C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

The Magic of High-Volume but Minimalistic Training      As I have pointed out more often than I can count, there are many ways and multiple paths to achieve your physical goals, whether it’s strength, power, more muscle mass, less bodyfat, or a combination of several of those goals all at once.  The key to achieving your goals, whatever they may be, lies in the proper balance of volume, frequency, and intensity, but some training plans are decidedly better than others, depending on your genetics, training history, and whatnot.  In my last essay on balance, I briefly mentioned that if I absolutely had to select one training methodology over anything else, it would be the “sub-maximal effort” method.  With strength and power roots in Eastern European countries, mostly countries from the former Soviet-bloc, this method basically involves doing multiple sets of low reps with weights that are not quite maximal—hence the name.  Almost completely ...

         The other day, after writing my recent article “Full-Body Workouts—Variety and Specialization,” I received an email that went something like this: “Okay, coach, I get it.  You like, and I mean really like, full-body workouts.  But let’s say that you could only do split workouts for the rest of your life instead of full-body training.  What split workouts would you use?  I guess I’m asking, and really just want to know, what are your favorite bodypart splits?”   That is, I admit, paraphrasing the email, but it captures the essence and tone of my questioner.  Also, there was a lot more to the email than just those few sentences, but for the sake of what I want to write about here, that covers it.      I replied to the email and then didn’t think about it until a couple days ago, when I was in the middle of my current full-body routine and thought it might actually be a good subject for an ...