C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Just the Basics for Fast Muscle Gains      There are a number of reasons why modern trainees don’t get good results in the gym.  I write a lot about programming , workout ideas, and whatnot, and the fact that most lifters would be better off training with more frequency, using full-body workouts, and stop treating every single workout session as if it’s an all-out onslaught where they have to storm the muscle-building Bastille.  I suppose when it comes right down to it, however, the first culprit for lack of gains is just not doing the right movements in the first place.  Do your workouts consist of these movements (with free weights, I must add)? Vertical press (overhead work) Horizontal press Squat Upper body pull Lower body pull Loaded carry      If they do, you’re probably getting decent results even without proper programming.  If, on the other hand, the majority of your sessions consist of pumping up your chest...

Re-Thinking “Light” Day Training and the Need for “Play” in Your Workouts      In my last essay on Spring Training , I mentioned briefly that summertime is, from a training perspective, the time for “play.”  This is not the essay for summer training—we’ll save that, you know, come summertime—but I do want to discuss the need for lifting sessions that are play no matter the season or how it is that you train.  That’s right.  All year-long, you should do at least some “play” workouts where you experiment with new things, try out some “odd” lifts or set/rep sequences, and, perhaps above all, just have some fun .      One of the best times for play is during your “light” day sessions, whether you follow a structured program such as Bill Starr’s heavy-light-medium system or if you are just more intuitive about it and throw in a light workout when you feel as if your body could need or use it.  Play is essential for cont...

A 10-Week Mass Building Regimen for Lifters Struggling to Pack on Size      I don’t like the term “hardgainer.”  I don’t mean to imply that some lifters don’t find it harder to pack on muscle size than others.  Some certainly do.  It’s just that when a lifter is labelled a “hardgainer” he (or she) often resorts to the kind of training that may not necessarily be what they really need.  I won’t go into all of the details here for why I find that to be the case.  If you want more information on that , then read my essay from last year “ The Myth of the Hardgainer .”      The gist of my theory, however, is that many lifters struggle to pack on muscle size because they do standard high-volume workouts, only to find that sort of training doesn’t work for them.  After that, they proceed to low-frequency, “high-intensity” workouts, but those don’t work, either.  It’s at that point that the lifter, or his lif...