C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Another High-Frequency Hypertrophy Program for the Natural Lifter      I write a lot about high-frequency training (HFT).  I think on average—assuming the lifter has the time to make it to the gym frequently—it’s the best form of training for the natural lifter or bodybuilder.  When I first started writing about this form of training—which I have been doing now for more than 20 years, perhaps longer—my programs mainly focused on strength training or strength training along with concomitant mass gains.  Recently, however, I have created more and more hypertrophy programs using these methods.  Part of that probably has to do with the fact that I have personally been using HFT for my own physique goals.  As I am not getting any younger, my body often can’t handle the heavy weights that I used to enjoy training with, but it can handle high-frequency when done with “reasonable” weights.      There are differen...

  An Essay for the Natural Lifter or Bodybuilder Read on and Discover One of the Secrets to Massive Muscles      Over the years, it has often been debated—on gym floors, discussion forums, and among bodybuilding trainers and strength coaches—whether hypertrophy is built via heavy weights or through high reps.  The debate was there when I first picked up a barbell almost 40 years ago and it’s still debated to this very day.  Now, we’re not talking about strength or performance here—heavy weight and low reps has, and always will, reign supreme in that domain—but, rather, strictly muscle growth.  Both camps have their proponents and their detractors.  On the “heavy side” of the camp, you have bodybuilders like “Brutal” Bertil Fox*, who built some of the thickest, most herculean mass possible and whose favorite method of training consisted of doing 3 exercises for each muscle group for 3 sets of 3 reps each.  And on the opposite side yo...

The Best Two-Way Training Splits for Inducing Hypertrophy and Unleashing Impressive Gains in Strength      I’m fond of full-body workouts.   In fact, if you’re new to training, and you stumbled upon this essay as you scoured the internet looking for the best split program to make you massive—not to mention massively strong—then understand that you’re better off utilizing full-body workouts.   At least at the start.   Eventually, you will want to move on to a split program of some sort, however.   Now, please don’t get me wrong (I mean, really, don’t), you could spend your entire training life doing nothing other than full-body workouts —whether they’re high-frequency “easy strength” programs, or heavy/light/medium programs, or just “basic” 3 day a week programs where all of the training is “ moderate ”—and never need anything else.   But eventually you’ll want to use some split programs, even if it’s just occasionally, and even if it’s don...