C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

High Frequency Training for Strength and Power, Part Three Building the Squat      A few months ago, I began to write a series of articles on high-frequency training specifically aimed at building strength and power.  It really began even before that, with a post I did on Anthony Ditillo-inspired training, and then before that a post written by Ditillo himself (from an old issue of the once great Iron Man magazine from the ‘70s).  Before you continue reading this article, it would probably behoove you to read the first two posts on HFT for strength and power, and the posts on Ditillo training.      And, now, on with this post:      Squat training lends itself specifically well to high-frequency training.  Or, as the Russians would say (or, perhaps, this is just a quote from someone who was fond of Russian-style training): “If you want to squat more, you have to squat more!”  Unlike some of the...

Texas Volume Training Is This the Ultimate Powerlifting Program?      After years of powerlifting – although I haven’t competed in almost a decade, I still train the powerlifts hard and often work with powerlifters who need to boost their totals – I have come to the following conclusions about training for the intermediate to advanced lifter: [1] Matthew Sloan squatting      Most lifters can increase their squats the most by using a fairly high amount of volume, and frequent training.  2 days per week should be the minimum amount of squatting, while most will get even better results by at least 3 days per week.  Recently, some lifters have been experimenting with taking a more “Bulgarian” approach, and squatting almost every day, and getting good results (Nick Horton’s programs over at “The Iron Samurai” would be good examples of this kind of training).  Also, programs such as the “Smolov squat routine” have worked wond...

     Saint Augustine once uttered the phrase “love, and do what you will.”  The blessed Augustine was basically saying that as long as you do everything out of love – love for others, love for God – then whatever else you do will be correct.      I happen to think the same thing about squatting.  As long as you are squatting – if not at every workout, then at least on a very regular basis – then you can do what you will with the rest of your workout.  In fact, I think squatting is the foundation of all successful training.  (Okay, I suppose you can get good results without squatting – especially if you’re doing plenty of Olympic lifting or deadlifting – but squatting is a sure fire way to get great results all the time.)  For instance, if you do the following five things, I can guarantee you will get great results [1] : 1.       Squat a lot 2.       T...

Here's a video taken tonight of me doing a 405 pound bottom-position squat.  The BP squat is one of the best exercises you can ever do for building massive strength.  The problem is that most lifters do them incorrectly.  Because they lack either proper form or flexibility (or both), they end up doing partial squats. This is how the exercise should be done.  Notice foot placement and bar placement.  It's tough to get low on a BP squat if the bar is too high and/or the stance is too narrow.

For those of you looking for a torturous workout—or for those of you just looking for something new—the following squat program from Bill Starr definitely fits the bill. Hardest workout ever? I'm not sure about that, but it's probably not far off base. Couple words of advice: Don't try this unless you're in shape. And, two, I would add this to the end of your typical workout the first time you try it. That way, you don't have to do anything but lie on the floor in agony, attempting to recover. Time to Squat By: Bill Starr Most readers of this magazine want to make continuous progress and move their top-end numbers up on a regular basis. Change is an excellent method of achieving those goals. Changing a routine, even slightly, can instill enthusiasm for your workouts. Anything that helps you look forward to your next session in the weight room is a positive thing. Some people get along just fine doing the same routine for a long time. Jerry Hardy and I coached to...

Training Entry #2: The One with the Bottom-Position Squats... and the Poundage... and Tapping into The Source Sunday, January 17th Since my last training entry, several things have happened to me. For one—and this is the most impacting—I severely pulled a pectoral muscle. A couple of years ago, I had a partial pec tear, so I've had to take it kind of easy while training my chest muscles. However, even training easy didn't help in this case. I haven't let the minor setback keep me from training heavy, however. I have—since my last entry—been training quite heavy on squats, deads (various kinds), overhead presses (I can overhead press without much discomfort), and various sorts of upper-body pulling movements (chins, for instance). The other is that I have been using the 5 to 7 Method of training. (Read the post a couple below this one for more info on that form of training.) Now, on with this entry.... For the past several weeks, I have been lif...

Advanced Heavy-Light-Medium Power Training      What follows is a program designed for intermediate to advanced powerlifters who would like to use the H-L-M program.  This program is not for outright beginners.  It's also best suited for those of you who are actually "built" for the three powerlifts.  (Or at least built for two of them.  This kind of training, for instance, is very effective in bringing up the numbers on my squat and deadlift.  I have short legs, a fairly short torso, and long arms.  Squats and deadlifts increase for me without my having to do much else other than squat and deadlift.  For the bench press, I need a little something extra—but we'll get to that in due time.)      This workout program also tends to add muscle mass, so it might not be ideal for those of you who have trouble staying in one weight class.       Without further ado, here it is: Monday: Heavy Day Squats: Perform 3 to 4 progressively heavier sets of 5.  Follow this with 5 work s...

     First things first—before we get to the actual training for today—as you can probably tell, this will NOT  be your typical training journal (for the most part).  I will try to also include plenty of the psychological and the spiritual in my entries.  Hopefully, this will allow you to see—if not completely understand—how physical training (especially certain kinds of physical training) can become a true  mind-body-Spirit process. Training Entry #1: The One with the Colds and the Christ Presence Tuesday, December 15th, 2009      When I arrived home from work this afternoon, I absolutely—and in no friggin' way—felt good.  I had (and have as I write this) a cold.  My body ached—not too bad, but plenty enough to be annoying—and my throat was sore enough that it was hard to swallow.      I walked through the kitchen, dropped my keys and my wallet on the counter, then headed straight to the bedroom.  I took a 30 minute nap, but made sure I set the alarm on my phone so that I could ca...

     After a couple of years of "light" training—including a lot of bodyweight-only training this past year—I have returned to some heavy powerlifting training.  I absolutely love training heavy (as much as I've avoided it as of late) and so I'm glad to be back doing it (as long as my body holds up).      Anyway, I thought I would begin to share a lot of my training with you as I continue to do it.  Also, I'm training a handful of lifters who would like to (either) enter competition or get back into competing again.  And so I'll also include some of their training, as well.      I've been training hard again now for a couple of weeks, and after two weeks of training I'm already using over 400 in the squat and over 400 in the deadlift for reps (not bad, considering that I haven't trained either of those lifts in about a year).      So... continue reading all of my posts entitled "Training Journal" if you want to see how my training goes—an...

     I have a new article out.  It was posted yesterday on Mike Mahler's website.  (Mahler, by the way, is a heck of a strength coach.  If you haven't checked out his website, you need to.  If you like the stuff you see here, you'll definitely like what he has to offer.)      The article focuses on the training methods—powerlifting, mostly—employed by a lot of Russian lifters, and lifters from other countries that were formerly part of the Soviet empire.      Here is how the article begins:      For years, the countries of Russia and others from the former Soviet Republic have dominated international powerlifting and Olympic lifting competitions.   And for years, there has also been an aura of mystique surrounding the methods they use to produce such phenomenal athletes, not to mention a lot of misconceptions about those methods.      In this article, I’m going to clear up those misconceptions by laying out the methods they utilize, plus I’m going to outline a couple of...