C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Occasional All-Day Training Challenges for New Gains in Size and Strength      In his book The Education of a Bodybuilder , Arnold Schwarzenegger discussed the fact that, on occasion, he and a training partner would take some weights into the woods and do endless sets of squats or other exercises.  He said the first time they did this bit of insanity, he did something like 55 sets of high-rep squats with 250 pounds, and couldn’t walk correctly for over a week.  He said it became a regular part of his training at the time.  Eventually, it turned into several workout partners, women who would come along for some lovemaking, grilled meats for an all-night barbecue, and an endless amount of beer and/or wine-drinking.  If I remember correctly, they would even swim naked in lakes and carry on as if they were gladiators or Vikings from centuries ago.  When I read that as a teenager, crazy as I might have thought it to be, it also sounded like pure bodybuilding Valhalla—weights, wine and wome

     How to Start a High-Frequency, High-Volume, Low-Intensity Training Program for Building Muscle Mass The Godfather of Fitness, Jack LaLanne (seen here in his younger days), trained in almost the exact manner as the workouts below, albeit with quite a lot MORE volume.      This morning, after getting frustrated with a chapter of a book that I'm currently writing, I decided to check my email, see if I had any questions to answer from readers, and just generally get my mind on something else.  It was perfect timing.  I had just received an email from a reader who finished reading my last post on manipulating the three training variables , and was interested in starting a high-frequency training (we will simply refer to it as "HFT" for the remainder of this essay) regimen with the sole intent of building muscle mass, but really didn't know where to start.  Since I have a feeling that other readers may have similar questions—and since writing stuff other than my book(s

Home Workouts for Mass, Power, Strength, and Muscular Development! PART ONE: Just the Basic Barbell C.S.: Here is a photo I took of my home gym this past weekend. For well over a decade, I trained at a commercial gym.  When I wanted to take my powerlifting training seriously, however, in the late '90s, I decided it was time to trade in the commercial gym for a good home gym.  This is probably the opposite of what most people do, as many lifters will begin training at home on a basic weight set, then decide to acquire a gym membership once they "get serious" with lifting.  But I relished the idea of creating a good, dungeoness home gym free of the distractions on offer at any commercial gym. In this article (and the ones that will follow) I will offer some tips, tricks, and advice for creating a home gym conducive to hardcore mass and power training, and provide some ideas of the training you can do at each stage of your home gym's development. Getting Started To start