C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  A Modified Westside Program for Natural and Raw Powerlifters      Recently, my youngest son Garret wanted to start back powerlifting.  He had spent the last year or so doing more “bodybuilding” type training, so I came up with a program that was essentially a “hybrid” Westside method in order to improve his speed and his low-rep strength, both of which can be “compromised” from doing standard hypertrophy workouts for a lengthy period.  After coming up with the program’s outline, and discussing it with him, I decided that it would probably make a good article.  Hence, the article you’re now reading.      This program combines the speed day or dynamic effort method, most commonly associated with Westside, with a more standard strength method found (typically) in Russian and other east European programs.  I will explain the training days first, then give you an outline of the program.  After that, I will give some pointers such as how to design your workout split, when to change exerci

Reimagining a Classic Bodybuilding Method for Strength and Power      When I first started lifting—not to mention reading bodybuilding magazines—in the mid to late ‘80s, most bodybuilders trained the same way.  By and large, although there were exceptions, mind you, so I don’t mean this as an entirely blanket statement, the majority of bodybuilders trained on either a 6-on, 1-off split, or a 3-on, 1-off split.  The body was split 3 ways.  Typically, one followed either a push (chest, shoulders, triceps)/pull (back and biceps)/legs split or an “antagonistic” split where you trained your chest and back one day, your shoulders, bis and tris the 2nd day, and, finally, your legs on the 3rd day.      Although this seems as if it’s a lot of volume, especially if you’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid of “high-intensity” training, it was actually less work than bodybuilders from previous eras.  Arnold, for instance, trained on a 6-on, 1-off split, but he trained each muscle group three times per w

  A Hepburn-Inspired High-Frequency Strength Program      In April, I wrote an article entitled “ Size AND Strength: The Best Way to Train for Both .”  In it, I outlined a few Hepburn inspired routines based on the power/mass methods of the great Canadian strongman and world-champion weightlifter Doug Hepburn.  The methods in that article—as the title portends—are all about building a combination of size and strength, as most lifters who are trying to achieve both often go about it incorrectly.  The program here is going to be a bit different.  This is a program geared strictly toward getting the lifter as strong as possible on a few, select lifts.      The program I’ve designed here is based on another one of Hepburn’s methods.  Although Hepburn would often combine this particular strength and power method with multiple sets of “pump” work once finished with the strength sets, this program foregoes the pump work in favor of a pure strength-building workout.  This will allow you to ut