C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

     This is my 2nd Q&A article.  If you want to read the first one, click HERE .  Here are some random questions that I received of late. Question: Can I use the 3 powerlifts as the only exercises in my program but do them for higher reps in order to build muscle? Answer:  Maybe.  (I know readers don’t care much for it, but as I pointed out in our 1st Q&A piece, the answer to a lot of questions is “maybe” or “it depends.”)  So, also, it depends.      I think the squat and the bench press should be mainstays of all hypertrophy programs, or at least the squat and the bench along with some iterations.  Ultimately, you wouldn’t want to just do squats for your legs or bench presses for your chests.  But squats along with front squats and lunges would be about all you need.  Bench presses along with dumbbell benches and incline bench presses, both the barbell and dumbbell version, would also be...

       Here is a random selection of questions that I received via email the last several weeks.  I figured these might be of interest to some readers. Question: Is it possible to do an easy strength program only 3 days each week and get good results? Answer: Maybe.  It depends.  (This might annoy some of my readers, but, to be honest, the answer to a lot of questions is it depends .)      Now, first off, if you don’t know what “easy strength” is, the standard recommendations for an easy strength program goes something like this: 1.      Train with full-body workouts using a limited number of basic barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell lifts such as squats, bench presses, overhead presses, chins, dips, curls, cleans, snatches, or deadlifts. 2.      Lift 5 to 6 days per week. 3.      On average, keep your reps per set in the 1-5 range.  Doubles and triples are probably the p...