C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Reimagining a Classic Bodybuilding Method for Strength and Power      When I first started lifting—not to mention reading bodybuilding magazines—in the mid to late ‘80s, most bodybuilders trained the same way.  By and large, although there were exceptions, mind you, so I don’t mean this as an entirely blanket statement, the majority of bodybuilders trained on either a 6-on, 1-off split, or a 3-on, 1-off split.  The body was split 3 ways.  Typically, one followed either a push (chest, shoulders, triceps)/pull (back and biceps)/legs split or an “antagonistic” split where you trained your chest and back one day, your shoulders, bis and tris the 2nd day, and, finally, your legs on the 3rd day.      Although this seems as if it’s a lot of volume, especially if you’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid of “high-intensity” training, it was actually less work than bodybuilders from previous eras.  Arnold, for instance, trained on a 6-on, 1-off split, but he trained each muscle group three times per w

       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 each and every single week : Squat something heavy. Pick heavy stuff off the floor.