C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Double Split Training for Quick Hypertrophy Gains      If there is one form of training that is more controversial than any other, it just might be the idea of “double-split” training, where you do two workouts in a single training day.  Popular among pro bodybuilders from the ‘70s up through the ‘90s, it was usually viewed as a form of training that could only be performed by the genetically few “easy gainers.”  It was used by Arnold, and many others, in the ‘70s, and was the favorite training system of many European bodybuilders in the ‘90s.  Arnold utilized it to work different muscle groups at the morning and evening sessions.  Bodybuilders like Francis Benfatto, who possessed one of the most aesthetically pleasing physiques of all time in the ‘90s, used it to train the same muscles at both the A.M. and P.M. sessions—the common way that it is still used among East European bodybuilders.      It’s also oft-used by...

Some Thoughts and Insights to Help You Adapt to High-Frequency Training      I extoll—more often than not—the benefits of high-frequency training (HFT) over other “systems” of training.  I put “system” in quotes because it’s not a system per se but more of an approach or a way of training.  Within HFT, you are capable of finding numerous, actual systems of training.      What qualifies as HFT?  When I use the term, it refers to any program where you train a muscle group (or a movement) at least 3 days per week.  Most modern workout programs are either low (once every 5 to 7 days) or moderate (twice per week) frequency regimens.  Please understand that I am not “opposed” to programs that use either low or moderate frequency.  If you scour this blog, you will find that I have written numerous programs that use both low and moderate frequency.  There are times when such programs can be very beneficia...

Tips and Advice for Tailoring Your Training Routine Part 2: Selecting a Program      In post-modern philosophy, there is a term that is important to understand.  I’m not a post-modernist myself—I am, if anything, an integralist , one who integrates different philosophies, East and West, into a singular whole—but I feel this concept is important.  It’s called “the myth of the given.”  The “myth” is when we take our given perception of things to be how they actually are.  We do this more often than we think.  It’s easy to understand this concept when it comes to simple objects, but less so when it comes to ideas.  We may not like how something tastes—raw oysters,for example—so we think oysters are simply bad.  Others, however, may love raw oysters—I could eat them by the bucket.  In this instance, it’s easy to see the myth of the given at work.  Even though you may find oysters personally unsettling, and it befuddles yo...