A few years ago when I first heard Charles Poliquin mention Biosignature Modulation at a seminar I was completely blown away by the concept.  If you’re unfamiliar with the idea, Charles explained that he’d done caliper measurements on 12 skinfold sites with loads of athletes and discovered a relationship between certain hormones and the location of fat storage.

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Moreover, he suggested that these hormones could be affected by food, supplements, and training such that we could actually remove fat where we wanted to remove it.  Charles Poliquin had discovered the secret to spot reduction!!!

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I was so enamored with the idea that when Charles came to Toronto for a 3 day Biosignature seminar I was all over it.  My wife paid for my registration as a birtday gift (yep…she’s awesome like that) and I spent three days learning the protocol and brought it back to experiment with my clients.

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In the end, it worked.  My clients’ skinfolds went down, they lost fat, and looked better.  But since the program is pretty heavy on the supplements it could also get VERY costly.  What I eventually noticed was the clients I had that couldn’t or wouldn’t use the supplement protocols get exactly the same results.

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Over time I slowly found myself disenchanted with the system and I completely phased it out.  Below are my thoughts on the Biosignature Modulation system after having had a couple solid years to reflect on the protocol and its effectiveness.

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Note that these thoughts are not meant to attack or belittle coach Poliquin, but to express my opinion.  As Mike Boyle has said brilliantly, “there is a difference between disagree and dislike”.  Charles Poliquin was an early influence for me in this industry and has inspired me in many ways.

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My Restrospective thoughts on Biosignature Modulation

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As I see it, Biosignature Modulation relies on three central assumptions:

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1. Body fat storage is correlated with specific hormones

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While this may certainly be true (I can’t say one way or the other), a correlation does not equal causation.  In other words, just because the hormones and fat storage are related does not mean that hormones cause the fat to be deposited in certain areas.  There may be an association, but one may have nothing to do with the cause of the other.

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2 – Changing those hormones will cause changes in the location of fat storage

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Even if these hormones do cause fat storage in specific locations, evidence would have to support the notion that changing them would alter fat storage.  In the Biosigature system estrogen is reported to be the primary cause of excess fat store in the glutes and thighs.  If this were the case and it could be altered by changing the hormone then estrogen blocking drugs would decrease fat storage in this area.  I don’t believe that any research supports this claim.  As I’ve mentioned before, changing hormones doesn’t always result in the expected outcome.

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3 – Those changes can be brought about by manipulation of hormones with nutrition, supplementation, and training.

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This assumption is based on the fact that the two previous ones are true.  And while I can’t attest to the fact that there is no evidence for any of the strategies provided by coach Poliquin, one of the most popular seems to be the use of fish oils for accelerated fat loss in those with extra fat at the insulin sites (love handles being one of these sites).  I can say that without a doubt there is currently no scientific evidence to support this as explained by Alan Aragon HERE.

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And while you might argue that I haven’t really provided evidence that all of the protocols don’t work, I would suggest that the burden of proof when selling a product/service/system is not on the potential user, but on the person/company selling the system.  Their job it to convince me that the protocols stand up to rigorous testing and, in this case, I don’t believe they’ve met the requirement.

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But proponents say it works…

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With any popular system you will always get hard line proponents that are completely inflexible when it comes to questioning of their methods.  In terms of those using Biosignature Modulation, it can also contribute a rather sizable revenue stream to their business so letting it go can be economically challenging.  And, of course, there are those who are just afraid to question the protocol because it comes from Charles Poliquin.

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Personally, I’m not about to argue that those using Biosignature aren’t getting results.  What I would argue is that those results could probably be had with an appropriate diet and training strategy.  Moreover, when using Biosignature I never did see the specificity of fat loss that was suggested.  People lost fat, but it was pretty much what I would have expected with a good diet and training. 

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The one advantage of the protocol is that if people are spending a lot of money on supplements in addition to private training they might be more apt to stick to their plan.  As you’d expect, you will obviously see greater results with greater compliance which is a possible people report good results.

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In the end, if you’re considering taking a Biosignature course I’d suggest keeping your money in your pocket.  If you are considering using a Biosig protocol on yourself, I would highly recommend you skip it and stick to the time honored classics…nutrition, training, and consistency.

