C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

The Art of Building Big, Muscular, Powerful Arms      Where exactly this new series will go, I’m not entirely sure.  I want to discuss and analyze the myriad of workout routines, training techniques, tips, and various pointers that I’ve learned over the years—training both myself and others—for gaining muscle and building strength.  For no reason other than it’s what’s currently on my mind, I thought I’d start with arm training.  No matter who they are, where they’re training, or what their ultimate goals are, every man wants big arms.  I realize that this isn’t so much the case for many female lifters—men tend to think of chest, arms, and abs when it comes to aesthetic goals, whereas women think primarily in terms of leg and glutes—though even they want to prevent sagging triceps for a visually pleasing body.  And let’s admit it, there is something quite beautiful—for me, so I figure it’s got to be that way for some other men reading t...

Bodyweight Training and More for Upper Body Size and Strength      You don’t need much equipment to build a good physique.  A lot of trainees spend all their time at the gym doing endless bench press exercises with barbells and dumbbells along with an assorted array of machine movements for their chest, shoulders, and triceps.  Most gym-goers could get equally good results, and perhaps even better gains, with little other than dips and push-ups, however.  Push-ups seem so “basic” that many think there isn’t much use for them once one gets past the beginner stage or has access to “better” exercises.  But they still work as well as about anything.  And old-school bodybuilders and lifters from yesteryear often called dips the “upper body squat” for a reason.  Dips can produce big-time upper body gains.      Dips and push-ups have been around for a long time.  Well over a thousand years ago, Roman and Gre...