Opinions on Paul Chek?

[Kristofer Shamloo]

Just wanted to start a discussion about Paul Chek and his thoughts and ideas on fitness and health.

I'll get things rolling with a video of one of his workouts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRc5g...eature=related
(WFS)

edit: I decided it would be unfair to analyze only his workout so I have included a short video in regards to Paul Chek's lifestyle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v58uFxhK5qM
(also WFS)

[Blair Robert Lowe]

Cool, thanks for the hookup since I have been interested in looking for videos on him after seeing his website. First workout looks a bit odd, but I was told by someone more knowledgeable than me with the workout that one of the frustrating things is balancing out all the workouts.

I looked at his certification program and also saw that many of his courses count for credits under other programs.

Interesting, his program gets very holistic, somewhat weird, but so does Poliquin at some levels.

Workout wise, it looks boring as ****.

[Phillip Garrison]

His ideas are interesting but I think the results of his athletes/clients speak for themselves

[Justin Lascek]

These YouTube videos are the only exposure I've ever had to Paul Chek and his methodology/philosophy.

I've always thought and told my students (in classes I teach as a graduate assistant as well as at my affiliate) that the key to longevity in life is consistent exercise throughout life. That is apparent when you look at any individual who is still lively in old age (I'm talkin' 70's and higher).

For the record, Paul Chek is still kickin' -- 47 is not old to me at all. But, he seems to be in great shape. From an aesthetic perspective, his legs don't seem to be in the same proportion as his upper body, but aesthetics don't mean jack.

However, I'm not convinced that just from seeing that one training session (and I'm admitting the only training session I watched was the one linked in this thread), I don't see how that would prepare someone for combat (something I haven't experienced either). Is his training philosophy specifically functional from a musculature and energy systems perspective? I don't know, I can't tell from my minimal exposure. I'm biased, and I think the fundamental movements of CrossFit along with metabolic conditioning reign supreme over other methodologies. But, I'm a CF trainer, so of course I'd say that.

So, I guess that's my opinion. Chek seems better than the mainstream fitness crap, but I would never declare anything superior to CrossFit if GPP is your goal.


Edit: Oh, and I did a very brief search to see the "results of his athletes/clients", and I couldn't find anything. I only looked at his website. I just didn't know what "results" that Phillip was referring to. Again, I've never heard of the guy until now.

[Brian Degenaro]

Some WFS: AND SOME NOT. T-NATION IS NOT WFS.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ting_paul_chek

https://www.t-nation.com/ALSAuthor.d...0Chek&pageNo=1

http://www.paulchek.com/paulsblog.asp

I like Chek a lot. He has many good arguments and points to make. But just like any other person, he is not 100% right (not even Rip, Burgener, Glassman are perfect). You have to take what is useful of his stuff and meld it with what works with everything else. I have nothing wrong with Chek, he has his thing and I have mine.

[Blair Robert Lowe]

My interest in him stemmed from that article. Personally, if I had the dough, I'd be interested in his program, maybe even Poliquin's. Those two seem to have a lot of information. He also doesn't come off as a pompous *** like CP.

I'm not exactly sure what his clients are. I'm thinking many are everday people to some athletes. He has a lot of good data that gets way confusing.

[Mike Mallory]

first post!

I felt like I better chime in on this one, because I've got some CHEK certifications, and I've spent a lot of time with Paul himself.

The CHEK Practitioner certifications really give you a huge toolbox to work with. Right now, I work with a mix of severe spinal impairments, and professional athletes, and the CHEK system works great with both.

I take everyone, measure all the major muscle groups (length/tension), clear spinal issues, check SI joint, upper cervical, etc.......then check movement patterns (squat, lunge bend, push, pull, gait), core mechanics......THEN workout.

That way, I can do corrective work for a short stretch to clear all postural stuff and pain, then move on to more crossfit style fun stuff

Chek does workouts very similar to crossfit stuff.......It's just the base conditioning that differs......also, if you have people post-surgical, or disc herniations, or spondy's, etc., you can't just throw them into the WOD and expect results.

I don't have any crossfit certifications, but I can't imagine that they are any better/worse than the CHEK stuff for learning functional movement patterns.

[Kristofer Shamloo]

Any opinions on the spiritual/nutritional side of what Chek has to say Mike?

[Donald Lee]

I don't buy the spiritual side, but all the nutritional stuff he had to say in the T-Nation interview seemed correct.

[Jacob Cloud]

Originally Posted by Kristofer Shamloo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRc5g...eature=related
(WFS)

This is a joke...right?