C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

The Squat Nemesis Training Journal, Part 3 by Jared Smith                   I am in day two of week three, and my body is definitely feeling it. I’ve never felt such an insane amount of delayed onset muscle soreness in all my days on this scorched earth!   (Okay, that may be stretching it just slightly, but you get the point.)   My numbers have gone up but not a tremendous amount. The most remarkable thing is my confidence level as it pertains to max effort lifts. The level of fear and anxiety over maximum poundage seems to have diminished for the most part.          There are some things that don’t happen often, and one of those things is me being distracted or so flustered by life that my training suffers. This week, however, my mettle was tested a little. Life will put obstacles in our way sometimes, and it is up to us to overcome the...

a.k.a.: The Squat Nemesis Training Journal: Part Two by Jared Smith       It is week two, and to say that my legs feel like they have gone through the meat grinder would be a huge understatement. I must say that there is something almost enjoyable about feeling this way. Perhaps it is the fact that I am testing myself, which gives me a sense of accomplishment. I know what some of you are probably thinking (and you are correct): You don’t have to be sore to know you’ve trained hard, but sometimes we need that painful little reminder that we killed it!          I must say that I am pretty happy with the gains I have made thus far. Going from hardly being able grind out a triple just to parallel with 315, to taking such a weight ass to grass with a pause in that position, before attempting to send it through the roof, makes me happier than a witch in a broom factory. I know that number is...

a.k.a.: The Squat Nemesis Training Journal: Part One by Jared Smith          For some time now, I have been a firm believer that overtraining a muscle is about as possible as winning the lottery a dozen times in a row or establishing peace in the Middle East.   While the nervous system is another issue in-and-of-itself, the muscles can withstand much more punishment than the vast majority of people are willing to dish out. I admit that, when my training was in its infancy, I too was under the impression that infrequent training for each muscle was optimal.   However, as my knowledge evolved, I learned that the more frequently you can stimulate a muscle, the more opportunities for growth you can experience.   After delving into all the information I could find on how to enhance recovery between sessions, I embarked on a mission of training muscles as often as possible while remaining as fresh as possible ....