Why is it Louie Simmons and Dave Tate are constantly changing little things and adding new ideas to their training?Because they want to improve on current methods.I’m sure you don’t need to know a whole lot to complete your BFL routine,but some want to constantly improve.6 hrs of cardio a week doesn’t really take much in the way of expertise,I agree.If you want to make jackass statements,make it to you buddies during your conversations while doing 50 lbs barbell curls in the squat rack

40

Too much Androsol, so you got a problem with that? What you gonna do about it? Huh? There’s no such thing as too much. More is always better. Wait a second, sorry that was just the Androsol talking. Whew.