C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Minimalist Training for Maximum Gains      I made the mistake today of reading one of the popular bodybuilding websites.   Occasionally I do this, but almost always regret it shortly after.   Today was no different.   I write that it was a “mistake” only because reading these online “rags”—I suppose that’s the best term, though perhaps “zine” might be more apropos—almost always makes me want to beat my head into the wall of my dungeonous garage gym until I black out and (hopefully) forget everything I just read.      I always make my way to one of these websites in the hope, faint though it may be, that I might actually stumble upon an article or two with good training advice.   But, alas, to no avail.      I suppose you could argue that I’m being a bit too curmudgeonly.   Heck, you might be right.   Well, partially right.   Because, if I’m honest, there are some decent traini...

  Heavy/Light/Medium Training Part 6: Getting Bigger Starr in his competitive days A Sample Workout Program + Bill Starr’s Dietary Advice for Adding Bulk      Bill Starr had some damn sagely advice for getting bigger.   Heck, I suppose all of his advice was sagely, for that matter.   So, in this, the 6 th part of our ongoing series on Starr’s H/L/M training, I’m going to present that advice to you , dear reader.      We will cover both diet and training for getting bigger, because one won’t work without the other.      Before we go any further, this essay, just like the ones that preceded it, builds upon the other installments.   So, for the simple sake of clarification alone, it would be a good idea to read the parts before continuing here.   Here are the links: Part One – program design Part Two – upper body pressing power Part Three – building the squat Part Four – back and pullin...

  Real Bodybuilding: A Squat Specialization Program for Huge Gains in Mass and Strength      “I started Marvin on weights a couple of years ago as a bet.   It was a mistake.   He got to like it.   Marvin’s training methods are as simple as he is.   He went from a skinny nut to a bulky nut in no time flat by squatting three times a week and eating everything that didn’t bite back.      “Marvin avoids work like the bubonic plague.   His only other recreation is the beach.   He walks around with his chest stuck out, eats hamburgers, and kicks sand in everyone’s face.” ~John McCallum        For natural lifters, very few programs are as effective as a squat specialization program for packing on mass fast .   The book “Super Squats: How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks” is a testament to this fact.   It has been a perennial bestseller since it was first published in 1989...

    Heavy/Light/Medium Training Part 5: An H/L/M Miscellany – On Variation and Advanced Options      This is the 5 th part of our ongoing series on heavy, light, and medium training based on the coaching of the (always) great strength writer extraordinaire Bill Starr.   If you haven’t done so, then please read the other parts before reading this.   If you don’t read them, then the rest of this essay may be a bit confusing—unless, of course, you are already familiar with Starr’s methodology, in which case you can just jump right in here.   When I presented parts 2 through 4, I mentioned that you at least needed to have read part 1 before reading any of those, though it wasn’t necessary to read the other parts aside from the 1st.   With this essay, it’s good to read part 1 and be familiar with the other parts.   This article will discuss bits from all of the previous installments and assumes a working knowledge of those pieces. ...

The Best Two-Way Training Splits for Inducing Hypertrophy and Unleashing Impressive Gains in Strength      I’m fond of full-body workouts.   In fact, if you’re new to training, and you stumbled upon this essay as you scoured the internet looking for the best split program to make you massive—not to mention massively strong—then understand that you’re better off utilizing full-body workouts.   At least at the start.   Eventually, you will want to move on to a split program of some sort, however.   Now, please don’t get me wrong (I mean, really, don’t), you could spend your entire training life doing nothing other than full-body workouts —whether they’re high-frequency “easy strength” programs, or heavy/light/medium programs, or just “basic” 3 day a week programs where all of the training is “ moderate ”—and never need anything else.   But eventually you’ll want to use some split programs, even if it’s just occasionally, and even if it’s don...