C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Simple Methods to Improve Your Workouts and Obtain Better Results      Over the years, one of my most popular articles has been my “ Train Long, Not Hard ” feature that I wrote for Testosterone Nation around the beginning of this century.  The title comes from a saying of Arthur Jones, the creator of Nautilus equipment and the father of so-called “high-intensity training” and the whole one-set-to-complete-momentary-muscular-failure approach to workouts.  He and Mike Mentzer are responsible for brain-washing an entire generation of lifters and quite possibly ruining real strength training, at least here in America—though I’ll save my ramblings on that for another essay or you can read my article on REAL High-Intensity Training .  Anyway, his saying goes like this: “You can either train long or you can train hard, but you can’t do both.”  Jones, quite obviously, believed that “train hard” was the answer to that conundrum.  In my article...

Approach Your Lifting as a Skill and Craft to be Honed      There is a certain science to lifting.  I won’t deny that.  But if we only approach training from a “science based” perspective, we won’t see the whole picture.  We’ll also miss out on what makes lifting one of life’s true joys.      Lifters who approach training as an art learn more than just how to build strength, power, and muscle mass.  A lifter whose art form is lifting itself learns about his body, particularly what kind of training works for him alone, but he also learns about life and all that lifting has to offer outside of just physical transformation.      How does one go about the art of training?  For the remainder of this essay, we will see what this might look like.      To start with, just as with any craft, you need a plan that focuses on the essence of the craft.  Begin with a bas...

An Essay on HFT Ideas for Achieving Your Physique Goals      In my recent article High-Volume, High-Frequency Workouts for Quick Mass Gains , I outlined a training routine that uses high volume as the primary training variable with high frequency the 2nd.  For anyone who likes to train with a lot of volume and particularly loves getting a “pump” while training, I would suggest giving that regimen a chance, especially if you’re new to training with both high volume and frequency and aren’t quite sure where to even start with high-frequency training (HFT).  In this essay, however, I want to present some different ideas for other ways that you might utilize HFT, notably if you like the idea of experimenting with new and/or different training strategies that you haven’t utilized before.  If you’re new to training, you probably need to get on a more detailed, regimented program, one where you don’t have to put a whole lot of thought into your workout...