C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

      This is a second part in a series on (what I call) Texas Volume Training.  It would serve you well to read the first article before starting this one.  The program presented here is strictly for powerlifters (or lifters who want to spend some time building their powerlifts) who are interested in building muscle – whether it’s purely for ascetical reasons or whether it’s because they are interested in moving up a weight class.      The program presented here is not for lifters who need to stay in the same weight class or who are trying to drop bodyweight.  (To be honest, the original article on Texas Volume Training isn’t for this class of people, either.  The volume is just too high, making it well-nigh impossible to not gain some amount of muscle.)      What follows is much of the original article (including the “template” from the first article) with a lot of additional commentary for changing up the program so that you are adding muscle.      First, let’s look at the “t

     Here is the complete, unedited version of my "Bulgarian Method for Massive Muscles" that appeared in Planet Muscle a few months ago.  I included an excerpt of this a couples months ago on this blog, as well, but here it is in full.      Please, if you haven't attempted this kind of training before - or you haven't performed it long enough to give it a "proper test drive" - then don't dismiss it.  You will be pleasantly surprised with the results. The Bulgarian Method for Massive Muscles      In previous articles for PM, I have discussed the efficacy of high-frequency training.  High frequency training is effective because the more frequently you can train a muscle group, the faster you will grow muscle and build strength.  Notice that I didn’t say that the more frequently you train a muscle group, the faster will your results be.  For instance, there’s no way that you can do a typical bodybuilding workout (lots of sets, lots of re

High Frequency Training for Strength and Power, Part Three Building the Squat      A few months ago, I began to write a series of articles on high-frequency training specifically aimed at building strength and power.  It really began even before that, with a post I did on Anthony Ditillo-inspired training, and then before that a post written by Ditillo himself (from an old issue of the once great Iron Man magazine from the ‘70s).  Before you continue reading this article, it would probably behoove you to read the first two posts on HFT for strength and power, and the posts on Ditillo training.      And, now, on with this post:      Squat training lends itself specifically well to high-frequency training.  Or, as the Russians would say (or, perhaps, this is just a quote from someone who was fond of Russian-style training): “If you want to squat more, you have to squat more!”  Unlike some of the other lifts—bench presses somewhat, deadlifts decidedly more pointedly—you can

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