C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Hybrid Leg Training 21 st Century Bodybuilding for Awesome Leg Growth      I love training legs—always have, always will.  I love it because it’s what separates the men from the boys.  I love it because it creates a euphoric pump (when doing bodybuilding workouts, at least) that can’t be “beat” by the pump that’s achieved in any other sort of training.  I love it because leg training will add muscle everywhere .      About twenty years ago, I attended a seminar with Tom Platz.  He was back in awesome shape at the time, and when I saw him, he had just finished doing some photo shoots with several of the top magazines—namely Iron Man and MuscleMag International .  (I wrote for both of those magazines back then, which made it even cooler, and the rumor mill was saying that Platz was going to get back into competition—Masters Olympia, or something of the sort.  He never did compete, but he still looked unbelievable at his age—huge, shredded, vascular; in a word: freaky!)  An

     This is a little belated—should have done it a couple of weeks ago—but my latest article is out in Planet Muscle magazine (October, 2013).  It is on "strongman-style" training, replete with a few weeks of workouts to get you started if you want to begin such a thing.      Here I am—in my study, semi-naked as usual when writing or engaging in creative endeavors—holding up the cover:      And here is what the article looks like inside the magazine:      To whet your appetite just a little bit more, here's a brief excerpt:      Most of you reading this will probably never compete in a strongman competition, but the kind of lifting they utilize can be a great way of training for any bodybuilder looking to pack on some muscle mass.      The program presented here allows you to train as if you were preparing for—or even competing in—a strongman competition.  First, I am going to lay out the parameters of the program.  Second, I will discuss the benefits of

My Training Philosophy      I received an email today from a reader who was confused over my training methodology.  He said that he had read over several of my recent articles—ones on Texas Volume Training, my hybrid system, and my few posts on high frequency strength training (including my “Ditillo-inspired” article)—and now he wasn’t sure how it was that he should train.  He felt as if I was saying different things at different times throughout my articles, and that it didn’t make for a cohesive whole—those weren’t his exact words, but you get the drift.      After several emails back and forth throughout the morning and afternoon, I believe he now understands how he should be training based on his goals and his training experience.  I’m not going to re-hash those email correspondences here, but what I would like to do is set the record straight on how I believe you should be training based on your experience, training time available, and goals. Starting Out      I ge

      “I gave myself a full year to recover. Literally, I walked, did a little this and that, biked a bit, waded in the ocean and lived like what I call a “normal.” A normal human being. They are wonderful people, really, but they don’t wear singlets, weightlifting boots and smell of fear and chalk.”   -Dan John      The above quote from Dan john is from a post he has on his blog about his return to Olympic lifting competition.  The post, in general, can be said to be rather pedestrian – although John seems to do “pedestrian” better than most any other writers in this field – but this quote made me smile, and got me to thinking.  Thinking about the times I lived as a “normal” myself – times that I sometimes look fondly upon, sometimes view it with little other than indifference, but, on the whole, look upon it with something akin to disdain.  And then there’s the fact that I can’t really live as a “normal” even if I wanted to, even when I’ve tried to do such a thing.  (Although

Over at the "Iron Samurai" (see my "links" section), Nick Horton has a post that I wish I would have written myself.  It's entitled "Overtraining Doesn't Exist." I imagine the title alone would enflame many of your H.I.T. pundits or others who may think that Mike Mentzer was actually on to something. Here's a portion of the article : I’m going to say something many people in the fitness industry will get pissed at me for. But I believe it to be true (within reason). OVERTRAINING DOESN’T EXIST That’s bullshit, of course. Overtraining is a medical syndrome that some people do get themselves into. But… it is EXTREMELY rare, and YOU have never had it. I want you to avoid ANY thought of overtraining. In all of the years I have been coaching, I have not EVER overtrained a single athlete. Ever. CNS fatigue is not overtraining. Feeling tired is not overtraining. A loss of appetite is not overtraining. Being massively sore is not ove

Texas Volume Training Is This the Ultimate Powerlifting Program?      After years of powerlifting – although I haven’t competed in almost a decade, I still train the powerlifts hard and often work with powerlifters who need to boost their totals – I have come to the following conclusions about training for the intermediate to advanced lifter: [1] Matthew Sloan squatting      Most lifters can increase their squats the most by using a fairly high amount of volume, and frequent training.  2 days per week should be the minimum amount of squatting, while most will get even better results by at least 3 days per week.  Recently, some lifters have been experimenting with taking a more “Bulgarian” approach, and squatting almost every day, and getting good results (Nick Horton’s programs over at “The Iron Samurai” would be good examples of this kind of training).  Also, programs such as the “Smolov squat routine” have worked wonders for quite a few lifters that I know, or that I hav

Here's another "redux" of an article I wrote a couple years ago for Planet Muscle magazine.  (For even more of my articles for them, check out their new, "upgraded" website.) Enjoy... The New Hypertrophy Program Constructing A New Breed of Mass-Building Workouts      Based on some of the latest “innovations” in mass-building workouts, and what I have learned over years of training powerlifters and other strength athletes, what follows are the “keys” that I believe unleash the most potential for both building muscle mass and inducing strength and power at the same time.  These are the ground rules—the secrets if you will—that unlock the sacred door of muscle growth.  While these keys aren’t set in stone (bodybuilding rules—like all rules—were made to be broken, after all) they represent what I would call the best parameters now available.  Strap on your mass-inducing engine—its time for some serious muscle growth. Key #1: Full Body Training