C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Build Muscle the Classic Way with an Old-School Favorite      I’m going to stop writing that I’m going to stop writing about a subject, any subject.  For one, I never know quite where my writing is going to take me.  That’s correct.  I don’t really feel as if I write.  It’s more as if writing just happens through me. I sit down at my laptop in the morning, my heavy cream-laden coffee steaming next to me, with every intention of writing on a certain subject.  Only to find that it morphs into something completely different, sometimes not even remotely in the same orbit as my initial idea(s).  For another, quite practical reason, I never know what kind of questions my recently written articles are going to generate, often prompting another essay on a subject I thought I was finished with.      I mention the above because at the end of my recent Old-School Muscle-Building Once More , I wrote that I was going t...

  Ageless Bodybuilding Part 2 A Basic “Break-In” Program Don Howorth and Vince Gironda.  Howorth, I believe, was in his 50s when this picture was taken! If you haven’t done so, read Part 1 before continuing to THIS article.  Without the first part, you may not understand just what-the-heck is going on here, and why in the world you are attempting such an “odd” workout-style in the first place!  It will also explain a very basic outline to my entire Ageless Bodybuilding System. Okay, now that you have read Part One , we can move on to THIS workout program. This Break-In program should be used by anyone who starts my Ageless Bodybuilding System.  I write this because I have a feeling IF everyone reading this had my complete Ageless Bodybuilding System at their fingertips—which, of course, will eventually be the case once I have written the entire damn thing on this blog—the majority of you would probably skip this first one because, well, it just seems too “b...

Are You on a Training Program or Are You Just Working Out? Programming and the Importance of Routine Vince Gironda, poolside in the 1950s, the inspiration for this post. The title of this blog post comes from a quote from the legendary "Iron Guru" Vince Gironda, who would often extol, "Are you on a training program or just working out?"  Gironda knew that one of the most important facets of training - maybe the most important factor - was consistency, and the only way to be consistent is to be on a program. Programs.  Routines.  Schedules. The three words are thrown around almost interchangeably when it comes to workout programs, since we often refer to them as workout "routines" or workout "schedules," as well.  When it comes to "programming" - I mean exactly this usage.  When it comes to "routine" I mean it here as your daily schedule , the daily routine of your life  that is necessary for the program you are using to proper...

For Fast Muscle-Building Results At first, I was going to write this as one "big-as-hell" article the same as my one from last week on old-school arm training.  However, I thought this might work best as a sort of semi-regular series on various "little known" or "secret" muscle-building tips and techniques for easy  mass-gaining.  Besides, it was getting kind of long as it is.  Introduction out of the way, I hope you enjoy... The "Iron Guru" Vince Gironda, seen here in his competitive days, was the inspiration for this article.  Gironda had more knowledge of "secret" muscle-building tips and tricks than just about any trainer before or since.   In many of my posts and articles, I often lament the fact that many lifters (and I use that word loosely here) seem to prefer over-complicated and easy instead of simple but hard  training programs.  I suppose nutrition would fit the bill, too.  But in the case of diets, I think more people are ...