Charles Poliquin Structural Balance

[Arnaude Kubiak]

Structuralbalance is a concept popularized by Charles Poliquin in the 1980s. The structural balance theory states that you will make faster progress when all the different muscles of your body are in balance with each other.

For the upper body, the bi-acromial Bench Press is used as the reference lift from which you can establish ratios for other exercises. These ratios indicate the structural integrity of the upper body.

Instead, you need an exercise that principally recruits the weaker muscles, but have a very low level of upper trap activity for optimal balance. The Trap 3 exercise is the perfect solution because it isolates the lower trapezius (known as the trap 3) with minimal engagement from the rest of the traps.

The lower body structural balance assessment uses movement and length-tension tests that allow you to determine weaknesses. Each movement assessment looks at function of specific parts of the lower body.

For example, the Klatt test has you step off a low box and land on the same leg in front of the step to determine weakness throughout the lower body musculature. One of the most common imbalances in athletes and the general population, a weak vastus medialis obliquus (VMO), leads to knee pain and reduced lower body power. Corrective exercises include step-ups, split squats, and backward sled drags.

Another topic discussed in Structural Balancing is how to determine the muscle fiber type of specific muscles. Poliquin found that having an athlete perform a specific percentage of their 1-repetition maximum can determine if that muscle is more fast twitch or slow twitch. This information is valuable for determining which sports an athlete would most likely excel and has implications for program design.

If you want to learn how to refine your program design skills, start with the basics by learning more about structural balance training.

[To listen to the Strength Sensei Exclusive Podcast Interview with Charles Poliquin, CHP Podcast #1: Structural Balancing, click this link:

-podcast-1-structural-balance/]

For ways to keep your body loose and functioning properly, get our Mobility Webinar and join the Dojo of Strength, which has monthly programs and articles from Charles Poliquin and our team of coaches.

When driving by any building construction site, steel beams, re-bar and concrete are all visible staples of the landscape. Each of these plays a vital role in the stability of the structural framework of a building. For example, if the placement or level of just one beam or re-bar is not precise, the stability of the entire framework becomes compromised.

Negative health consequences -- ranging from chronic pain to acute injury -- can result from similar faults in one's framework. According to a 2008 study out of the prestigious British Journal of Medicine, the majority of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in adolescents and young adults occurred while participating in sports, with female athletes at a five-fold greater risk than their male counterparts.

A study out of Canada reveals that as much as 62 percent of law enforcement professionals have had or currently suffer from back pain. As difficult as it may be to quantify, a large majority of professionals who sit for long durations throughout the workday probably have some degree of back pain as well.

The concept of structural balance is the brainchild of renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin. After training thousands of athletes at all levels of sports -- in particular olympic and professional athletes -- coach Poliquin noticed trends between athletic performance and optimal strength ratios between agonist, antagonist and synergistic muscle groups. Understanding the body is only as strong as its weakest link, he understood these weak links must be addressed in order to reach athletic potential.

Often when extensive attention is paid to one muscle group at the expense of others, muscular imbalances occur. The overworked muscle may become shortened while its antagonist becomes lengthened and weak. For example, the muscles you see when looking in a mirror -- chest, abs and biceps -- often receive more training attention than their less visible counterparts, the external rotators, back and triceps. An over-emphasis on these anterior muscles, in addition to a lack of proper training for their antagonists may lead to rounded forward shoulders, hunched forward posture or constant elbow flexion, all of which can lead to an increased potential for injury.

Another common muscular imbalance attributable to extended periods of sitting is tight hip flexors and inhibited hip extensors. When a muscle becomes chronically shortened and overactive, in this case the hip flexors, the motor cortex part of the brain sends neuro-inhibitory signals to the antagonist telling it to relax or stand down. This phenomenon is referred to as reciprocal inhibition. With reciprocal inhibition, there may also be an over-reliance on the assistive, or synergistic, muscles, further exacerbating any structural imbalances.

To assess structural balance, specific strength-based exercises and movement screens are used to test for imbalances throughout the entire musculoskeletal chain. The movement screens assess lower body function and muscular balance, while the strength tests assess ratios between upper body and lower body exercises.

Jason Shea is owner of Athletic Performance Enhancement Centers in Medway and a strength coach and adjunct professor at Dean College in Franklin. He has a bachelor's degree in exercise science and a master's in human movement. Contact him at ja...@apec-s.com or 508-533-9005.

Structural balance is of the utmost importance for any age group, ranging from the 16-year old athlete to the 70-year-old senior citizen. If your body is out of balance bad posture develops, overhead range of motion is limited, knee issues occur, tennis elbow is more prevalent and a host of other issues may develop.

Your body is not much different. If one possesses a weak fixator muscle, it will inhibit the amount of weight that can be lifted. For example, if your external rotator is lacking, it will inhibit how much you can bench press.

A good way to relieve or prevent these symptoms from occurring is to commit to training your fixator lifts 1-2 times per week. A remedial (fixator) workout is not hard and may seem tedious, but the time invested in these workouts will dramatically improve your quality of life and/or athletic performance. In order to make a remedial (structural balance) workout effective, proper execution is essential. PICP trainers are drilled on these exercises because of the success Charles Poliquin has had using these workouts with professional athletes and clients. If the exercises are executed improperly, you will not reap the benefits. At BBCT all of our trainers are level 2 PICP certified to ensure that you execute these exercises properly and reap the rewards.

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