C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  The Focus Strikes Back!      One of my more popular training programs—I wrote it over a decade and a half ago for IronMan magazine—is “ High-Frequency Focus Training ,” or HFFT for short.  It involves combining two of the most popular, and result-producing, programs that you can do.  It’s a high-frequency training program—you train your entire body at each session—but one that also uses a “focus” at each training session, as well.  For the “focus” aspect, you train a muscle group(s) with more sets for a pump.  My original "beginner" program (I also wrote an advanced one—click on the link above for details), as an example, looked like this: Monday: High Frequency Portion Squats – 5 sets of 3 reps. Perform two warm-up sets of 5 reps, followed by 3 work sets of 3 reps, using approximately 70-75% of your one-rep maximum. Deadlifts– 5 sets of 3 reps. Use the same set/rep format as the squats. Barbell Bench Presses or Incline Bench Presses ...

A Simple Method for Quick Muscle (and Strength) Gains      When it comes to building muscle, especially for the natural lifter, I don’t think anything “beats” high-frequency training (HFT).  It works whether you want to use high reps or low reps, whether you’re after strength or hypertrophy or if you’re seeking a combination of both.  If there’s an “issue” with it, it’s the fact that you can’t generally do a lot of work for one muscle group.  I’ve had conversations with lifters—whether in person or through the internet—who have told me that HFT, no doubt, works but that they missed doing more volume for their muscles.  These are typically bodybuilders who really enjoy pump training and the feeling of completely congesting a muscle (or muscle groups) with a lot of sets for a massive pump.  I understand.  After all, in the pseudo-documentary “Pumping Iron,” Arnold even compared the pleasure of “da pump” to the pleasure of good sex. ...

A Highly Effective High-Frequency Program for Strength, Power, and Muscle Mass      In several recent articles, I have presented a few key concepts to building strength, power, and muscle mass.  One of the concepts is the “90% method” where you do most of your sets at 90% of a certain rep range.  It could be 90% of 1 rep, of 3 reps, of 5 reps, or even as high as 10 reps.  (If you want more in depth discussion on the 90% method then read my article “ Skill Training as Size Building .”)  I have also presented the concepts of weight ladders and wave loading , where, instead of sticking with the same weight throughout several sets before moving to a different weight, you move back and forth from heavier to lighter sets.      One of my more popular recent articles that used the above concepts is “ The 1-5 Program .”  It’s a high-volume program.  It’s good for lifters who like to use split programs, as it’s a mul...