C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

More Anthony Ditillo Training Wisdom for Developing Size and Strength      My recent essay on the training methods of the great bodybuilding writer Anthony Ditillo has proven quite popular, more so than I thought it would be when I posted it.  When I wrote it, I knowingly left out a few of his training routines due to length constraints.  I was afraid it was a bit too long as is when I finished it, since my shorter articles tend to get the most views.  Besides, I figured I could always write more down the road, though “down the road,” in this case didn’t prove to be very long.      Ditillo was a huge proponent of using the “big,” basic barbell movements—squats, overhead presses, bench presses, bent-over rows, deadlifts, barbell curls, and the like.  But in one of his many articles for Ironman , he wrote that there were three movements in particular that were all you needed to, in his words, “build great massiveness a...

A Unique Training Idea for Renewed Size and Strength Gains (Plus a Little Fun)      To make consistent gains in size and strength, you need two vital components.  You need to actually be on a training program but you also need one that has enough variety for continued progress.  I’ve always believed that this is the reason training programs, even though they might be diversely different, such as Westside Barbell and Bill Starr ’s heavy-light-medium program work so well.  They have a template that never changes—you can stick with that template for years on end—but one with a lot of variety inherently “built” into its system.      Many of your average gym-goers train the exact same way all the time.  When they train their chest, it’s always flat bench presses for 3 sets of 10 reps or maybe 5x5 if they’re interested in more strength, or whatever it is.  It’s pretty much the same thing for all of their other muscl...

The Ultimate Workout Routine for Getting Massively Big and Incredibly Strong?      In my previous essay Go Heavy or Go Home , I discussed some ways to train using Pavel Tsatsouline’s seven “Russian rules” of training.  This article will be, in many ways, just a continuation of that one.  I’d recommend reading it first, but you don’t have to.  That article contained a few workout suggestions using Pavel’s 7 maxims.  In this one, I want to propose a workout that I believe is the ultimate for building a combination of size and strength.  This routine isn’t for beginners.  You need to be at the “intermediate” stage before even attempting this routine.  So, you’ve been warned.  If you attempt this without having the work capacity to handle it, it’ll be too much.  At the very least , spend about 3 months doing one of the workouts in the prior essay before moving on to this one.      This routine u...