Biosignature Modulation

By Charles Poliquin

Spot reduction is a myth, right? Sure, there are endless articles in fitness
magazines about how to target and tone specific muscles, but no personal
trainer worth his certification will promise he can help you take off fat from
specific areas. Reduce your body fat by three percent, no problem. But get rid of
that annoying cellulite on the back of your thighs or that little pouch on your
lower belly and nothing else well, thats just not possible. Or is it?
The promise of spot reduction is an obsession that many in our culture just wont
abandon. How many pills, creams and celebrity-endorsed gadgets have people
tried that were supposed to help you develop ripped abs or slender thighs? And
even though those tight corsets of the Victorian era that caused women to pass
out due to lack of oxygen are a long-dead fashion trend, today there are special
pants and girdles that give the illusion that the troublesome fat is gone. Trainers
constantly warn their clients to stay clear from such nonsense. However, the
advancements in exercise endocrinology may give personal trainers new tools
for combating site specific fat storage. The system is called Biosignature
Modulation.
Biosignature Modulation is a scientific approach to spot reduction I developed
from over 20 years of performing blood, urine and saliva tests while working
with world record holders, professional athletes in all the major sports and
Olympic medalists in 16 different events. My entire professional life has been
devoted to finding ways to improve athletic performance among the elite, and
along the way, I have found innovative and amazingly effective ways to help the
non-athletic population in the area of fat loss.
Based on my testing, the reason so many people have stubborn problem areas is
due to imbalances in their body biochemistry, especially with hormones. Doubt
the power of hormones? Just look at what steroids have done to so many
athletes, turning men into supermen and women into superwomen (and
sometimes into supermen! Unfortunately, these drugs do have side effects). And
just as steroid hormones can build muscle, other hormones can cause unwanted
fat stores in your back, legs, hips and well, you get the idea.
Heres how Biosignature Modulation works. There are 12 major body fat sites
that can be quickly and accurately tested by a pair of quality skin calipers. These
sites include the cheek, chin, pectoral region, triceps, umbilical, supra iliac,
subscapular, mid axillary, quadriceps, hamstrings, knee and calf. Although there
are many other methods to test body fat, such as underwater weighing and
electrical impedance, I believe body fat testing with skin calipers is the best
method to be used for Biosignature Modulation because it can determine
precisely the amount of fat in each of the major fat testing sites, the same way a
far more expensive Dexa scan would.
Measurements from each site are then compared to the tricep reading, and this
identifies which areas of the body have excessive levels of fat relative to the
other 11 body fat sites. Some people may have excessive fat in just one area,
while others may have several problem areas. Most clients will already be quite
familiar with their problem areas. An experienced practitioner in Biosignature
Modulation can often make an accurate visual determination of the problem, but
the calipers are quick, easy and reliable.
Once the Biosignature sites are analyzed, the next step is to set out a specific
protocol of diet, exercise and supplementation to resolve the problem. Lets say
that after being tested, its discovered there is an excessive amount of fat on the
lower thighs (again, relative to the other major fat sites). This indicates there is
a problem with the estrogen levels. If the problem area is the triceps, the issue
is with the androgen levels. If the problem area is the shoulder blades or hip,
the problem is with insulin levels. The shoulder blade area has to do with the
genetic ability to handle carbohydrates, while your supra-illiac skinfold is a direct
reflection of your dietary intake. Therefore, if a client cheats on an assigned low
carbohydrate diet, the skin folds will not lie.
After determining the cause of the fat, the next step is to make appropriate
modifications in your clients diet. For the subscapular and supra-iliac, controlling
the blood sugar levels of the body with more frequent meals, reduced daily
carbohydrate and low GI food choices is critical. For lower abdominal fat, the key
is reducing cortisol levels by restricting the consumption of stimulants and
simple sugars.
For the glutes, its important to detoxify estrogen levels by consuming
vegetables such as broccoli that have biochemicals to accomplish this important
task. Many of these dietary recommendations overlap. None of them involve any
method harmful to the body, and in fact, all of them will improve the overall
quality of life.
The next step is supplementation. For the fat on the back of your arms, herbal
products such as licorice root, ginseng (which is most effective when taken 45
minutes before a meal), suma, holy basil and rhodiola rosea might be prescribed.
For the fat stored around mid-axillary, a supplement of guggul, coleus root and
bladderwrack algae could be recommended as it contains iodine that will
strengthen the thyroid gland. For the fat stored around the shoulder blades and
hips, corosolic acid, R-form stabilized alpha lipoic acid and fish oils may be
prescribed to control insulin. For fat storage on the thighs, indole-3-carbinol,
phosphatidyl-choline may be recommended. The cortisol site on the abdominal
wall can be addressed mainly with what traditional Chinese medicine
practitioners would call Yin tonics. In the Biosignature model, over 26 types of
Yin tonics are used. The choice of a specific one is regulated by other factors
than cortiso, such as the clients personality, levels of neuro-transimitters,
exercise levels, circadian rhythms, to name a few.
Taking a well designed multivitamin/mineral helps out the overall process, as
many nutrients act as intermediaries in detoxification of hormones and provide
building blocks for all the neuro-transmitters. Male slanted formulas tend to work
on correcting blood fat values. Female slanted formulas are more geared
towards the detoxification of estrogens.
The final step is determining an appropriate exercise regimen. For example, for
those with lower body fat, spinning will likely do more harm than good. Spinning
will increase the storage of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat in the hip and
thigh areas to provide a more readily available source of fuel for the muscles.
Instead, a weight training protocol of high reps (10 to 15) and short rest
intervals (about 30 seconds between sets) would be a much more effective
choice.
The Biosignature Modulation program will always be in a constant state of
growth with the publication of new and better research that improves the system.
But now, personal trainers can effectively combat site specific areas of fat
storage using a simple 12-point skinfold test, dietary changes, supplementation
and exercise based on their individual biochemistry.