C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

       A couple of posts ago, in my essay on stealing good ideas, I mentioned a quote I stole (and have often used) from the strength coach Nick Horton: “More is not always better, but it usually is.”  In this essay, I want to give you some practical ways to apply this truth to your training.      It has been generally asserted over the years—in bodybuilding magazines and now in blogs and in YouTube videos, or other social media sites—that the key to gaining muscle or strength is through “progressive overload” and that the best way to do that is by either increasing reps or by increasing the weight (but keeping the reps the same), but that one shouldn’t just add sets or exercises.  But I don’t believe that to be the best option for the majority of lifters.  I actually think it’s good to add extra sets, exercises, and, yes, even entire workouts , on a consistent if not regular basis.  In fact, I think this is the key to making steady progress.  But it needs to be done systematically.  

                4 Tips for Serious Lifters Loaded Carries - one of the 4 tips for serious lifters      I have been lifting weights since, I think, 1986 or ‘87, when, for either my 13th or 14th birthday, my father bought me one of those cement-filled, plastic DP weight sets replete with a flimsy bench.  I’ve come a long way since then - in other words, I’ve gotten friggin’ old - but I’ve never stopped lifting, and I’ve seen a LOT of different exercises, workout routines, and training programs (some good, most not) done by a lot of different people.  In other words, in 36 (maybe 37) years of training - and paying attention - I’ve seen damn near anything and everything you can think of in the lifting world.  And so I’m also pretty sure that in another 36 (or 37) years, the following tips will be just as good then as they are now. Consistency Trumps Everything       “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.” ~Confucius      One thing that the above paragraph tells y