C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Some Thoughts on High-Volume, High-Frequency Training, Bodyweight Workouts, Program Design, and Progressive Resistance      Bill Starr is primarily known for his 5x5 training and his heavy-light-medium system of strength training.  Most of the articles that I write here on Starr revolve around those methods, as well, including an entire book I wrote on his methodology, The Strongest Shall Always Survive: Lifting Lessons from an Iron Legend .  Starr was a one-time world-class Olympic weightlifter and a world-renowned strength coach.  When it came to the athletes that he trained, it was all about increasing their strength and performance.  But he also wrote a lot of articles for the major bodybuilding rags that ruled the magazine rack during his lifetime.  When I was young, for instance, I knew of him only because of his many articles in Ironman magazine and MuscleMag International .  Starr was well aware that most of those readers ...

Turn up the Volume for More Size and Strength      Okay.  Yeah.  I know.  If you’ve read even a smattering of my articles or essays, you’ve probably seen me say that squatting is king.  Well, it is.  If you give it your all on squats—whether it’s back squats or front squats, barbell squats, kettlebell squats, or just your bodyweight, really high-repetition squats or heavy-as-heck, low-rep squats—you will make gains.  In fact, if you’re not going to squat, you might as well hang it up as far as gains are concerned.  No squats.  No gains.  It’s that simple.  (Okay, I did write THIS article on how to make gains without squatting, but that aside…)  But let’s just go ahead and assume that squats are mandatory.  Because the truth is also this: You can squat and not make any gains if you’re on a crappy program where you train infrequently or just do random “whatever” workouts.     ...

Training Ideas and Workout Plans for Power and Mass      I think one of the best methods for your workouts, no matter your goals, is rest-pause training.  Although when it is used, it’s done so by bodybuilders more than strength athletes, it can also be a valuable lifting tool for those seeking strength above all else.  In this article, I’ll offer some different workout ideas using rest-pause training and some ways to incorporate the ideas into different programs.      Rest-pause training, in my view, is great because it allows you to use “density” workouts, where you can get an incredible amount of work within a short period of time.  Remember, the more work that you are capable of doing in a limited time, the better your results will be.  Now, this doesn’t mean just doing more work is the answer—you need to have the work capacity to handle the workload.  But rest-pause training is a good way to incorporate de...