C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Re-Thinking “Light” Day Training and the Need for “Play” in Your Workouts      In my last essay on Spring Training , I mentioned briefly that summertime is, from a training perspective, the time for “play.”  This is not the essay for summer training—we’ll save that, you know, come summertime—but I do want to discuss the need for lifting sessions that are play no matter the season or how it is that you train.  That’s right.  All year-long, you should do at least some “play” workouts where you experiment with new things, try out some “odd” lifts or set/rep sequences, and, perhaps above all, just have some fun .      One of the best times for play is during your “light” day sessions, whether you follow a structured program such as Bill Starr’s heavy-light-medium system or if you are just more intuitive about it and throw in a light workout when you feel as if your body could need or use it.  Play is essential for cont...

Build a Massive Grip, Tenacious Strength, and All-Around Muscle Mass with “Fat Grip” Workouts and Programs      One of the best ways to build tremendous strength and plenty of all-around mass is through thick bar or “fat grip” training.  I think it’s probably one of the most under-utilized methods of training.  Have you done a lot of thick bar training?  If not, then my point is made.  If you have then you understand well its power to transform your physique.      I first read about thick-bar training probably in ‘96 or ‘97, when I got a copy of Brooks Kubik’s "Dinosaur Training.”  I like that book for many reasons, but Kubik insisted that thick bar training was one of the best methods that you can use, and not just for building your grip strength but for simply building “all-around” strength.      At that time, however, there was an issue.  Where in the world do you get a thick b...