C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

Some Thoughts and Insights to Help You Adapt to High-Frequency Training      I extoll—more often than not—the benefits of high-frequency training (HFT) over other “systems” of training.  I put “system” in quotes because it’s not a system per se but more of an approach or a way of training.  Within HFT, you are capable of finding numerous, actual systems of training.      What qualifies as HFT?  When I use the term, it refers to any program where you train a muscle group (or a movement) at least 3 days per week.  Most modern workout programs are either low (once every 5 to 7 days) or moderate (twice per week) frequency regimens.  Please understand that I am not “opposed” to programs that use either low or moderate frequency.  If you scour this blog, you will find that I have written numerous programs that use both low and moderate frequency.  There are times when such programs can be very beneficia...

     It is, apparently, the end of an era as I just discovered that Dragon Door has shut down. Dragon Door, if you're not familiar, was the place where Pavel Tsatsouline pretty much got his start. They were the OG kettlebell company, publishing books, DVDs, and selling equipment for the new "functional fitness" craze. They also published a handful of my articles over the years. If I'm not mistaken - you can't access their articles anymore, so I'm not entirely sure - I wrote my first article for them sometime in 2008. So, since they are no more, I thought, over the next several weeks, I would re-post those articles here on my blog.      The most recent article that I wrote for them was The 30-Rep Program. When I have referenced that program in essays here on the blog, I have often inserted a link to that article, and since that link is no longer valid, I thought it would be the best article to start with.      I have long been a fan of ...

Some Advice for Choosing a Training Program      I have, over the years, occasionally received emails from readers who are confused over what training program to use (or how to design one of their own).  Most of them discover my blog, but then are confused due to, not just the overwhelming number of training programs that I write, but the seemingly disparate methods present.  I do, after all, write full-body programs, split training routines (of all kinds), low-rep programs, high-rep regimens, high-set programs, low-set routines, and everything in between.  Of course, if you were to really read over the whole of my material, you would find a “string” of training theory running throughout all of them.  But I also understand the confusion.  I received just such an email this morning from a reader who, with the New Year upon us, was looking for a workout program, but then wasn’t sure what to select after reading through a lot my material. ...