C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Some Thoughts and Musings on Why I lift and Why You Should Lift (with a Little Help from Budo and Zen)      Over the years that I have been lifting—going on almost 4 decades of training at this point—I have been asked a number of questions.  Most of them are in the “how” category.  How do I gain muscle?  How can I increase my bench press?  How do I get big arms?  And, from primarily women, the most often asked is how do I lose weight?  Or how do I get in shape?  Occasionally, however, I have been asked the why question.  Why do I lift?  Why do I train?  Now, usually, though not always, this is a what question.  As in: what are my goals?  What am I trying to achieve?  Though there are times when the inquiry is deeper .  Especially as I get older, sometimes folks want to know why I still do this lifting thing.  After all, I’m not preparing for powerlifting meets anymore or getting...

The Most Impactful Changes You Can Make to Your Training for More Size and/or Strength      I received a question from a reader yesterday, and, after responding to it, thought it would be good to share here, and, essentially, use my response for this essay.  So, the question from “Alan S.” goes something like this (edited slightly by yours truly): “I was wondering what the biggest ‘game changers’ are that you have used over the years?  By this, I mean what things have you added to your training that made the most improvements to your physique and your strength?  Or what things have you added to the programs of lifters you have trained that made the most difference in their size and strength?”  (Emphasis added is mine.)      At first, I thought about just rattling off to Alan what I call the “Big 4,” but I figured he had read enough of my programs and/or articles—his question was even more in-depth, but I removed any...

  On Programming, Variety, and Making Gains!      The other day, Jason, a lifting friend of mine, called me on the phone.  He needed some advice for breaking out of the rut he was in.  Jason’s one of those guys that’s always into “powerbuilding.”  He wants to look like a bodybuilder, but also wants to have impressive strength.  He said that several months ago he had started on one of those “briefer-is-better” programs—the kind of program that would have made Ken Leistner proud—and got some of the best results he’s ever had in just a matter of a few weeks, but then it all ground to a sudden halt.  After explaining to me what he had been doing, and some of the adjustments he’d made but to no avail, he was almost at his wit’s end.  “I just don’t know what I’m doin’ wrong,” he said.  To which I replied, “It ain’t what you’re doin’.  It’s what you’ve done.”      “Huh?” he replied in turn, bemusing...