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There is no substitute for hard work.  There are no shortcuts.  If someone tells you differently they are selling something.

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Questions?  Comments?  Random Insults?  Leave ‘em below!

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In my recent article Intervals Don’t Work I discussed the scientific evidence surrounding the use intervals for fat loss.  By why, if science says intervals aren’t that much better than endurance exercise, does everyone report such great success with intervals?

In my mind, there are a few possible reasons for this:

1.  Actually Doing Cardio

Before interval training became en vogue, many people weren’t doing much (if any) cardio.  Whether it was due to fear of cardio burning off hard earned muscle (which it doesn’t), boredom from endurance style cardio, or lack of the “cool factor” associated with intervals people just weren’t getting it done.  The additional calories from doing something instead of nothing could easily account for the “success” of intervals for those that were previously doing nothing for conditioning.

2.  Working Intensely

Many who were actually doing cardio before considered walking on a treadmill sufficient to burn calories.  Of course, exercising at this intensity is hardly different than sitting on the couch watching Gilligan’s Island reruns so it should come as no great surprise that doing high intensity interval work brings about greater results.  Had they done higher intensity steady state work the result would likely have been similar.

3.  Efficiency

Those that were doing cardio before and doing it with success (i.e., busting ass and burning kcals) realized that it takes time and hard work to lose extra fat via cardiovascular exercise.  Intervals (even if not technically better in terms of fat loss) were a welcome addition since they made achieving the same results possible with less of a time commitment.  So not better, but faster.

4.  Appetite Supression

While everyone knows that it is quite possible to burn off the same number of calories from endurance or interval training, intervals have the added bonus of appetite supression.  This could lead to less eating for those who are doing intervals and not consciously dieting.  It could also result in greater ease in sticking to a nutrition plan for those who need a more formal eating plan.  Personally, I lean slightly toward this as the most likely player for the relative success of intervals because the calorie deficit from any exercise is fairly dismal compared to the calorie deficit that can be achieved with food.

What do you think?

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I have to be honest and say that I was once swept up onto the interval training bandwagon.  But when it comes to fat loss, the research isn’t actually as strong in favor of intervals as you might think.  Check out my review on TMuscle HERE and let me know what you think.

Special thanks to Nate Green for editing my piece and making it look like I know how to write.

No thanks to the haters in the discussion after the article for the unsubstantiated personal attacks.  Damn interwebz.

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When it comes to treating shoulder pain most people would agree that instead of treating the shoulder itself, you might first investigate thoracic mobility, scapular stability, lower trap and serratus anterior strength, and any other root cause that might be related.

On the other hand, when it comes to excess body fat, the same trainer or coach might tell people to follow a nutrition plan and exercise to lose weight.  In other words, they treat the symptom (excess body fat) with exercise and nutrition instead of addressing the possible barriers that were limiting people from doing these things in the first place.

To this end, I think it is absolutely critical that anyone  who is overweight or working with anyone with body fat to lose address the real reasons the person is overweight to begin with.  While a client may be able to stave their regular barriers for a short period of time (i.e., a 12 week commitment to a fad fat loss program), they will eventually have to face these issues or lose all the progress that has been made.  Despite the fact that you’ve given a person your very best cutting edge training, nutrition, and supplement program, they’re bound to fail if these issues remain. 

Moreover, (as an astute blog reader recently pointed out) people who have been particularly overweight since childhood will have more fat cells than the average person which might make it significantly harder for them to keep weight off so staying on target is absolutely key.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog you’ll know that I’m all about assessing people and knowing what these barriers are should be part of any fat loss client assessment.  Below is a great chart produced by Dr. Arya Sharma demonstrating how one might assess for potential barriers for long term success.  Of course, this isn’t nearly as sexy as saying “get ripped in 12 weeks” or “abs in hours”, but it is the reality and I’d be willing to bet that anyone reading this blog right now that doesn’t have the body they desire has yet to truly identify and troubleshoot each of their barriers.

Whether there is 100 pounds to be lost or 10, if you address the symptoms (like treating shoulder by taking Tylenol) you can eliminate them temporarily, but they will be back.

