C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

     When a lot of lifters consider “heavy, light, medium” training, if they even consider it at all, they probably think about Bill Starr and his “5x5” programs.  If you read this blog, then that’s probably especially so.  But maybe not.  After all, I have, on a few occasions, mentioned using the methodology for programs outside of Starr’s routines.  And, here’s the thing, that’s exactly how I want you to think about it.  Starr’s system is great.  I love it.  I write about it.  I will continue to love it and write about it.  But the truth is that it can be applied to all training programs, not just Starr’s.      It really comes down to using it as a way to manage load cycling , which I have written about in several articles and essays of late.  Load cycling is prevalent in almost all strength programs that have come out of Russia and other former “Soviet bloc” nations.  Probably t...

     This is my 2nd Q&A article.  If you want to read the first one, click HERE .  Here are some random questions that I received of late. Question: Can I use the 3 powerlifts as the only exercises in my program but do them for higher reps in order to build muscle? Answer:  Maybe.  (I know readers don’t care much for it, but as I pointed out in our 1st Q&A piece, the answer to a lot of questions is “maybe” or “it depends.”)  So, also, it depends.      I think the squat and the bench press should be mainstays of all hypertrophy programs, or at least the squat and the bench along with some iterations.  Ultimately, you wouldn’t want to just do squats for your legs or bench presses for your chests.  But squats along with front squats and lunges would be about all you need.  Bench presses along with dumbbell benches and incline bench presses, both the barbell and dumbbell version, would also be...

A Hybrid High-Frequency Training Program for a Combination of Size and Strength      For more than 20 years, I have preached the benefits of high-frequency training (HFT) programs.  First in the pages of some of the major bodybuilding magazines, such as IronMan magazine and Planet Muscle , and then on the blog when I started it in 2009.  For the most part, the training I recommended was for strength first, with size, if it occurred, as more of a side-effect of the strength and power training.  And for more than a decade, one of my favorite ways to use HFT is through so-called easy strength methods.  However, I have in the last couple years proposed the theory of using an “easy muscle” approach, where you largely keep the “tenets” of easy strength but do it for higher repetitions, with the sole goal of hypertrophy.      I’m not alone in thinking that this might be a good method for many seeking gains in muscle mass....