C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

  The Importance of Proper Programming            The title of this essay comes from a well-known utterance of the real “trainer of champions” Vince Gironda.  I’ve quoted it more times than just about any other quote from a coach, bodybuilder, or strength athlete.  (Although I have oft-used Zatsiorsky’s quote “to train as often as possible while being as fresh as possible.”)  Gironda’s saying is an important quote that a lifter or bodybuilder needs to always keep in his mind, because too many trainees still just go to the gym and “work out” without any real plan.      I mentioned this briefly in another recent post—and I’ve mentioned it at various times in different articles and essays throughout my career—but the main reason that people still just “work out” is because they don’t understand what actually constitutes a “good” training session.  Most people let the means (the workouts themselves) justify the ends (the results that are achieved from said workouts).  In other words, a

    Variety for Gains in Size and Strength      I knew a super-heavyweight powerlifter at one time who never changed his training program.  And I mean never .  On top of that, he had been a highly competitive powerlifter since the ‘70s.  When I got to know him around 15 years ago, he told me that he had been doing, essentially, the exact same program for at least the previous 35 years.  He was also incredibly strong (even though he was older then than I am now).  And incredibly massive.      His program worked.  It might work for you, too, but I doubt it.  Most lifters—bodybuilders, powerlifters, Crossfitters, and everyone in between—need more variety.  And even if your body responds well to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to training, your mind, at the very least, needs a bit more variegation.  I have a feeling, however, that the majority of lifters do need variety for their body, not just their mind.      On average, I think most lifters should change things up afte