C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Develop Mass and Power with This Unique Wave Loading Method      In my recent article “ Skill Training as Size Building ,” I introduced the concept (on the blog, at least) of the “90% rule.”  I believe it’s one of the most effective ways to make consistent gains in the gym, whether you’re after strength, strength with a size side-effect, or hypertrophy alone.  Basically, the method involves doing the majority of your sets in a workout with 90% of a certain rep range.  This doesn’t mean 90%, necessarily, of your 1-rep max, though it most certainly would if you were to do multiple sets of singles—as we will be doing in this program.      In our previous article, the workout programs I suggested utilized 90% of one’s 5-rep max and 90% of a 10-rep maximum using “cluster sets.”  If you want to know more about what those programs look like, then, please, read that article.  Also, it wouldn’t hurt, if you haven’t done s...

  Read On and Learn One of THE Keys for Becoming Strong and Powerful      In multiple articles, essays, and training programs that I’ve created, I’ve repeatedly mentioned the concept “same but different.”  It’s one of the most important concepts if you plan on getting brutally strong on a lift, any lift.  It’s so simple that—like a lot of simple things—its power is often overlooked.  But if you want to achieve your physique goals—not just strength and power but hypertrophy, as well—you need to put the principle into practice.      A couple things are key for continually increasing your strength.  First, you need variety.  As I’m fond of saying, or writing about in this case, everything works… for about 8 weeks.  Somewhere around that 8 week mark, most lifters need to make some changes.  If you’ve been at this training thing for awhile, then you probably should make changes long before even 8 weeks...

  Partial Rep and Power Rack Training for Added Strength and Power Pointers, Tips, Programs      After some time spent under the bar, a lifter will often hit a wall when it comes to strength gains.  It can happen to any lift or to all of one’s lifts.  Oftentimes, the lifter will try new training programs, additional work, or less work.  Sometimes, they may attempt to alter their nutritional regimens, increasing calories and/or protein, all in a hope to get their strength moving again.  But one of the best techniques for increasing strength once more is the time-tested method of partial reps, often performed in the rack but also with the help of boards or blocks.  In this essay, I want to look at the various ways that partials can be utilized, especially for the three powerlifts, the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift, although it can be used for other lifts, such as overhead movements and even curls.     ...