C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Why You May Not be a Hardgainer After All      Based on the title of this essay, there is a good chance you are going to end up reading something different than what you probably expected.   By the “myth” of the hardgainer, I don’t mean that hardgainers don’t exist.   It is certainly true that some lifters find it harder to gain muscle than others.   That’s simple genetics.   The “myth” is the fact that, just because you find it harder to gain muscle, doesn’t mean that there is just one way for you to train.      When a lifter is labelled a hardgainer—either by himself or by fellow lifters—the typical recommendation given is that he needs to train with a lot less volume than other lifters but with more “intensity”—intensity meaning the effort that is put forth in a set.   But I don’t think this is necessarily the case.      It is true that there are plenty of lifters that will find it h...

  Discover the Secrets to Developing Serious Strength Using Infrequent Workouts      I have long been a fan of high-frequency training (HFT), and I will continue to sing its praises, as I think it might be the best form of training—when done correctly—for natural bodybuilders and lifters who want to gain as much strength and muscle mass in the shortest time possible.   If you have read even a few articles and essays here on my blog, then you probably know this already.   What you might not know is that I also believe you can build a tremendous amount of strength and power utilizing low-frequency, high-volume workouts when, once again, they are done correctly.   So, read on and discover my tips for making this kind of training work for you .      This article was precipitated by an email I received—as are, probably, 1/3 of my essays—from a reader who had a particular question.   I’ll leave out all of the odd little de...

  5 Tips to Turn an Easy Strength Program into a Mass Building Regimen      As regular readers know, I’m a fan of high-frequency training (HFT, for short).   In particular, I regularly promote easystrength and (what I call) easy muscle training programs.      Easy strength regimens are, you guessed it, strength programs, but ones built around frequent training, low reps, and fairly low volume in general.   I would argue that easy strength methods are hands down the most underutilized form of strength-building in the entire training world.      Easy muscle programs are similar to their easy strength cousins in that they utilize HFT but couple it with relatively low intensity (“intensity” here referring to how it’s utilized in strength training—as a % of one-rep max) and high reps.   Neither method of training is “hard”—in fact, you should always leave the gym feeling decidedly better than when you ...

How to Design a “Hybrid” Easy Strength Program      If you have read even an inkling of my writings—especially over the last 20 years—you know that I’m a fan of high-frequency training (HFT).   Now, I must admit that this wasn’t always the case.   If you read my early articles for IronMan magazine—from, say, 1994 to the end of that decade/century—I often recommended infrequent training done for relatively “high-intensity” and (fairly) low volume.   But my views on training frequency, volume, and intensity shifted when I started powerlifting seriously in the late ‘90s and began to use the more frequent training regimens from (predominately) Eastern Europe and the heavy/light/medium system of Bill Starr.   Before trying these regimens, I often had trouble gaining muscle and just weight in general.   While using these methods, however, I had trouble not gaining weight even when I didn’t want to!      Not everyone will...

  Heavy/Light/Medium Training Part 7: How to Design a Powerlifting Program Using the H/L/M System      At the beginning of February, I started this series on H/L/M training using the methods of the late, great, and, hell, legendary Bill Starr.   For now, I believe this will be the last in the series, although I will still probably do a few more here and there when there is interest or when I think of a subject.   Also, April 7 th was the 10-year anniversary of his death, and I have the intention of using this series—along with other articles and essays that I’ve done in the past—to publish a book on Starr sometime later this month in honor of him.      Since this is—as the subtitle above indicates—the 7 th part of this series, you might do well to familiarize yourself with the previous installments.   At the very least, read parts 1 through 4, as those cover similar concepts as this article, and it will allow you to se...