C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

On the Joy of Creative Training      I love training for many reasons.  Like a lot of lifters, I’ve always loved training because, more than anything else, I just loved the feel of moving heavy iron.  I also loved the kind of training that goes along with being incredibly strong.  I can think of fewer pleasures in life than a workout that involves near max sets of squats, bench presses, deadlifts, overhead presses, and curls.  But I also love training because I love the creativity of it all.  I am a creative, after all.  An artist.  Writing is one of the arts that my creative side is attracted to—not just attracted to but needs .  But I love lifting for the same reason that I love writing.  The gym is where I practice the art of training.      Training is both science and art.  If you neglect either side, you’re neglecting the full range of benefits that lifting provides.  Nowadays...

Training Ideas and Workout Plans for Power and Mass      I think one of the best methods for your workouts, no matter your goals, is rest-pause training.  Although when it is used, it’s done so by bodybuilders more than strength athletes, it can also be a valuable lifting tool for those seeking strength above all else.  In this article, I’ll offer some different workout ideas using rest-pause training and some ways to incorporate the ideas into different programs.      Rest-pause training, in my view, is great because it allows you to use “density” workouts, where you can get an incredible amount of work within a short period of time.  Remember, the more work that you are capable of doing in a limited time, the better your results will be.  Now, this doesn’t mean just doing more work is the answer—you need to have the work capacity to handle the workload.  But rest-pause training is a good way to incorporate de...

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 ...