C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Bradley J. Steiner, author of the original "Rugged Size and Strength Split Routine"      In the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, Bradley J. Steiner was the voice of (what he called) “sane, sensible” barbell training.   His workouts were full-body programs done 3 times per week, utilizing a limited number of big “bang-for-your-buck” movements such as squats, deadlifts, barbell rows, bench presses, overhead presses, barbell curls and the like.   They were intended for the average, drug-free lifter who didn’t have the luxury of living at Muscle Beach in Venice, California and training all day, but worked a full-time job, had a wife and kids—you know, a “regular” life—but still wanted to build a strong, impressive physique that could move some heavy iron and turn heads at the local swimming hole.      He wrote prolifically for (primarily) IronMan magazine up until the early years of this century.   When I started writing for IronMan i...

       I had an email from a reader this morning who asked a question I don’t usually get, although I’m sorta surprised I don’t get it.  Odd as it might be, come to think of it, I don’t remember a time that I’ve ever received this question.  The question was: “Should I specialize on a lift or a bodypart sometimes or should I just follow a basic, overall mass-building program?”  Although the reader was solely interested in hypertrophy, the same question could be asked by strength athletes.      My answer was, “well, it depends.”  But, on the whole, yes, you should specialize.  And then you shouldn’t.      If you’re new to training, or if you haven’t built any appreciable strength or muscle mass (depending on your goals) then, no, you shouldn’t specialize.  Specialization should occur when you have a weak point, whether it’s a “cosmetic” weak point for a bodybuilder or a strengt...

Bradley Steiner's "Rugged Size and Strength Program" Version 2.0 A.K.A.: The New, Improved, Totally Bad-Ass Rugged Size and Strength Program for 21st Century Mass and Power! Bradley Steiner flexing his well-developed arms.  This picture was taken sometime in the '70s.   Anyone who has read my blog with more than passing interest knows that one of my inspirations has always been Bradley Steiner (sometimes his name would appear as Bradly J.  Steiner).  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Steiner, he wrote a LOT of really good articles for the old IronMan  magazine in the '70s and '80s, and he wrote a monthly column for them for decades, into the 21st century. Steiner was the  voice of basic, sensible, but tough  programs using full-body workouts.  In turn, he inspired a lot of other writers (Stuart McRobert probably was the most well-known) who wrote for IronMan  starting in the '80s, and continuing to this day.  And his training prog...

Reg Park - seen here in his 50s - built ALL of his muscle by keeping it simple! What follows might be slightly rambling (hey, it’s my blog so I can ramble however much I want).  So… I sat down at my computer this morning to crank out - or at least attempt to crank out - my second installment on “Sets and Reps”, a follow-up to my “Frequency” Fundamentals post from a few months ago, when I said to myself, “ya’ know, CS” (I always talk to myself in my mind in the third person for some damn reason) “I think you jumped the gun a little bit.  Maybe you need to just tell everyone to keep it simple, and stop trying to be so complex, before you get into the varying nuances of sets and reps .” Now, why did I tell myself this?  A couple of reasons. First, it started with a co-worker of mine who wanted to know about “sets and reps” himself.  He has been going to the gym for several months, and, of course, not making the best progress because he has been attempting to “go it alon...