C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  The TBMT Program      It’s an old adage in bodybuilding/strength communities—and I suppose it’s probably applicable in other arenas, as well—that “everything works, but nothing works for long.”  Or as I also like to say: everything works…for about 6-8 weeks.  Kinda similar to another adage that “the best program is the one you’re not doing.”  Well, you get the point.      Having said all of those cliched-but-still-true pithy little aphorisms, some programs definitely do work better than others.  It’s the reason that I’m always trying to come up with new, slightly different (from the programs you see in the “mainstream,” at least) training regimens.  When you have plenty of effective, result-producing programs in your workout arsenal, then you’ll always have something to go to when what you’re currently doing stops working at that 8-week mark (or before).  Enter Total Body Mass Building , or TBMT for ...

  I haven't written any "budo philosophy" pieces of late because, well, they don't get near as many views as my essays on old-school strength training, powerlifting, and bodybuilding.  But I enjoy writing them, and, to be quite honest, I think they're some of the better essays here on my blog.  The idea for this one had been churning away in my mind for a few weeks, so I thought it was time to put pen to paper and see what comes of it.  I hope you find it, at the very least, to be an interesting take on an "obscure" subject: The Budo That Can’t Be Seen “Do the budo that can’t be seen,” ~Morihei Ueshiba “It is bad for those who are learning Zen to become like those who are studying Zen but do not sit.  After all, you must have the discipline to sit everyday.” ~Omori Sogen      The first quote comes from the founder of Aikido, also known as O-Sensei, and it’s the primary thing I want to discuss in this essay: how one does the budo that ca...