C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

A (Relatively) High-Volume 2-Exercise-Per-Muscle Group Program for Gaining Muscle      As I was typing away on my latest article for the blog, I needed a break.  I typically write in sort of creative “bursts.”  I’ll sit down at my “writing nook” with my laptop in hand and hammer away vociferously in periods of 30 minutes or so.  Once I feel as if I’m losing inspiration or the words just aren’t flowing as harmoniously as they could from my mind to my fingers, I’ll get up and do some household chores or walk around my wilderness property with my dogs for 10 to 15 minutes until the inspiration, once again, returns to me.  About once a day, I also take a break to check my emails, too.  And this morning, I received a question from a reader that I thought might not only interest other readers but would be a good idea for an article in its own right.  Hence, what you’re now reading on whatever-the-heck device you utilize to read my ramblin...

Variations and Alternatives to the Classic 5x5 Methods of Training      Of all training methods and workout routines out there, I think it’s safe to say that 5x5 training is one of the most popular and most widely used by a lot of lifters, especially those seeking a combination of both size and strength.  It’s not the most popular training method, I'm not saying that.  I bet if you walk into most commercial gyms anywhere in America (perhaps the world) you’ll find that the majority of trainees use somewhere between 3 and 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps more than anything else.  Nonetheless, 5x5 training is hugely popular.      There are two ways that most lifters utilize 5x5 training.  You can either do 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps or you can do 5 straight sets of 5 reps, using the same weight at each set.  The former works better for full-body workouts performed 3 days per week.  The latter tends to be ...

Increase Your Workload and Work Capacity with this Size and Strength Building Method      Natural lifters and bodybuilders—in other words, those of us who don’t use any anabolic steroids, testosterone replacement, and other performance-enhancement drugs—need a different strategy from lifters and bodybuilders who do use them.  One of the tenets of my training philosophy, and, therefore, the methodology that my programs utilize, is that building muscle and strength, for the natural lifter, is not just about hard training sessions coupled with enough rest and recovery supplemented with a good nutritional strategy.  Instead, if you’re serious about building muscle and strength naturally, you need to follow workout programs that focus on increasing your work capacity—your ability to handle more and more “work” in the gym—through frequent training using big, compound lifts.  As you do this, and in order to do this, the workload of your training sessio...