C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

The Need for Variation and Opposing Strategies      When I write about topics like the need for balance in your training or the importance of “reasonable” workouts or anything of a similar bent, they don’t get a whole lot of views.  Of course, if I write something like “The Greatest Mass Building Workout of All Time” or anything with a degree of hyperbole in the title, I get thousands of views.  Nonetheless, certain subjects need to be written about, this one included.  Besides, here is where you actually learn the information needed—assuming you apply it—to achieve your goals.       Balance isn’t a “sexy” topic.  Most lifters probably understand it’s true.  You’ve no doubt been told since you were a little kid, assuming you had responsible parenting, to eat a “balanced diet” or to live a “balanced lifestyle.”  The problem, or at least one of the problems, is that there are different opinions on what exac...

Some Tips and Suggestions for Programming High-Frequency Workouts      High-frequency training (HFT) is one of the best “styles” of training that a lifter can utilize.  I think this is especially true for natural lifters, those of us who don’t use any kind of performance-enhancement drug(s).  Even though I don’t think the drug-free trainee can find a better program, HFT is just about the least used method among most gym-goers, perhaps almost unknown, even, among the casual trainee.  Most lifters focus on routines with varying degrees of either volume or intensity, with frequency as more of an afterthought.  I would say that, by and large, lifters use a high, medium, or low volume program coupled with some “level” of intensity to balance with the volume, and then frequency is the last factor that is considered.  Whatever the program, the general “plan” is that the lifter trains again whenever they are no longer sore from a prior sessi...