A pull-up is a more accepted performance test because if you climb a
wall in real life your hands aren't going to be supinated as in a chin-up.
Anybody in the weightroom should be able to do at least 12 pull-ups,
and that's true for females as well. Over twenty years ago I had to testify
in court in a case where a woman claimed that firefighting tests were
discriminatory.
I testified for the fire department and talked about how the goal is
to be able to deal with the task, whether you're a man, woman, or a goat.
I showed that, statistically, the lift where a female is closest to a
male is actually the pull-up... if trained properly.

The guy who testified first said the fire department's challenge was
impossible. I showed that with my national teams, if you go on a pound-for-pound
basis, women are about 85% of men's performances. Then I showed
a video in court of a woman doing 12 pull-ups holding on to a 25 pound
dumbbell with her feet. And I've seen an 11 year-old girl do 50.
I tell people who get certified by me that if they can't get a female
to do 12 chin-ups in 12 weeks, then they don't know how to train. That's
how you can evaluate a good trainer. If he can get a female to do 12
chins, he's a good trainer. If he doesn't know how to do it, then he
doesn't know training. Period.
As for added load to the pull-up, anyone who can do 3 dead-hang pull-ups
with an additional load equivalent to 66% of their body weight is pretty
damn impressive.
As for increasing the number of pull-ups, the time under tension principle
always works. If you can only do 3 pull-ups by yourself, you do 3, then
on the third you try to lower yourself for 30 seconds. Also, if you can
only do 3 reps, then do 10 sets of 3 reps. (And as always, those Gravitron-style
machines are a waste of time.)
Another system I use is I do 10 sets of the exercise. If you can do
6 pull-ups by yourself, divide that by two, so that's 3 pull-ups. Do
10 sets of 3. In the next workout you try to increase the total number
of reps until you can do 10 sets of 6. The day you can do 10 sets of
6 then you'll be able to do 12 by yourself. I've seen people do that
in three weeks.
Another method is to shoot for a number, say 30. Do as many sets as
it takes to get 30 reps and see how long it takes you. Then, the next
time you do 30, try to beat that time.
Now let's talk about how to add additional load. Weighted vests can
compress the nerves, so the best thing for the average gym member to
use to add load is a dipping belt. But what I use in my facilities is
a tree-climbing belt and a chain.

These things can run up to 300 bucks, but I've bought them off of eBay
for as little as ninety-nine cents. With a tree-climbing belt
the weight is equally distributed, and they're much sturdier than a
dipping belt. You can add 250 pounds to it and not feel any pressure
on your hips.


No More Moobs

Q: I have man-boobs. Not gyno from steroids or related to puberty, just
a lot of fat storage on my chest. It seems to stay there when I cut down,
too. Anything I can do non-surgically? What does this say about my hormone
profile?
A: Most of the time, just about every time in fact, it's a sign
of a zinc deficiency. Zinc is the best anti-aromatase.



Jack Nicholson might just need some zinc in his diet.

How many people eat a lot of organic nuts? How many people eat unrefined
grains? How many people eat quality grass-fed meat? Scallops and oysters?
Just about everyone is zinc deficient, especially people who lift
weights.
Low zinc means increased aromatase activity, and that means man-boobs.
In the last ten years, I haven't seen a single male first-time client
who wasn't zinc deficient.




Other things that have natural anti-aromatase activity would be grape
seed extract, resveratrol (REZ-V), and DIM. You should also look to pull
out xenoestrogens with calcium D-glucarate. It's not a source of calcium;
it's a source of D-glucarate, and that pulls out foreign estrogens.
Removing xenoestrogens is also very difficult if your diet is low in
fiber. Anyone who has tits I put on 30 grams of fiber per day, 40/60
split between soluble/insoluble. DIM works very well for that, too.

I sell a shitload of these types of products in the UK because so many
of the males there have tits because they consume so much beer. Beer
is that estrogenic. Now, before someone asks, if you must drink,
red wine actually prevents aromatization. Pinot noir or merlot are good
choices. You don't see tits on men in France.


Stretching: Goods News, Bad News

Q: What are your general protocols for your athletes when it comes to
stretching?
A: There are three main families of stretching, each with its own advantages
and disadvantages. The rule of thumb is, the ones that are good for short-term
gains are terrible for long-term gains, and vice-versa.
The key to being very flexible is to use all three methods in the proper
sequence. The proper sequence is PNF, then ballistic, then end with static.
But never stretch before lifting weights.
In order to get flexible you have to do flexibility training. Sounds
obvious, right? But the research is very clear: doing it 20 minutes a
day, four days a week to warm-up for workouts does not increase
flexibility.

The minimum threshold of flexibility training you need per week to increase
flexibility is six hours. The good news is that after six to eight
weeks you'll be as flexible as your genetics will ever allow you to be.
After that you can maintain flexibility with only one hour a week.
So if you're serious about getting flexible you need to specialize in
it. The good news is that once you're flexible, then you're flexible,
with just a little maintenance every week.


Deadlifts and Big Waists

Q: Can deadlifts make your waist bigger?
A: No. Only fat does that.
When weightlifting was an underground subculture, before Arnold made
it popular, all the lifters — bodybuilders, powerlifters, and weightlifters — trained
together and hung out together. Weightlifters would do curls, powerlifters
would do Olympic squats, and bodybuilders would power clean. Powerlifters
even ate cleaner back then.
When bodybuilding became mainstream, a lot of these guys abandoned good
exercises, and this blend of training and nutrition styles became lost.
There was now that separation.
Powerlifters started eating Three Musketeers and Wendy's. They got fat,
and people associated the deadlifts with the big waists.
I've seen female alpine skiers move 250% of their body weight in the
deadlift, and they have tiny waists. Now, the deadlift will build
your ass up, but it does nothing to increase your waist girth. Again,
the only way to make your waist thicker is to add fat.
The training didn't do this to him; his diet did!

And remember, abdominal muscles have a low hypertrophy response to exercise.
Now, an elite discus thrower who's done a million reps of twisting may
have a thicker waist than the average person, but we're talking about volume (in
his training and sport). Greco-Roman wrestlers who do a lot of twisting
motions against load may also have thicker waists than the average athlete.
They actually have a thicker waist than freestyle
wrestlers. Judo champions,
too.

But we're not talking about 16 inches more waist, maybe just an inch
or two, and it's muscle, not fat. The average gym-goer and bodybuilder
has nothing to worry about, though.


Pimp My Serratus

Q: Even at single-digit body fat, my serratus muscles don't show up
much. Any way I can build them up?
A: There are actually two different serratus anterior muscles. One elevates
the shoulder (shoulder flexion) and the other does shoulder extension.
Basically, if you do a lot of overhead dumbbell presses and chins, your
serratus gets hit. Pullovers will increase the other portion of the serratus
as well.

Usually a guy with no serratus, assuming his body fat level is low,
hasn't done enough full range of motion movements with dumbbells, such
as dumbbell bench press and dumbbell rows. He's been using barbells too
much (less range of motion).
Look at the guys with the biggest serratus — gymnasts. They pull
themselves up on the apparatus and press themselves up on the apparatus.

For the average bodybuilder, just do more full range of motion dumbbell
work for improved serratus development.


About the Author


When a country wants a Gold medal, they come to Charles. Coach Poliquin
has been hailed as the most successful strength coach in the world, having
coached Olympic medalists in seventeen different sports ranging from
shot put to biathlon. To read more about his training methodology and
his strength coaching certification courses, go to his website www.CharlesPoliquin.com.


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