C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Q: Hey, Sloan.  In your last essay on “the rule of 3,” you showed the current 3-way split that you are using.  Why do you train chest, back, and shoulders on one of the days and biceps and triceps alone on another?  Why not use a push/pull/legs split or chest/back on one day and shoulders/bis/tris on another?  It just seems like an odd choice, but I guess you have your reasons? A: Yes, I do have my reasons.  For one, and this would only apply to anyone else in my “predicament,” I have a well-developed chest, a large back, and good shoulders but my arms have always been my biggest weak area.  I have long, ape-like arms with a very wide and broad back.  I could stop training entirely and my back would still be big.  So, for me, it makes sense.  My lats will even grow from training my chest.  For instance, when I was a kid and was training in martial arts before I ever picked up a barbell, we would do a lot of push-ups to begin class—regula...

  Some “Easy Strength” Methods, Tips, and Ideas for Easy Fat Loss      I have written a lot—and will continue to write a lot—about high-frequency training .  I have sort of an ever ongoing series, in fact, dealing with different ways to use and incorporate HFT based on your goals and needs.  In this essay, I want to discuss some ways that you can use HFT for fat loss.      I believe that a lot of lifters, and regular gym-goers in general, don’t achieve their fat loss goals because they train too hard and they diet too strictly.  That might seem as if it’s an odd statement at first.  After all, do we not get the best results when we are regimented and serious about our training and eating?  In some ways maybe, but not so fast.  When you eat very little and train with a lot of intensity—even if it’s just “intense” cardio—you quickly burn out, you don’t feel good, and you don’t stick with it.  You may...