C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

       I first tried using high-set, low-rep training sometime in the early to mid ‘90s.  At the time, I was bodybuilding and not powerlifting, and had just started writing for some of the major bodybuilding magazines, but I still had plenty to learn.  Don’t get me wrong.  I had done some low-rep training, especially for a few sets at the end of a workout, but I had never done low rep training exclusively using really high sets.  At one point, however, I read an arm training article by Greg Zulak, where he mentioned that it was beneficial to do 15 to 20 sets of 2 to 3 reps on occasion.  Now, to be honest, I can’t remember the exact article—I tried to find it in my attic full of old magazines while this essay was churning around in my mind, but to no avail.  Anyway, after reading it, my workout partner Dusty and I decided to see how that kind of workout felt.  We had been training at the time with a lot of sets, but also a...

  An Eder-Inspired High-Set, Low-Rep Program      After writing my last essay on the great Marvin Eder, I thought more and more about his Olympic lifting program (which is featured in that essay).  Of all the programs that he did, and recommended to others, I think that program might be his most effective for lifters after a combination of raw power and muscle mass.  I also think for the average gym-goer, however, it would probably be a bit “too much.”  So with that in mind I created a sorta kinder, gentler version that will be more effective for the vast majority of readers.      I would encourage you to read my Eder article, but if you don’t, then just know this: Eder was fond of high-set, low-rep workouts, especially when training for Olympic lifting, but combined his lifting workouts with bodybuilding workouts to create—what we would probably now call—a “hybrid” system of training.  The program below uses thi...

 The 10x5 Method: 10 Sets of 5 Reps for Massive Growth AND Strength & Power "If you get a pump while training with heavy weights, you will get big."*  -Pavel Tsatsouline The great Pat Casey was a firm believer in exactly the kind of training discussed here. The above quote by Russian strength training guru Pavel Tsatsouline sums up what is often called the energetic theory of muscle growth .  This theory, in more detail than the aforementioned quote, means that - in order to grow a sufficient amount of muscle mass AND strength - you need to have both fatigue and tension present in your training regimen.  But therein lies the problem.  Fatigue best happens through a high volume of training - multiple sets of high reps, or very few sets of high repetition training taken to total momentary muscular failure are great ways to develop fatigue, and also an ideal way for some  lifters to build plenty of muscle.  But it sucks at building absolute strengt...