C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Build Tons of Strength, Power, and Mass with my 30-Rep Program. A High-Frequency, Moderate Volume, Low Intensity Program Old-time strongmen such as Hermann Goerner used programs similar to what is recommended here.      C.S.'s Note: I was hoping to have Part Two of my "Train for Your Body Type" series posted by now, but I have been busy writing for a local magazine (my "regular" job, so to speak) and that has prevented me from writing as much on the blog.  So until I can find the time to finish Part Two of that series, consider this "Thursday Throwback" as sort of an intermediate piece.  Here, you will find a program that would build hypertrophy quite nicely for anyone who is a "frequency" bodybuilder/lifter.      Even though it is not directly, but is  indirectly, related to the following piece, I will give a quick update on the aforementioned "Train for Your Body Type" series (see my last post).  That series is based on the fact t

  Old School Lifting, Training, and Eating are Still the Most Optimal Methods and Don’t Listen to Anyone Who Tells You Otherwise! Marvin Eder, my favorite old school bodybuilder/strength athlete.      I like “old school” things.      I train at a dojo in the town that I live in that is the only old school dojo I could find.  The others around aren’t really dojos but are what are commonly called “McDojos”—they cater to the masses, and are a great after-school activity for your kid, or for your Grandma who wants to “get in shape.”  The dojo that I practice at often has to mop the blood off the floor after class, and is run by a 70-year old, 5’4” black man who can still whip men twice his size and half his age.  He runs it like a dictatorship, as any good dojo must be run.  So, yeah, it’s old school , and I like old school things.      I go to a Slavic-style Orthodox Church.  It’s as old school as religion can get.  I had a friend of mind, a German Catholic fella by the name of Richard

  “Good advice has been cast at me throughout my career.  I tend to ignore it when it comes in a dull package.” ~strength coach Dan John I start with this quote from strength coach Dan John so that you will understand this is NOT a glitzy essay, one packed with shiny “new” things that might be all the current rage in the muscle-building world.  It IS, however, informative and filled with good advice. 1977 issue of Muscle Builder & Power ; Muscle magazines have always been full of "lists." I like lists for lifters.  Short lists.  Easy-to-remember lists.   Lists of what foods are best for you to eat (depending on your goals).  Lists of the sort of exercises you should be doing; exercises that can help you achieve your goals in a shorter period of time. For the longest, I touted what I referred to as the “Big 5.”  The Big 5 is a list of the 5 things every lifter should do each and every week without fail—male or female, big or small, whether your goal is fat loss or hypert

  Part One: A Basic, Full-Body Power Rack Program  (Inspired by the Legendary Charles A. Smith) illustrations as they appeared in one of Smith's rack training articles for Muscle Power I keep a notebook on my person at all times to jot down ideas for articles and essays as they come to me.  My sons, of course, explain to me that I could make it easier if I just use a “notepad” on my cell phone.  But I won’t budge.  I’m pretty stubborn in that way, but it’s also because I don’t think we should be so quick to “throw out the old for the new.”  I bring this up for two points.  The first is that, looking through my notebook(s) of ideas, I realized that I haven’t written anything on “power rack training” in quite some time.  The 2nd is that you shouldn’t be so quick to get rid of “old” training ideas in favor of whatever “new-fangled” ones appear to work better; and, unfortunately, the lifting world seems to have forgotten some of the great exercises that can be done in the power rack.