And by the way, never once have I come to the conclusion that a client is overweight because they haven’t purchased the latest supplement, exercise gadget, training program, or cleanse.  Just sayin’.

Please share your thoughts!

1.  I would be willing to bet that most people probably gain about 5 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s each year.  Moreoever, I would also be willing to guess that a vast majority fail to lose those pounds before the following Thanksgiving.  If those 5 pounds accounted for all of the additional fat gain for each person for a year they could easily accumulate 50 extra pounds in a matter of 10 years even if they prevented any further fat gain for the rest of the year.  Just something to ponder.

2.  I was recently being interviewed and one question that came up was what kinds of things I do with my clients so they don’t have to extensive amounts of mind numbing cardio.  Of course, I quoted the usual stuff.  Interval training, medicine ball circuits, outdoor sprints, and so on.

But there is one thing I’ve been doing so long that I completely forgot to mention it because it is just something that has become automatic.  When someone comes to me for fat loss I’ll often have them skip between sets for the entire workout to maximize energy expenditure. 

For total beginners I’ll just have them step up and down on an aerobic step instead.  For those who can skip like Buddy Lee on crack I’ll have them doing double unders until I can collect buckets of sweat.

Of course, you might argue that this isn’t the best way to build strength or gain muscle and I’d fully agree.  When you prioritize fat loss you need to maximize your output and that’s exactly what this does.  If you’re trying to lose fat and haven’t had a jump rope in your hands since childhood I’d highly suggest you pick one up.

Take it to the gym and see how many stares you can get.  But when your abs start to come in, don’t forget to send me a thank you note.

As I’ve blogged before, I’m not a huge fan of rapid fat loss transformations.  Granted, it is incredible to see what can be accomplished in 12 weeks, but  most people just gain the weight back right after they’re done.  If you’ve been around the fitness industry long enough, you’ve probably seen this numerous times.

Truthfully, I very much prefer the slow and steady approach to fat loss.  My client Jeff is just one shining example of that.

Jeff came and asked me to help him get ripped without building too much muscle mass in the progress (Yes, I’m serious, there are people who really just wanted to get shredded).  After about a year of training I managed to snap a couple shots of Jeff at our facility.

All in all, Jeff was pretty happy with how things turned out and I was too.  What is even better to me though, is that when I saw him a year after these photos were taken his body fat percentage was almost exactly the same!  In fact, it was literally decimal places away from where it was a year previous.  Here is a recent photo to demonstrate my point.

To me, this is the biggest success.  Anyone can lose fat for 12 weeks.  The real test is losing it for life. 

Thoughts and comments are welcome below.

In my experience, the majority of people who follow these “12 week” programs also rebound rapidly gaining all the weight back within a fraction of the time it took them to get it off in the first place.

Still, every once in a while people come to me asking to help them lose fat quickly.  I give them the above warnings, but they’re set on a certain time frame and my job is to provide the results people want.  Below is a friend named Tyler who had only 11 weeks to get into the best shape possible.

During that time he lost an incredible 43 pounds and 6.75 inches off his waist.  Granted, because his program was almost entirely geared towards fat loss, I didn’t have time to put the size on his legs like I wanted, but I still think the results are pretty damn impressive.

Of course, you could give the guy a hard time for the bad choice of briefs or for the new Batman tatoo (believe me…I did).  However, you simply can’t argue with his results.

Nice work brother!

However, I got a couple emails suggesting that it was a little difficult to transition from steady state cardio if you’re just getting into intervals.  I also got an email telling me that intervals are not for beginners.

Fortunately, I was recently speaking to Craig Ballantyne of TurbulanceTraining.com and he mentioned that he’s had great success with intervals for beginners and he was kind enough to share his ideas with me.  Although neither of us is really a huge fan of treadmills, I’ll use this as an example because it is pretty easy to understand.

Let’s say that a beginner can walk on a treadmill at a steady pace of 3.5 for twenty minutes.  You could start to implement intervals by having that person performing at a higher level than usual (3.8) followed for about one minute followed by a minute at a lower level (3.2).

By doing this you’re gradually increasing the intensity at which someone can work.  Over time you’ll be able to increase the intervals to higher and higher levels until they can go full tilt with a true interval protocol.

