C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  The Power/Mass Methods of the “Silver Era” Bodybuilders from the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s!      Years ago, I wrote an article for IronMan magazine entitled “Attack of the Old-Time Strength and Power Routines” which included several programs that were, at least somewhat, based on the training programs of many of the bodybuilders from the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s.  The title, of course, was an homage to the B monster and sci-fi movies of the ‘40s and the ‘50s.  This article’s title is, as you may have already surmised, also an homage to that era of awesome B movies that I loved as a kid, and pretty much still love to this day.  So - assuming you read the “Attack” article, as well - you can look at this as the second presentation in our double-feature from the Silver Era of bodybuilding.      We’ll look at a couple of programs that were used by the old-school lifters of this era, and ways that these training routines can work for you .  The first program is a “basic” program - but don’t let t

Classic Bodybuilding:  The Wisdom of Paul Grant’s Muscle-Building Methods Paul Grant, seen here in the '70s, was a Golden Age bodybuilder from Wales, with some excellent training wisdom. Paul Grant, the “Welsh Dragon,” is a bodybuilder that may not be that well-known, but he had some fantastic muscle-building wisdom that more and more bodybuilders need to know about these days.  “Wisdom” isn’t always a word that can be associated with bodybuilders - or bodybuilding in general, to be honest - which is unfortunate, since there have always been at least some bodybuilders throughout the history of the “iron game” that have some wise thoughts, words, and ways of life.  And Paul Grant was one such man. I first saw Paul Grant as a kid in the ‘80s when I watched the bodybuilding “documentary” Pumping Iron.  (I put the word “documentary” in quotes because it was more akin to modern reality television - scripted and set up by the filmmakers, but it had very little truth to it, other than the

The Upper Arm Training of "The Myth" Sergio Oliva's massive upper arm development Sergio Oliva is, I believe, the greatest outright bodybuilder of all time. Here at Integral Strength, he gets the distinction of being the only bodybuilder (I think, at least😏) that I've featured now for a second time in a "Classic Bodybuilding" piece. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Oliva—for most, he really needs no introduction, but I would still recommend that you read this—then check out my previous post/essay on his mass-gaining methods entitled, "The Legendary Mass-Building Method and Workouts of 'The Myth' - and the Story Behind Them." And there's no reason to rehash the same stuff I wrote there, but, just for an introduction to this article, here is what I wrote on "The Myth": Early Career Sergio was born and raised in Cuba, and he got his start in Olympic weightlifting where he totaled almost 1,000 pounds in the Middle Hea

  Tips and Programs from the Original Quadfather Millard “Mel” Williamson Mel Williamson in '56 when he won the Mr. Muscle Beach Before Paul “Quadzilla” DeMayo, and before the world ever heard of the “Golden Eagle” Tom Platz, the world’s most well-developed thighs belonged to… Millard Williamson?  If you’re wondering just who-in-the-heck that is, don’t worry, you’re not alone.  One day, around 15 years ago, I was lifting with my (then) workout partner.  He always liked to talk “old-time” bodybuilding with me, mainly because he wanted to pick my brain over the various methods the old-timers used.   On this day, he asked me what I thought about Mel Williamson.  My reply was, “who?”  I was incredibly surprised that, once I got around to doing some research, I had never heard of Millard Williamson.  Especially when you consider the fact that, at one time, he was considered to have the best developed legs in all of bodybuilding.  And this, despite the fact that I have tons of magazine