C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  5 Tips to Turn an Easy Strength Program into a Mass Building Regimen      As regular readers know, I’m a fan of high-frequency training (HFT, for short).   In particular, I regularly promote easystrength and (what I call) easy muscle training programs.      Easy strength regimens are, you guessed it, strength programs, but ones built around frequent training, low reps, and fairly low volume in general.   I would argue that easy strength methods are hands down the most underutilized form of strength-building in the entire training world.      Easy muscle programs are similar to their easy strength cousins in that they utilize HFT but couple it with relatively low intensity (“intensity” here referring to how it’s utilized in strength training—as a % of one-rep max) and high reps.   Neither method of training is “hard”—in fact, you should always leave the gym feeling decidedly better than when you ...

  Minimalist Training for Maximum Gains      I made the mistake today of reading one of the popular bodybuilding websites.   Occasionally I do this, but almost always regret it shortly after.   Today was no different.   I write that it was a “mistake” only because reading these online “rags”—I suppose that’s the best term, though perhaps “zine” might be more apropos—almost always makes me want to beat my head into the wall of my dungeonous garage gym until I black out and (hopefully) forget everything I just read.      I always make my way to one of these websites in the hope, faint though it may be, that I might actually stumble upon an article or two with good training advice.   But, alas, to no avail.      I suppose you could argue that I’m being a bit too curmudgeonly.   Heck, you might be right.   Well, partially right.   Because, if I’m honest, there are some decent traini...

  A State-of-the-Art Mass & Power Program for Outlandish Gains      I’m fond of some forms of training over others.   This doesn’t mean, however, that I believe there is one training program or method that reigns supreme.   Some may make such a claim as that.   HIT enthusiasts—who seem to think like the Highlander in that there can be only one —I’m looking at you.   But there are also individual lifters and coaches who stumble upon a program that really works well for them , and they declare it to be the one program that stands above all others.   No, I believe that there are quite a few different training methods and programs that are effective.   But some are decidedly better than others, depending on your goals.   I like full-body workouts, high-frequency training, Russian-style power programs, routines that utilize the “big 4,” and old-school “classical” bodybuilding routines.   Those are all different, by the...

How to Select the Weights Used During Your Workouts      Bill Starr said one time that the most confusing aspect of setting up a strength program is selecting the poundages to be used for the various sets of an exercise.   A lot of lifters can’t decide the weight to start with or the weights to utilize for all the intermediate sets as they work their way up to a heavy set of 5 or a max triple, double, or single.   Starr even said that he spent more time giving advice on this than any other subject in lifting.      I personally receive more questions about other things—a lot of lifters need help with an assortment of training stuff before they even get around to deciding weight selection—but I have noticed that this confuses a lot of lifters compared to many subjects.   And it’s not just beginners, either.   A lot of advanced lifters get confused, especially when changing over to a new program.      Pe...

  I have a brand new e-book available for purchase at Amazon.  If you would like to buy a copy, here's the link: Ultimate Mass and Power Essays: A Collection of Essays, Thoughts, and Ideas for Getting Incredibly Big and Massively Strong This book is a follow-up to my first book in this series, "Ultimate Mass and Power." That book is primarily a collection of different training programs to help you get incredibly strong and massively big. This book is concerned with the same topics - building massive amounts of strength, power, and hypertrophy - but is a collection of essays instead of programs. Oh, there are some programs thrown in here and there. But this is for anyone who wants to be informed and (hopefully) entertained with some of my thoughts and ideas when it comes to building the ULTIMATE in Mass and Power. If you enjoy reading the likes of "old school" writers such as Bill Starr, Bradley Steiner, and John McCallum, or modern day writers such as Dan John o...

  A.K.A. - How to Gain 40 Pounds of Bulk in 8 Weeks John McCallum’s High-Frequency, High-Volume Routine for Rapid Mass Gains      In the 1960s, John McCallum wrote arguably the greatest monthly column the bodybuilding world has ever known.  It was called “The Keys to Progress” and appeared in what was probably also the greatest muscle magazine of all time, Strength and Health .  His column is still fantastic to this day.  To be honest, it’s probably better today because of all the nonsense that you see, hear, or read about in the ultra-saturated world we all know and love called the internet.  I wonder what the hell McCallum would think about training and nutrition information these days?  I have a feeling he wouldn’t think highly of it at all.      I thought about McCallum this morning when I was “thumbing” through my new digital copy of “The Complete Keys to Progress.”  I have an older, slightly tatt...