C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Old-Time Bodybuilding Methods: Train Through the Soreness I know this method's going to be a bit controversial, given all the emphasis in muscle magazines the past few years on giving your muscles enough time to "recuperate" and "repair." But, let me explain, and maybe I'll have a few converts (especially once you put the method to proper use). I think it's mistakenly believed that bodybuilders of the past trained so frequently (usually 3x weekly for each bodypart) because they simply didn't know any better. But, if you were to ask the great Bill Pearl if he would change the way he used to train considering all the new "knowledge" about recovery, he would flatly tell you, "no." The same goes for longtime Iron Man contributor George Turner. He's seen it all, and done it all, and still believes frequent, volume-oriented training is better. One of the reasons bodybuilders who train each bodypart once-per-...

I talked to my Uncle Kirk tonight. He lives in Texas. He stands about an inch taller than me—he's 5'7". He weighs about 10 pounds heavier than I do—he's 200 lbs or so. He's also 58 years old, and built like the proverbial brick shit-house. He also trains in a barn—squat rack, a bench press, a few barbells, lots of dumbbells, and a whole crap-load of weights—with a few guys who are probably 30 years younger than him. He's been training since his teens, can bench press in the mid-300s, and can deadlift around 500 pounds—not as strong as he once was, but all-in-all still a pretty strong S.O.B. He calls me to talk training, and we just like to keep each other updated as to the kind of progress we're making and the kind of workouts we're performing. "What'd you do tonight?" I asked. "A 10 sets workout," he replied. I know that my Uncle doesn't use a "split" routine—never has—so I was ...

Over the past year, two of my workout programs seem to be the most popular—at least, I get asked the most questions about these two programs. The first program would be my "Mass Construction" program. The Mass Construction routine is ideal for anyone who needs to pack on as much muscle as possible in a relatively short amount of time. However, I think that the second program—what I call "High-Frequency Focus Training"—has the most potential. It's not just a workout program, but rather it's a system of training with a lot of potential—and by this I mean that it is a template that you follow, but it allows for plenty of variety, hence its potential . What follows in this post is the basic program—with a beginner routine and an advanced routine. After this post, I'm going to add some others that deal with specialization while on the HFFT system, since that's the area where a lot of questions get asked. High Frequency Focus Training Sometim...

The following is an article from the always-great Bill Starr entitled "Low-Rep Lowdown." Starr, of course, always remains my favorite strength coach and writer—I'm amazed sometimes that he still gets so much attention from the mainstream magazines. But, then again, it could be that Iron Man —never one to shy away from heavy, basic training articles (after all, I have written for them since the early '90s)—knows what they have in Starr, and they don't plan on letting him go. Anyway, it's always nice to see Starr's byline next to an article—you know it's always going to be good stuff. This one is no exception. Low-Rep Lowdown by Bill Starr Currently there’s a trend in strength and fitness training to shy away from doing lower reps—threes, twos and singles. It’s largely due to the influence of those who are responsible for programs in high schools, colleges and the pro ranks. And, of course, personal trainers. The reason: safety. What those in cha...

The following is an article that I wrote a few years ago for T-Nation (now "T-Muscle"—I always thought T-Nation had a better ring to it). If you're into full-body workouts—and if you're not, then you NEED to get into them—the training program presented herein is one of the best. Train Long, Not Hard by C.S. Sloan You hear it all the time. It's one of the favorite sayings from high-intensity pundits and other "briefer is better" trainees. It goes something like this: You can either train long or you can train hard, but you can't do both. You know what? It's a pretty damn good quote, one I wouldn't mind using myself when I talk to different lifters seeking advice. The problem is that everyone seems to assume that the answer is to train harder . I don't exactly agree. In fact, I think the better option is to train longer , not harder. If you've been reading Testosterone for any lengthy period of time, then it's possible that you...

The "O" Word: The Often Misunderstood, Always Talked About Issue of Overtraining The Barbarian Brothers—those crazy bastions of strength and muscle mass that I often admired in my teenage years—once said: "There is no such thing as overtraining, only undereating." (Or something along that similar vein; could be that I slightly misquoted.) The Barbarians were often derided for that statement. The argument against their statement would go something like this: "It's easy for them to say such a thing. They are genetically predisposed mutants of muscle-building who are on butt-loads of anabolic steroids, HGH, and no-telling what else." I don't think the Barbarians were exactly dead on in their assessment—don't get me wrong—but they did have a point. Proper training—hard, heavy training in their cases—and diet are the keys to success. Overtraining, in their minds, was just something that was entirely overdone by the magazines and all of the n...