C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Turn up the Volume for More Size and Strength      Okay.  Yeah.  I know.  If you’ve read even a smattering of my articles or essays, you’ve probably seen me say that squatting is king.  Well, it is.  If you give it your all on squats—whether it’s back squats or front squats, barbell squats, kettlebell squats, or just your bodyweight, really high-repetition squats or heavy-as-heck, low-rep squats—you will make gains.  In fact, if you’re not going to squat, you might as well hang it up as far as gains are concerned.  No squats.  No gains.  It’s that simple.  (Okay, I did write THIS article on how to make gains without squatting, but that aside…)  But let’s just go ahead and assume that squats are mandatory.  Because the truth is also this: You can squat and not make any gains if you’re on a crappy program where you train infrequently or just do random “whatever” workouts.     ...

 Uncommon Training Associations for More Size and Strength Build Additional Mass and Power with Some Unique Training Combinations      Certain objects, items, and concepts are associated with other objects, items, or concepts.  Peanut butter is associated with jelly.  Texas is associated with BBQ, longhorn cattle, and cowboy hats—and nostalgic memories of garage power workouts with Uncle Kirk while we dipped Copenhagen snuff if you’re me.  China is associated with kung-fu and acupuncture.  Japan is associated with samurai, sushi, and creating the first fuel-efficient cars.  Italy is associated with pizza and carb-laden, cheesy pastas.  And so on and so forth.  I could go on and on (and on).  We make associations without giving much thought to it, whether we know it or not.  If I ask what you associate with French fries, I bet you’d say ketchup.  Maybe salt.  Okay, if you’re from the Carolinas, you might...

Variations in Training with 8 to 10 Sets of 3 to 5 Reps      I have written many times that I believe the best form of training—at least, when it comes to building boatloads of both massive size and serious strength—is high-set, low-rep training.  If someone is starting out with this method of lifting, I generally advise 8 to 10 sets of 3 to 5 reps.  The reps are low enough to build strength—if you want to be really strong and powerful, then it’s essential to do most of your training with 5 reps or lower.  For instance, in my recent Go Heavy or Go Home essay, I discussed Pavel Tsatsouline’s 7 “Russian rules” of strength training.  And rule #2 is “you must limit your reps to 5.”  But to build muscle mass, you need (along with the low reps) a volume high enough to generate a hypertrophic response.  That’s where the (relatively) high sets come in.  To paraphrase Pavel again: “If you get a pump with heavy weights, you’ll get b...