C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  High-Volume, High-Frequency Bodyweight-Centric Workouts for Transforming Your Physique Part One: Bodyweight Training and Nothing But      If you are going to achieve good results no matter your goals—be it strength, hypertrophy, or a combination of the two; whether you want to be “lean and mean” or big as a house—then you must learn to balance the 3 training variables of volume, frequency, and intensity.  (Intensity in this article, unless otherwise noted, will be how it is used in strength training circles—as a percentage of your one-rep maximum, not as the manner it's used in bodybuilding vernacular, which is how “hard” you train.)  As I have often explained, two of the variables need to be high—or, at least, one high and the 2nd one moderate—and the remaining variable needs to be low.  The exception to this is if all of the variables are moderate in a program.  Because of this stance, it means I have never believed that there is o...

A.K.A: Building Muscle and Strength Under Lockdown and Self-Isolation If you're anything like me (and I have a good feeling that many of you are), you haven't left the house in a couple days.  And I have a good feeling, you may even be reading this blog entry because you're surfing the internet a little more than usual in self-isolation/lockdown/quarantine mode - whichever one better suits your situation - in hopes of finding some ways to continue your gains (or at least not bring them to a grinding halt) while you have no way to make it to the gym.  But if you're also like me (and this where I also have a good feeling that many of you are decidedly not  like me), you have a full gym at your disposal in the confines of your garage, replete with squat rack, deadlift and Oly-lifting platform, a bad-ass Forza bench, a good 1,500 lbs of free weights, not to mention various other bands, chains, benches, and other assorted goodies such as sleds and sandbags.  Ok...

     In past articles/posts, I have discussed the benefits of bodyweight-only – and bodyweight-primary – strength training.  Since I first started blogging about bodyweight training few years ago, I have received many emails from readers who are interested in this stuff.  The readers usually want one of two things.  One, they just want to tell me how much they have been enjoying bodyweight strength training, and they want to offer their two cents on how effective/ enjoyable this kind of training has been for them.  (I love reading these kind of e-mails because, first, it inspires me, and, second, it means I don’t have to reply to some of the odd-ball questions I occasionally get asked.)  Two, they want to know exactly what kind of program they should be following.  It is to this second set of questioners that this post is addressed – well, sort of .  You see, I think it’s important for people to learn to think for themselves.  Wh...