The Poliquin Principles
Charles Poliquin
Charles is one of the most accomplished strength coaches in the world. He has designed workouts for Olympic medalists, world-record holders and pro athletes.
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Attacked On The Internet
Q: You’re a celebrity in the fitness industry – some would say that you are an outlier in your profession. But there are individuals who attack you on Internet forums. You never respond to them, but does this kind of trash-talking bother you?
A: Arnold Schwarzenegger once said that he knew he was getting famous by the sheer number of people he’d never met who were reporting negative things about him. It is one of the prices of success, and the truth is I’m fine with it.
Negative talk is just a poison – if you pay attention to it, you are swallowing it. As Dan Duchaine once told me, everybody on the .net forums is 7 foot 4 and 489 pounds of shredded muscles…until you meet them. The more macho the user name, the worse their physique. For example, I met a guy who went by something like “MegaBlastthunderouswarrior.” His physique was an embarrassment – even his breasts were droopy!
During human evolution, our brains got wired to distinguish differences, which is essential for survival. Many of the newer writers in the field of strength and conditioning believe they can achieve instant authority because of the power of the Internet, whereas 30 years ago they never would have been able to get an audience for their crap. One author I enjoy is Tim Ferriss, who has a degree in neuroscience and East Asian studies from Princeton University. He wrote The New York Times bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, which I highly recommend. Ferris believes today’s society has too much negativity and that we have no obligation to provide a platform for those obnoxious individuals who obviously have too much time on their hands.
Ferriss says that for the concept of “different” to work, it has to fulfill at least one of two criteria: 1) It has to be better, and 2) It has to be more fun. Borrowing an example from his book: Wearing your underwear over your jeans is different. Is it better? No, because it crushes your gonads. Is it more fun? Only for others, as they can laugh at you!
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