C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

     While reading Nick Horton’s good blog “The Iron Samurai” the other day [1] , I came across this quote by the samurai Yamaoku Tesshu: “ In order to learn about the Way, forget about self and awaken to the truth… Exerting self is a mistake… We should not say “myself” — in truth there is no such thing… When there is no thought of self, true Bushido develops.” the samurai, and Zen master, Yamaoku Tesshu      The essence of Bushido is summed up in the last sentence.      When there is no thought of self, true Bushido develops .      Bushido—for those of you who are unaware—is often translated as “the way of the warrior” or, a more literal definition, “the samurai’s way.”   It is the way of one who practices Budo.   (Budo means “martial path”.)      I have often thought of lifting as a form of Budo, and my gym as the dojo.   (This is one reason that I enjoy ...

Over at the "Iron Samurai" (see my "links" section), Nick Horton has a post that I wish I would have written myself.  It's entitled "Overtraining Doesn't Exist." I imagine the title alone would enflame many of your H.I.T. pundits or others who may think that Mike Mentzer was actually on to something. Here's a portion of the article : I’m going to say something many people in the fitness industry will get pissed at me for. But I believe it to be true (within reason). OVERTRAINING DOESN’T EXIST That’s bullshit, of course. Overtraining is a medical syndrome that some people do get themselves into. But… it is EXTREMELY rare, and YOU have never had it. I want you to avoid ANY thought of overtraining. In all of the years I have been coaching, I have not EVER overtrained a single athlete. Ever. CNS fatigue is not overtraining. Feeling tired is not overtraining. A loss of appetite is not overtraining. Being massively sore is not ove...

In the latest issue of Planet Muscle (July, 2013), I have an article that deals with what is commonly called the "Bulgarian method" of high-frequency training.  To be honest, it's probably one of the most "non-bodybuilding" pieces I've ever written for any of the major muscle magazines.  I'm glad Jeff Everson actually printed it (I had my doubts when I sent it to him.) To whet your appetite, here's a portion of the article where I discuss the three factors of frequency, intensity and volume:      "Any well-designed program must take into account three important variables: frequency, intensity, and volume.   Programs that fail are ones that don’t properly manipulate and control these variables.   For instance, if you were to perform a program for lots of sets, lots of reps, and lots of intensity multiple times per week, you would be setting yourself up to fail – and would surely do so.   If any two of the variables are high, then the oth...

Here are some collections of articles that I discovered on the web recently, thought I'd share them with you. Some are new; some aren't. But they're new to me, so they might be new to some of y'all, as well. If you haven't been to it, a great site is www.theironsamurai.com . It's an Olympic lifting site run by strength coach Nick Horton. I don't know the guy—never heard of him until I came across the site—but he has some great stuff for all lifters, not just Olympic lifters. (Oh, and he has a touch of Zen here and there, as well, which might also interest some of you.) Here's a really good post from his site: http://www.theironsamurai.com/2011/02/09/happy-birthday-to-me-reflections-on-lifting-coaching-and-the-pre-masters-class/ . It has his thoughts on lifting and coaching, including a good bit on Bulgarian style training. For those of you who are fans of high-volume training (or would like to give it a shot), Nick has some insights that can help ...