C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

       If you have been involved in the iron game for even a little while, you probably know most of the “get big advice.”   Stuff such as “eat a lot of protein and calories,” “train heavy on the big lifts,” “get plenty of rest and recovery,” and other such “basic” advice can be found in any number of articles, YouTube videos, or Facebook posts.   And most of it is pretty good and fairly sound—I’ve written plenty of such articles covering similar material here on the blog and I will continue to do so.   But in this essay, I want to do something just a little bit different.   Here, I want to look at some various tips, training ideas, and nutritional hacks that are not your run-of-the-mill suggestions.   Most of these are not to be used long-term, but they can be quite useful when utilized over a short period of time, such as one training cycle or even over the course of only a few weeks.      Before we get starte...

  Training During the Coldest Months of the Year My garage gym, where I train no matter the weather.      Okay, so a couple of mornings ago, when I started writing this, I was going to write—or, at the very least, I had every intention to—the 3rd part of my current “New Year Resolution” series, the latest being on fat loss (or at least it will be when I get around to writing it).  But, with the weather being 12 degrees outside as I sat down to my keyboard and started writing, and with much of the country that cold—or even colder—I have instead opted to write a piece on training in the winter .  Which is what you are now staring at, so I hope you find it informative, or, at the very least, somewhat interesting if not entertaining.      A few months ago in early October, about two or three weeks after the start of the Fall season, I wrote an essay on training in the fall.  So, with winter most definitely upon us, I t...

  Muscle-Building Resolutions:  Part One - Eating for Mass Garrett Sloan takes his muscle-building diet serious, and the results show.      It is, once again, the start of a new year, the time of year—the only time it seems—when the majority of people (at least here in America) make some “serious” resolutions, which usually involves either kicking a habit or getting in better shape.  Typically, “losing weight” is the New Year’s resolutions’ raison d’etre.  But “losing weight” is really no better of a resolution than “gaining weight” if you’re a bodybuilder or strength athlete.  In other words, it’s just too damn vague.      I thought this week and the next, I would post a few “resolutions” articles.  This one, quite obviously, is for those of you with the resolution to get big, or get jacked, or get massive, or, well, you get the point.  This one is all about building mass for the new year, with the emp...