C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Some Tips and Suggestions for Programming High-Frequency Workouts      High-frequency training (HFT) is one of the best “styles” of training that a lifter can utilize.  I think this is especially true for natural lifters, those of us who don’t use any kind of performance-enhancement drug(s).  Even though I don’t think the drug-free trainee can find a better program, HFT is just about the least used method among most gym-goers, perhaps almost unknown, even, among the casual trainee.  Most lifters focus on routines with varying degrees of either volume or intensity, with frequency as more of an afterthought.  I would say that, by and large, lifters use a high, medium, or low volume program coupled with some “level” of intensity to balance with the volume, and then frequency is the last factor that is considered.  Whatever the program, the general “plan” is that the lifter trains again whenever they are no longer sore from a prior sessi...

     In my essay “ Basic Lifting, Instinctive Training ,” I mentioned the approach to training that—in the words of the great Bradley Steiner—the “mature muscle man” should take.  Steiner recommended that the seasoned lifter should know beforehand what exercises he would do in a workout, and what days he would train, but not use a pre-determined number of sets and reps for the workout.  Rather, you should let how you feel once you begin your workout decide what you do in the training session.      And, in my recent article “ Skill Training as Size Building ,” I wrote about the training perspective of approaching your lifting sessions as a skill to be developed rather than a “war” to be waged against your muscles—or a “battle” or an “onslaught” or whatever pseudo-military campaign term that modern bodybuilders like to use when discussing muscle-group training.  I also suggested that one of the best ways to do this is to uti...