C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Tips and Advice for Tailoring Your Training Routine Part 1: Workload Basics       “In order to create a successful strength program, you must design it to fit your individual needs.  You must consider your weaker bodyparts, and build it around such factors as time limitations, old injuries, and your ability to recover from the workload.  A program that brings results for your training mates of the same age and bodyweight may not be right for you.  Some people thrive on lots and lots of work in the gym, whereas others become chronically fatigued and eventually injured if they attempt to carry a heavy workload for any period of time.” ~Bill Starr      I open with that quote from Bill Starr since those are the very things that I want to cover in this series of essays.  Lately, I have received the most questions from readers on this very subject.  With all of the programs that I write for the blog, I give workout “ex...

 I have a new book coming soon.  It's titled "The Strongest Shall Always Survive: Lifting Lessons from an Iron Legend."  If you haven't guessed already, based on the title, it's on the training of Bill Starr.  It includes all of the H-L-M essays that I originally wrote for the blog, though they have all been revamped with new material, along with some never-before-published chapters.  Here is the tentative cover: Whether you're a long-time fan of Starr or this is your 1st time hearing of him, I think you will find plenty of great workouts, training ideas, tips, and strategies for getting bigger, stronger, and more athletic.  Outside of owning Starr's original book "The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football," it will be the best book available for understanding Starr's methods.  (Yes, I'm aware that I might be a bit biased.)  Look for it in the next week or two! Outside of my new book, look for a new essay on the blog in...

     When a lot of lifters consider “heavy, light, medium” training, if they even consider it at all, they probably think about Bill Starr and his “5x5” programs.  If you read this blog, then that’s probably especially so.  But maybe not.  After all, I have, on a few occasions, mentioned using the methodology for programs outside of Starr’s routines.  And, here’s the thing, that’s exactly how I want you to think about it.  Starr’s system is great.  I love it.  I write about it.  I will continue to love it and write about it.  But the truth is that it can be applied to all training programs, not just Starr’s.      It really comes down to using it as a way to manage load cycling , which I have written about in several articles and essays of late.  Load cycling is prevalent in almost all strength programs that have come out of Russia and other former “Soviet bloc” nations.  Probably t...

Increase Your Workload and Work Capacity with this Size and Strength Building Method      Natural lifters and bodybuilders—in other words, those of us who don’t use any anabolic steroids, testosterone replacement, and other performance-enhancement drugs—need a different strategy from lifters and bodybuilders who do use them.  One of the tenets of my training philosophy, and, therefore, the methodology that my programs utilize, is that building muscle and strength, for the natural lifter, is not just about hard training sessions coupled with enough rest and recovery supplemented with a good nutritional strategy.  Instead, if you’re serious about building muscle and strength naturally, you need to follow workout programs that focus on increasing your work capacity—your ability to handle more and more “work” in the gym—through frequent training using big, compound lifts.  As you do this, and in order to do this, the workload of your training sessio...