Supersets.....

[DJDIGGLER]

TweetAre there any negative sides to supersets?

I talked with this guy at my gym (that's the same height as I am) that weighs only ten pounds more than me but is absolutely ripped and is nearly twice my size. I asked him what his workout and eating schedule consist of, and he said he supersets everything with 3 reps, and eats 8-9 meals a day.

Any thoughts on this?

I've hit a plateau and can't seem to get any bigger. maybe it's time for a new workout.

[T-Man007]

TweetWell, it depends on the superset. Does he superset antagonist muscle groups or the same muscle group?

I like both but the same muscle group is more of a high intensity approach and requires more rest, IMO. For example, you have the chest/back, bi/tri, ham/quad approach which is the antagonist approach. These muscle function completely opposite of one another.

Then, there is the same msuch approach, which I also like very much but it really taxes the muscle alot more. For examlple, I will do bench press (db or bb) with db flies, incline press with incline flies, leg extensions with squats, pull ups with scoop rows, dead lifts with seated rows, bb curls with hammer curls (this one actually changes from more bicep to more brachialis-sp?), dips with push downs and so on.

Then, I have my 'that don't make any sense' superset. At least, that's what I hear when I do them. On this, I superset stuff like chest/calves, quads/biceps, delts/hams, etc. With this approach I'm basically just trying to use exercises that don't take away from one another but are more stimulating on the CNS than just antagonist supersets. Supersetting bb curls with tricep pushdowns just doesn't compare to the stimulus of supersetting bb curls with squats. So, I like to mix it up.

The best thing about supersets is you get out faster. In stead of sitting around between sets you are doing other exercises. So, you get done faster, you keep your HR higher and you really work the CNS pretty good. I dont' recommend you do them all the time unless you really mix it up. But, that's my opinion.

[DJDIGGLER]

TweetI think he does same. He said that He'll start at a weight he can do 3 reps of and continue to drop down the weight until theirs practically nothing on the bar anymore. Of course he said he does this with no break.

Whenever I work out I do the antagonist approach, just as you said.

So should I be supersetting alternate workouts one after the other with no break?

For instance bi curls start heavy @ 3 reps and keep dropping weight till theres no weight on the bar anymore, then immediately jump into the next workout skull crushers heavy @ 3 again till theres nothing. Is that what your referring to?

I want to try and hit this right.

[DJDIGGLER]

TweetAlso what would you guys suggest for rep range?

I thought 3 sounded a little low. But hey that guy was pretty ripped so maybe he knows his shiit. I'm curious if he cycles with the way he looked. I just didn't see the veins that you see most people on roids have. Atleast I thought they all get that.

[T-Man007]

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I think he does same. He said that He'll start at a weight he can do 3 reps of and continue to drop down the weight until theirs practically nothing on the bar anymore. Of course he said he does this with no break.

Whenever I work out I do the antagonist approach, just as you said.

So should I be supersetting alternate workouts one after the other with no break?

For instance bi curls start heavy @ 3 reps and keep dropping weight till theres no weight on the bar anymore, then immediately jump into the next workout skull crushers heavy @ 3 again till theres nothing. Is that what your referring to?

I want to try and hit this right.

Ok, that's not supersets bro, that's drop sets. Supersets is when you do two exercises back to back with no rest. When you start with a weight and drop the weight with no rest that is called drop sets.

Now, the ting with drop sets is they can mess with your CNS in a negative way, according to some experts. They can be used but should NOT be used every workout. Charles Poluquin has a big long write up on the negative effects it can have on the CNS. However, I don't know it well enough to repeat it accurately so I won't even try. But, basically, the continual use of drop sets appears to have a negative effect on you CNS which can result in negative responses to training all together.

Now, to answer your question, three reps is too low. Before I ever even heard of Dorian Yates I used 5-6 rep drop sets on things like delts and calves and those are two of my best muscle groups. I also did it with hams and they blew up too, but I never do drops sets for more than 4 weeks in a row and then a take about 4 to 6 weeks off and do something different. Well, Dorian Yates used to do the dame thing but did them for most of his muscle groups. He would do drop ses, forced reps and rest pause. Also, he only did one working set, that's it. He would do 2-3 warm up sets and one brutal set and move on. And, that got him 6 Mr.O's and one runner up. So, anyone who tells me one set is not enough, isn't doing that one set hard enough. For anyone to win a Mr.O is a feat, for someone to win 6 and do it with one set per exercise, that's a man who re-wrote the book on intensity.

What I'm getting at is this.....use these techniques but not back to back or not for more than 4 weeks at a time. If I was training still, my approach would be to never do the same thing two times in a row. I would use drops, negatives, supersets, rest pause, foreced reps, static contractions, heavy weight, light weight, I would have my client do everything in the book. What happens is you find something that works and you do it so much that it no longer works. So, mix it up all the time.

My advice would be to do this, try one thing and follow it for four weeks, then go to something completely different and do that for four weeks and continue to do this for several months. Take measurements (cold, not pumped) and keep a journal of progress. Then, look back and see what muscle groups got stronger faster during what programs, what muscles grew faster during what programs and then after it's all said and done, you will know how each of your muscle groups respond best to what stimulas and then you can use that 'thing' more frequently to get bigger and stronger faster. Also, if you have a weak part, you will know how to get it to catch up because you will have data to show you what works best for that muscle. That really is the trick to bbing, knowing how each muscle responds to what. There is no one who's body responds the same to each stimulas. Some muscle grow better with 15 reps, some better with 6, but it takes time to figure all that out.

I hope that helps.

[DJDIGGLER]

TweetThanks Tmann! Awesome advice to say the least! Looks like I'll start this today. Rep coming your way.

[DJDIGGLER]

TweetSo far it seems to already be making a difference. We'll see what happens after a month of this.

[daved150]

Tweetgreat advice t

[CeasarIM]

TweetI love supersets because they give me a good cardi work out and a great burn.

[DJDIGGLER]

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I love supersets because they give me a good cardi work out and a great burn.

Definitely can feel the burn! I second that!

[BigDawg]

Tweeti never get a burn from drop sets, just total fatigue, that's why you shouldn't drop set every exercise every workout.

[Klash]

TweetFor me the antagonist super setting helps the second opposing muscles function. I'm more exhausted but I'll get better numbers on weight or reps.

For example, if I can get a nice pump on my triceps exercise and then superset curls I lift more weight or have more reps than if I was doing just bis alone.

You guys experience that?

[6p6]

TweetDJ everybodys different, and even worse certain body parts have to be trained different for your body type. I love using multiple exercises without rest primarily on bis tris and back, legs and chest for me work best just going to failure...give it a try bro maybe you'll see results

[CeasarIM]

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[T-Man007]

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For me the antagonist super setting helps the second opposing muscles function. I'm more exhausted but I'll get better numbers on weight or reps.

For example, if I can get a nice pump on my triceps exercise and then superset curls I lift more weight or have more reps than if I was doing just bis alone.

You guys experience that?

It depends for me. With bi/tri, yeah, I can say that holds true to some degree, but with a heavy bent over row ss'd with heavy bench, I don't get more stronger because I still sucking wind. Of course, when my cardio is in check, I can get through it pretty good. My think with ss is I try not to rest more than the time it takes me to change the weight. My HR stays up in the 70 to 75% range (higher on some exercises).

With bi/tri I actually do a bi/tri/delt tri-set. I have found this to be very helpful in getting through three muscle groups in a short period of time all the while keeping my intensity and HR up. But, switch that to squats ss'd with stiff legs and the rest time goes up. Those two back to back are brutal, probably two of the worse. LOL