C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

How to Gain Upper Body Mass AND Build a Big Bench Press      I received an email question a couple days ago that went something like this: “Hey, C.S.  I know you’ve probably written some articles about it already, but what is your advice right now for someone who wants to increase his bench press and build a lot of upper body muscle at the same time?  I’ve struggled to both increase my bench press weights and gain muscle, so I could use some advice.  Thanks a bunch!” (Emphasis added is mine.)      Well, my questioner is correct.  I do have a number of articles that I’ve already written on building a big bench press and I have a lot of articles for anyone who is looking to gain a lot of upper body muscle, but I figured, you know, what the heck, there’s no reason that I can’t write another one.  Also, I would have to assume that there are still a lot of modern gym-goers who train for just those goals.  I me...

The High-Set, Low-Rep Training Manifesto Part 2: Training the Chest and Lats      In Part 1, we discussed some different high-set, low-rep training strategies for the legs and back (squats and pulls).  If you have not done so, please read the 1st essay, as it covers some information necessary for understanding the reasoning of the training that will be presented here.  At the very least, read the 1st few paragraphs, even if you’re not interested in leg and back training as much as you are interested in upper body training.  Maybe you just want a big bench press or just want to look good with your shirt off while at the beach—I don’t know.  Even if you are only interested in a good upper body, you will get there much faster, by the way, by training your leg and back muscles.      In future essays, we will also cover arm training and overhead press work.  I have divided the series into these divergent parts for a r...