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The
Poliquin Principles reviewed by |
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You have been training for a few years and the gains are starting to slow down. You have your copy of Keys to the Inner Universe and have been adding variety to your workouts but you feel you really need to shake things up. Wanting to shake things up is good but how to do it? You could just try the shotgun approach and blast through every thing you read in the muscle mags but you would rather have a single source and something a little more methodical. The Poliquin Principles may be just the ticket for you.
Charles Poliquin, who first came to the attention of many through Muscle Media Magazine, has written a training book that is not so much a "follow this program" manual as it is a collection of training principles that one can use in designing a workout. The principles hop all over the place which was, at first, a bit frustrating because I was expecting a normal training manual. After reading it a few times (which you will do--believe me), I came to the conclusion that this is more of a companion to a book like Keys to the Inner Universe. I would use Keys to pick some exercises but I would refer to The Poliquin Principles for things like reps, sets, training tips, how often to workout, etc. It may sound like a lot of work or trouble but shouldn't designing an advanced trainer's workout be more involved than a beginner's? Fortunately the book is fairly compact so hopping around it is not so bad. Perhaps it is just human nature to want an easy answer but I suppose there are no easy answers in advanced weight training. Bodies adapt and we are all different. Trying out the principles contained in this book will help you experiment and find out what works best with your body.
What kind of principles are here? Routines to try for different bodyparts, set and rep schemes, recovery tips, techniques and tips for certain exercises, etc. Seemingly little things but when added up together can really mean a lot for an advanced trainer. Beginners need not purchase this book. Stick with the basics and put in a few years before buying your copy. There are actually full routines listed here but all the exercises are not possible for a home-trainer such as myself. They will be something that most people can try, though.
A few small dings. First, I mentioned the somewhat jumbled nature of the book. There should be some kind of logical progression through the book--some kind of thread to keep the frustration factor down. The absence of an index does not help, either. The photographs in the book are pretty bad--as opposed to the excellent diagrams peppered throughout. Little quibbles but they are things that should be improved upon in Poliquin's next book (and I am really hoping that he and Paul Chek get together and write the mother of all advanced weight training books).
If you are familiar with Poliquin from his articles in Muscle Media Magazine and you like them, you can expect more of his wisdom in The Poliquin Principles. If you are not, pick up a copy of the magazine while he is still writing for them and check out his column. You are bound to like what you read and you will find more to like in The Poliquin Principles.
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