C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Why You May Not be a Hardgainer After All      Based on the title of this essay, there is a good chance you are going to end up reading something different than what you probably expected.   By the “myth” of the hardgainer, I don’t mean that hardgainers don’t exist.   It is certainly true that some lifters find it harder to gain muscle than others.   That’s simple genetics.   The “myth” is the fact that, just because you find it harder to gain muscle, doesn’t mean that there is just one way for you to train.      When a lifter is labelled a hardgainer—either by himself or by fellow lifters—the typical recommendation given is that he needs to train with a lot less volume than other lifters but with more “intensity”—intensity meaning the effort that is put forth in a set.   But I don’t think this is necessarily the case.      It is true that there are plenty of lifters that will find it h...

  Real Bodybuilding: A Squat Specialization Program for Huge Gains in Mass and Strength      “I started Marvin on weights a couple of years ago as a bet.   It was a mistake.   He got to like it.   Marvin’s training methods are as simple as he is.   He went from a skinny nut to a bulky nut in no time flat by squatting three times a week and eating everything that didn’t bite back.      “Marvin avoids work like the bubonic plague.   His only other recreation is the beach.   He walks around with his chest stuck out, eats hamburgers, and kicks sand in everyone’s face.” ~John McCallum        For natural lifters, very few programs are as effective as a squat specialization program for packing on mass fast .   The book “Super Squats: How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks” is a testament to this fact.   It has been a perennial bestseller since it was first published in 1989...

  A State-of-the-Art Mass & Power Program for Outlandish Gains      I’m fond of some forms of training over others.   This doesn’t mean, however, that I believe there is one training program or method that reigns supreme.   Some may make such a claim as that.   HIT enthusiasts—who seem to think like the Highlander in that there can be only one —I’m looking at you.   But there are also individual lifters and coaches who stumble upon a program that really works well for them , and they declare it to be the one program that stands above all others.   No, I believe that there are quite a few different training methods and programs that are effective.   But some are decidedly better than others, depending on your goals.   I like full-body workouts, high-frequency training, Russian-style power programs, routines that utilize the “big 4,” and old-school “classical” bodybuilding routines.   Those are all different, by the...

Now that 2024 is behind us, I thought I would do a "Top 10" post for the start of 2025.  Many of you may be knee-deep at the moment in trying to achieve some of your New Year's resolutions - assuming you haven't quit already😏.  Well, if getting big and/or strong  is at the top of your list of resolutions, perhaps some of the following essays and articles from last year might help. The following were the top 10  most read  posts from 2024: The Look of Power Size AND Strength: The Best Way to Train for Both Easy Muscle Classic Bodybuilding: How to Gain 50 Pounds of Muscle, Part One (and if you find Part One interesting, make sure you check out Parts Two and Three ) Long, Hard, or Frequent Training The High-Frequency Training Manifesto Old-School, Full-Body Mass Building Power Bodybuilding The Full-Body Big Barbell 5 Program And the #1 most read post... Marvin Eder's Mass-Building Methods

How to Gain 50 Pounds of Muscle Part 2:  Larry Scott’s Mass-Building Program      A few days ago, I posted PART 1 of this 3-part series based on an article by Gene Mozee in a ‘92 issue of IronMan .  I won’t get into many details of the original article itself, but, if you haven’t done so, I would encourage you to read Part 1 first before reading this one.  In fact, if you’re interested in actually doing the program presented here, I would also encourage you to try your hand at Arnold’s “Golden Six” before embarking on this routine.  Scott’s program (as we’ll see shortly) is very similar to Arnold’s, but with a couple more exercises, and several more sets of each exercise.  It makes the program below sort of the “intermediate” workout of the 3 programs presented in Mozee’s piece.      For anyone who doesn’t know, Scott was the first Mr. Olympia, having won the inaugural Mr. O competition in 1965.  After that...