C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

A Workout Program and Some Training Ideas for Those Who Want It All      In my last article on using the 3 to 5 method with split workouts, I outlined the Russian rules of training.  3 to 5 training is one of the methods that you can use when training with the sub-maximal effort method, or what is commonly known as “grease the groove” training.      I have talked to many lifters who have told me that they understand the reasons why grease-the-groove training and other Russian methods work .  They’ve also told me that they’ve gotten good results from that kind of training.  But there’s a problem.  When they do those kinds of workouts, they often miss using harder or higher-volume routines, or a combination of both.  They often ask me if there’s a way that they can do both.  To which I reply, “yes.”      Most grease-the-groove workouts produce gains by ensuring that all of the workout...

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...

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...