So if you’re just getting started you can definitely give this a go.  Also, I’d highly recommend checking out Craig’s website at TurbulanceTraining.com

  Check out this article that I had posted yesterday at T-Nation.com for 7 cardio drills that don’t suck.

Part I
Part II

I hadn’t initially planned to write a part three, but in light of the questions I’m being asked, I realized I may have left out a few things.

Training Frequency for the Conditioning Period

As with most things, the amount of interval training you need to be doing depends on several variables so there is no cut and dry answer that applies to everybody.  However, I generally like to start with two interval sessions per week and build from there.

Whether you’re a complete novice and you’ve never touched a weight in your life or you’ve trained for years I’m going to suggest that you start off nice and easy by performing the introductory cardio phase three times per week for three weeks.  If you’re a novice, you also need to start weight training (what to do specifically is beyond the scope of this article), and get your diet together.

If you’re more advanced, it wouldn’t hurt you to review your diet too.  All great physique transformations start in the kitchen so this is an essential starting point for any fat loss plan.  If you’re looking for ways to lose fat, chances are that your diet isn’t where it needs to be in the first place.

I personally like to start most of my fat loss clients with a 5 session per week exercise plan and go up or down from there as necessary.

Here is a sample NOVICE template for the conditioning period
2 Lifting Days / 2 Cardio Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Off
Tues – Weights
Wed  – 30 Minutes Cardio
Thurs – Weights
Fri – 30 Minutes Cardio
Sat  – Off
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

Here is a more ADVANCED template for the conditioning period
3-4 Lifting Days / 2 Cardio Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Weights
Tues – 30 Minutes Cardio
Wed  – Weights
Thurs – 30 Minutes Cardio
Fri – Weights
Sat  – Weights (optional)
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

You’ll notice that I don’t like indoor “cardio” very much and I know most other people don’t either so I encourage my clients to get out and do stuff that they actually enjoy.  This leads to greater long term adherence to the program and an increased likelihood of surrounding themselves with other active people instead of coach potatoes.

If fat loss was my goal and I had to drop an exercise day due to time and recovery constraints I’d probably drop one of my lifting days (i.e., Saturday) instead of a cardio/recreational bout.

Training Frequency for Intervals

After the three week conditioning period you can start into the interval training as described in Part II, but don’t go at it more than twice per week.  Personally I’d suggest doing it on “off” days from your training to start.  If you’re doing all the things I’ve suggested above and added interval training you should be getting results.  If you’re not, it’s probably your diet.  Check this before thinking about more intervals.

Here is a sample NOVICE template for interval training
2 Lifting Days / 2 Interval Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Off
Tues – Weights
Wed  – Intervals
Thurs – Weights
Fri – Intervals
Sat  – Off
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

Here is a more ADVANCED template for interval training
3 Lifting Days / 2 Interval Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Weights
Tues – Intervals
Wed  – Weights
Thurs – Intervals
Fri – Weights
Sat  – Off
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

If you MUST add a 4th training day I would use this template
4 Lifting Days / 4 Interval Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Weights / Intervals
Tues – Weights / Intervals
Wed  – Off
Thurs – Weights / Intervals
Fri – Weights / Intervals
Sat  – Off
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

In this case I think that the increased recovery demands from the weight training, dieting (you are trying to lose fat right?), and intervals would require at least two off days during the week.  I would suggest abbreviating all workouts to 30-45 minutes and performing intervals at the end.  Alternatively, intervals could be done in the morning and training at night or vice versa to save time.  This could also be done for a 3 day lifting program in the interest of time or recovery.

However, I think it should be said that this level of training is not usually necessary if your diet is where it should be.  I’ve only had to use this level of exercise with ONE client in 9 years so think twice before trying this yourself.

Also, if you’re on a severe diet such as that described in Lyle McDonald’s Rapid Fat Loss Handbook, don’t even think about attempting intervals.  You just won’t be able to recover and you’ll be doing more harm than good.

Used carefully intervals can be the missing key to a ripped midsection.  Used stupidly they can lead directly to overtraining and feeling like crap.

Be smart and get lean.