C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Tips and Advice for Tailoring Your Training Routine Part 3: Sets, Reps, and Training Frequency      Click on these links if you would like to read the first 2 parts of this series: Part 1 & Part 2 .      In part one, we covered the basics of “workload” and in part 2 we covered how to “select a program” for your individual needs and goals.  This essay may not make as much sense if you don’t read the first two parts, so if you just jump in here, you’ve been warned.  With that out of the way, let’s get right to it.      Originally, I was just going to sub-title this part “sets and reps,” but as I began to put pen to paper—I almost always handwrite my articles before I type them—I realized that training frequency must come first and it should determine the set/rep range that is then utilized.  Since we have been covering primarily full-body workouts done 3 days per week, we will start with the b...

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...