C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  Throughout the course of my lifting career, I've tried quite a few programs, putting them to the test where the "rubber meats the road" so to speak: the gym.  I've had some misses (Mentzer-style H.I.T. training would be a good example) and I've definitely had surprising successes, such as Sheiko-style training programs, which - when I looked at them on paper - I thought there was no way in hell his programs would work.  But, much to my surprise, I got stronger (and bigger while eating hardly anything) on a Sheiko program. Matthew Sloan warming up for a big deadlift session. I've often had success, too, with programs that are wildly diverse.  I built a lot of muscle mass with one-bodypart-per-week programs when I was much younger - more than 25 years ago!  And I've built an impressive amount of strength using very high-frequency training.  When I squatted and deadlifted well over triple my bodyweight in competition, I used HFT - Sheiko, Smolov, and my own...

Slovenian powerlifter Erni Gregorčič at Worlds 2014 in Sydney, Australia The other day, I received an email from a reader who wanted to know if I still felt the same way about strength training - specifically Russian strength training, for some reason - as I did years ago.  He asked this, he said, because I hadn't published very much on the subject in the last couple of years.  I replied that, of course, I still feel the same way about the efficacy of strength and power programs that I recommended 10 years ago as I do today. There really is nothing new under the strength and power building sun. With that being said, for those of you new to Russian-style training, here are the "rules" of Russian-style training as recommended by strength guru Pavel Tsatsouline*: 1. You must lift heavy. 2. You must limit your reps to five. 3. You must avoid muscular failure. 4. You must cycle your loads. 5. You must stay tight.  Tension is power. 6. You must treat your strength as a ski...

Q&A for the Month of October I have decided to do something slightly different starting with this month. Over the last couple of weeks - since I switched over to my new email address - I've received multiple emails.  Not exactly an entire plethora, don't get me wrong, but enough that it's been hard - or, at least, very time consuming - to answer them all.  And, so, I'm afraid that I simply haven't answered some that I otherwise would have - I apologize, right now, if yours is one that I haven't answered as of yet. Several of the emails, however, while not being exactly  the same, are at least in the same ballpark.  Which got me to thinking: Why don't I return to writing a regular Q&A column (something I've attempted in the past).  If this is successful, and if it gets enough views (some of my posts, depending on popularity, get decidedly more views than others), then I will continue to do this sometime around the first of each month. I...

Dr. Kevin Fast is a 54-year old priest who once pulled a plane weighing 188 tons—a then world-record. There are several different methods, workout programs, and tricks of the trade you can use to build an impressive amount of strength.  Most of them I've written about here on my blog, so it's not that hard to find a good method or program to use.  When you factor in not just this blog, but the rest of the good blogs and sites that are available these days, well, you have a plethora of methods at your disposal. Maybe too many. The problem is not in finding the right program, but in finding the right program for you. The gist of this article is going to be about methods of strength training for the older athlete—along with an example program—but the methods employed could also be used for the younger athlete, as well, especially one who develops strength well on lower-volume programs (this would typically be larger athletes) or one who has a 9-to-5 job that is es...

...Enter Phase 3 of Integral Strength      It has been too long since last I published an entry here at Integral Strength—the end of February to be precise.  Before that, I think things were rolling along.  I always tried to publish quality material, not just from myself, but from my son, and from Jared "JD" Smith.  And I think the last year has seen some of the best material since I first started this blog—primarily as an outlet for my writings that many of the magazines wouldn't touch—perhaps some of the most informative training articles you will find anywhere on the internet.      But something happened to me a few days after our last entry, at the beginning of March: I was rushed to the emergency room.  I had lost all control of my arms, my legs, and my ability to speak. As I was being transported to the hospital in the ambulance, I thought I was going to lose consciousness.  And I thought, if I did, then my life had...

     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 ...

Journal of Strength Wednesday, November 12, 2014      My current workout program is a bit haphazard.   But it’s also enjoyable and effective for my current goals.      It’s haphazard in the fact that I pretty much do whatever I feel like on whatever days I feel like training.   Of course, to be honest, that’s not entirely the case, but it’s close to it.   There is some structure—I always begin each workout with high-set singles of one exercise.   I rotate between a few different exercises.   Deadlifts, power cleans, power snatches, full snatches, clean and presses, or one-arm dumbbell presses are the typical exercises, although occasionally I will do flat bench presses or squats.   Also, I sometimes do two exercises for high-set singles instead of just one, and I always finish the workout with two or three additional exercises of whatever I feel as if I should do, for two or three sets each ...

     As of late, I have—for multitudinous reasons—found it hard to write very much.   (Please forgive me, in fact, if I have yet to respond to anyone’s email questions—I will as soon as possible.)   Not that writing itself, per se, is hard.   Once I sit down to my computer, open up Word, or once I sit down on my couch, notebook in hand, I find writing to be—while not the easiest thing—not much of a chore.   No, I have been busy with so many other things that, unfortunately, I just haven’t found the time to write much on my blog.   And when I have found the time, I have attempted to work on some articles, or some other stuff that actually makes me money writing—or, at least, has the potential to make money.      Despite my inability to write as much as I need to, I would really like to write on this blog more, despite the fact that I don’t know if I always have something very important to write about. ...

A couple years ago, I had a few "around the web" posts where I re-posted or linked to articles that I thought readers of my stuff would find interesting. From now on, I'm going to routinely do this again (I'm thinking that about once every 2 weeks would be good to shoot for), as long as I can find enough articles that I think browsers of this article would enjoy. I've come across several good articles, so here they are in no uncertain order: The first one is from Dan John, entitled Even Easier Strength .  And you thought his 40-Day Program was simple?  This breaks it down for those of you who may have a hard time doing stuff like simple comprehension. Over at T-Nation, despite the fact that they now publish a whole bunch of crap, there are still the occasional good articles, such as this one from Mark Rippetoe.  It's always nice when Rippetoe "goes off."  Oh, and just to make you realize how much you want to read this piece, here's a go...

     After yesterday’s post – Anthony Ditillo on Adaptability – I received an email from a reader.  The reader – new to this idea of frequent, intense [1] training – wanted to know what a program would actually look like if he were to follow Ditillo’s advice.  At first, I thought, “Well, I would rather not give a more detailed plan.  Part of what makes someone a successful lifter is actually learning how to lift.”  But then I thought better of it, and decided to write this post.      What follows is some advice and a week of sample training.  Keep in mind that this is just an example program.  If you are going to become a skilled lifter – and lifting, bulk-building, power training are skills – then you need to practice, you need to experiment, and you don’t need everything laid out for you in complete detail – hence, my initial reluctance at wring this piece.      First off, I recommend...

 Bulk-Building Brutality H.I.T. Training Using the Big 5 System Mike Mentzer, the most well-known H.I.T. proponent      I'll  admit it: I’m not a big fan of high-intensity training. [1]   While a few people are neutral on the subject, most people either love or loathe high-intensity training principles.   I have, for the most part, been in the “loathe” category.   However, I do think it has its place, and I also think it’s been effective for a lot of lifters—when used properly, at least.      In the past, I have been critical of it for several reasons:   I think it breeds laziness.   I think that it doesn’t allow the lifter to build enough power and strength when performed for high repetitions.   I don’t think that it’s effective at increasing work capacity.   I think it’s for “whiners” and “complainers” who claim to be “hard-gainers”, but who in fact want an excuse to not train frequen...