C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Some Thoughts on How/When to Use Back-Off Sets, Add Extra Work, and Increase the Total Workload of Your Training      The other day, I received an email from a reader who wanted to know my advice on back-off sets and how to use them.  His question was based on the fact that he was having a hard time increasing the weight on his “top-end” sets using a standard 5x5 training model.  This essay is partly an answer to that question but, in addition to that, I want to use it to discuss how (and when) you should not only do back-off sets but also when a lifter should add extra work, whether that additional training is at the end of a workout or in another workout altogether.  The goal of all of this being, of course, greater strength on the core lifts, whatever those core lifts might be, whether you’re a powerlifter attempting to increase the three powerlifts, an Olympic lifter looking to increase your quick lifts, or just an “all-around” strength...

  Heavy/Light/Medium Training Part 6: Getting Bigger Starr in his competitive days A Sample Workout Program + Bill Starr’s Dietary Advice for Adding Bulk      Bill Starr had some damn sagely advice for getting bigger.   Heck, I suppose all of his advice was sagely, for that matter.   So, in this, the 6 th part of our ongoing series on Starr’s H/L/M training, I’m going to present that advice to you , dear reader.      We will cover both diet and training for getting bigger, because one won’t work without the other.      Before we go any further, this essay, just like the ones that preceded it, builds upon the other installments.   So, for the simple sake of clarification alone, it would be a good idea to read the parts before continuing here.   Here are the links: Part One – program design Part Two – upper body pressing power Part Three – building the squat Part Four – back and pullin...

  Heavy/Light/Medium Training Part 4: Building a Massive Back and Monstrous Pulling Strength      This is the 4 th part of our ongoing series on heavy, light, and medium training inspired by the methods of one of the greatest strength coaches to ever walk the planet, Bill Starr.   Once this series is finished, I hope that it will include everything one needs to know in order to train using this methodology.   If you haven’t done so already, or if this is the first article in the series that you’ve stumbled across, please take your time to read the other articles.   At the very least, you need to read the first part before continuing here.   It lays the foundation that the other articles are based upon, and the rest of the articles assume a working knowledge of that one.   So, here’s the links to the past essays in this series: Part One: How to design an H/L/M program Part Two: Upper body training Part Three: How to build a mas...