C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

      “In my view the best equipment anyone has for confronting the adversity that comes with hard times is the possession of a healthy, powerful body and the sense of spiritual equilibrium that comes from being centered and in solid personal control.” ~Bradley J. Steiner*      Bradley Steiner, in the pages of Ironman , penned the words above in 1995.  Apparently, he thought the world was going through some hard times back then, though I’m not really sure exactly what it was.  Bill Clinton was in the 3rd year of his presidency.  Perhaps he didn’t like Clinton—I was a Perot man myself those days—and thought the world was headed in directions that could be detrimental for its future.  Steiner passed on from this life in December of 2020, when everyone was in isolation from Covid.  I wonder what he thought of the world then?  Oh, well.  Whatever it was that he thought in ‘95, his words ring true no matter ...

       When a lot of lifters or bodybuilders first take up “briefer-is-better” workout programs such as H.I.T., the “Heavy Duty” programs of Mike Mentzer, or the strength-oriented training programs of Dr. Ken Leistner, they are often surprised at how much hypertrophy or strength gains they make in such a relatively short period of time.  This is especially true if they've been “killing it” in the gym beforehand with much more voluminous, frequent training programs.  But then the gains stop, and the lifter just can’t quite figure out what went wrong.      One problem—and this might just be the problem that plagues the average gym-goer—is the thinking that it is the workout that produces results.  I often refer to this as the erroneous belief of letting the means (the workouts themselves) justify the ends (the results seeking to be obtained) .  You see this approach in things such as “cardio classes” or “workout...