C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Big Beyond Belief and the 6 “Bulgarian Principles” for Strength and Muscle Growth Plus, Real Bulgarian Training      For a couple of decades now, I have pushed the methods that I believe to be the best for fast gains in muscle mass, strength, and power.  Unless this is your first time visiting this blog or reading any of my articles, then you are already well aware of what these methods are.  I believe, without a doubt, that high-frequency training (HFT) where you train a muscle group or lift at least 3 times per week, along with full-body workouts, and multiple sets of low reps are the superior methods.  There are many different workouts, however, that you can follow that use these methods.  Most of my personal training, and the methodology that I have used to train lifters I’ve worked with over the years, has utilized, primarily, Bill Starr’s heavy-light-medium system, along with various Russian methods, in addition to the powerlifting ...

Is this “Forgotten” Principle the Key for True Physique Transformation? Some (Slightly) Rambling Thoughts and Musings      I suppose the slogan “your body becomes its function” isn’t exactly “forgotten,” but it is little known—oh, and it also makes for a catchy little subtitle.  It comes, supposedly, from the “Bulgarian system” of training.  I first read the pithy saying when I shelled over something like $50 for the “Big Beyond Belief” manual, a.k.a. “Serious Growth 3,” sometime in the early to mid ‘90s.  Written by Leo Costa Jr. and, believe it or not, Tom Platz, even though Platz had always trained in the exact opposite manner of every training principle the book touted, it was hugely marketed in all of the bodybuilding rags at that time.  If you were around, and training, back then, there’s very little chance that you don’t remember it.  Its subtitle was “the most effective muscle producing program ever!”  So, yeah, it was pre...