C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Just the Basics for Fast Muscle Gains      There are a number of reasons why modern trainees don’t get good results in the gym.  I write a lot about programming , workout ideas, and whatnot, and the fact that most lifters would be better off training with more frequency, using full-body workouts, and stop treating every single workout session as if it’s an all-out onslaught where they have to storm the muscle-building Bastille.  I suppose when it comes right down to it, however, the first culprit for lack of gains is just not doing the right movements in the first place.  Do your workouts consist of these movements (with free weights, I must add)? Vertical press (overhead work) Horizontal press Squat Upper body pull Lower body pull Loaded carry      If they do, you’re probably getting decent results even without proper programming.  If, on the other hand, the majority of your sessions consist of pumping up your chest...

A High-Frequency, Mass-from-the-Past Training Program for Stupendous Size and Peak Conditioning Ross as he appeared in a Weider publication in the '50s      Clarence “Clancy” Ross was one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time yet has been almost forgotten in our day-and-age.  You hear or read more about some of his fellow “Silver Age” bodybuilders, such as Bill Pearl , Steve Reeves, or Marvin Eder, than you do Ross—heck, I’ve written more about his fellow world-renowned lifters.  But back in the early-1950s, Muscle Power and Your Physique magazines, a couple of early Weider publications, dubbed him “King of the Bodybuilders.”  That’s right.  King.  He ruled over those other guys.  He received the moniker because he had won the Mr. America, Mr. USA, Mr. North America, and Pro Mr. America, along with virtually any other title in existence.  Keep in mind that the Mr. Olympia didn’t come along until 1965, and at that time it ...

  I thought, for the sake of a few e-mails that I have received recently, that I would do a "back-to-the-basics" series of posts covering most of what you need to know if you're just getting started in a serious weight training program.  Now, this could also be for you if you have been training for a considerable amount of time (6 months or longer),and haven't made any real gains. Let us begin with workout frequency. If you're just beginning - or if you don't have much muscle or strength as of now - then almost always begin your muscle-building career with a 3-days-per-week, full-body program.  In fact, you could spend your training lifetime using a 3-days-per-week program and do just fine. Clancy Ross spent his career using a 3-days-per-week, full-body program!* Most lifters enjoy using a Monday, Wednesday, Friday routine, just so they can take weekends off, but any three non-consecutive days are fine.  The one complaint I sometimes hear about that is that a ...