C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  On Programming, Variety, and Making Gains!      The other day, Jason, a lifting friend of mine, called me on the phone.  He needed some advice for breaking out of the rut he was in.  Jason’s one of those guys that’s always into “powerbuilding.”  He wants to look like a bodybuilder, but also wants to have impressive strength.  He said that several months ago he had started on one of those “briefer-is-better” programs—the kind of program that would have made Ken Leistner proud—and got some of the best results he’s ever had in just a matter of a few weeks, but then it all ground to a sudden halt.  After explaining to me what he had been doing, and some of the adjustments he’d made but to no avail, he was almost at his wit’s end.  “I just don’t know what I’m doin’ wrong,” he said.  To which I replied, “It ain’t what you’re doin’.  It’s what you’ve done.”      “Huh?” he replied in turn, bemusingly.  I then took my time to explain to him what I believe had happened, and some easy ways tha

  THE ULTIMATE WORKOUT SPLIT? Full-body split workouts were actually a favorite for classic bodybuilders (such as Freddy Ortiz and Larry Scott).  My "bodybuilding" workout below was similar to what they used. I have, on multiple occasions, extolled the benefits of what I refer to as "full-body split workouts."  But I'm not sure if I have ever written an article dedicated exclusively to this concept.  So here goes nothing, or, well, something  to be more exact. So, first things first, what are  full-body split workouts?  Is this, if not completely oxymoronic, paradoxical to say the least?  Aren't full-body workouts, well, full-body workouts, and split workouts split workouts?  The short answer is no , but since that wouldn't make much of an article, this post will be the long answer. When most lifters, bodybuilders, and physique athletes think of full-body workouts, they think of workouts where you work your entire body in one session, and then, typically

  “Good advice has been cast at me throughout my career.  I tend to ignore it when it comes in a dull package.” ~strength coach Dan John I start with this quote from strength coach Dan John so that you will understand this is NOT a glitzy essay, one packed with shiny “new” things that might be all the current rage in the muscle-building world.  It IS, however, informative and filled with good advice. 1977 issue of Muscle Builder & Power ; Muscle magazines have always been full of "lists." I like lists for lifters.  Short lists.  Easy-to-remember lists.   Lists of what foods are best for you to eat (depending on your goals).  Lists of the sort of exercises you should be doing; exercises that can help you achieve your goals in a shorter period of time. For the longest, I touted what I referred to as the “Big 5.”  The Big 5 is a list of the 5 things every lifter should do each and every week without fail—male or female, big or small, whether your goal is fat loss or hypert

  One-Exercise-Per- Workout Programs The massive quads of Tom Platz.  Platz built his leg muscles by often doing just one exercise for as many as 50 sets! I have often extolled - on more occasions than I would even be able to remember - the benefits of one-exercise-per-bodypart training.  There really are few choices better for building muscle mass - or an outrageous amount of strength on an exercise such as one of the three basic powerlifts - than one-exercise-per-bodypart training programs.  If you’re a bodybuilder, or someone who is only after building muscle mass and “looking good”, then you really can’t do any better than a 10 sets of 10 program, an 8 sets of 8 routine, or even something like 20 sets of 20 reps on occasion (this is actually a REALLY GOOD program for growing massive quads, but you’ve been warned: it’s also HELL!).  And if you’re solely after strength, then multiple sets of 3s, doubles, or singles on any exercise is one of the best ways to train.  For instance, if