C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  How to Build Mass, Strength, and Power Without Squats Tips, Advice, and Programs      On October 20th, I posted a Q&A article with my answers to a few questions that I had received lately.  One of the questions asked: Could one design a strength-building, mass-gaining program without the use of squats?  The question came from the fact that I have, over and over throughout the years, pushed the squat as the king of all exercises.  On top of that, I have, in fact, written more than once that if you don’t do heavy squats, you can all but forget about building prodigious amounts of muscle mass and strength.  However, I also pointed out that I thought it is possible to build strength and power without the almighty squat if you include enough other big, compound lifts that work the entirety of the body, especially lifts that work the back and the legs.  This essay will include, in much more detail, what I think such programs sh...

       In hundreds of articles and essays—both here on the blog and in various magazines and internet sites—I essentially repeat the same stuff.  Take what I call “The Big 4” for instance.  I’ve written about it ad nauseam, so much that you’ll find it repeated over and over on this site.  So why am I writing about it again , in what you’re now staring at on your computer screen, tablet, or phone?  The other day I received an email from a reader who wanted to know how to incorporate all of the elements of the Big 4 into his training split.  And my answer is essentially what precipitated this essay.      Before we go any further, assuming you don’t know about the Big 4, here goes:  No matter what your goals are—whether you just want to look good naked, enter a strongman competition, gain as much muscle as humanly possible, or step on a bodybuilding stage; male or female—you must do the following 4 things...