April 1983
Suscribe:
OPPOSITES ATTRACT WORKOUT
A superset is a pair of exercises performed one after another with little or no rest between sets. Immediately upon the completion of your set of reps, you move to the next exercise in the sequence. From that point, you either rest and repeat the sequence or go to another exercise. While you have probably done this type of training before on specific body parts, when applied for a complete cycle of the entire body over several weeks, the results can provide solid gains.
Also, instead of just using the push-pull or antagonistic method for the arms, you are going to build an entire routine out of a single concept and push your limits. Your workouts will alternate between longer, heavy-duty, big-set training days and quicker, intense-drive-set training days. By the end of the week you will have hit every muscle fiber at every angle, bringing about maximal muscle recruitment and lay9ing down the foundation for long term goals.
Yes, Strength Does Build Size
The strength vs. size debate continues to push the envelope in determining the best course of action for developing a killer bodybuilding program. Intuition would automatically suggest stronger equals bigger, but practice has shown otherwise. Mass is a term that has had a tough fate when it comes to finding its true home. Mass may be more closely related with size than it is with strength. Strength, however, reigns as king when it comes to dominance in the weight room and supersedes all other training adaptations in terms of immediate results. You will notice gains in strength far before those seen in size. And, if you continue to build size, you will be able to handle a greater load than you were able to before, thus increasing your overall total volume per training session. This means size, mass, or whatever you want to call muscle development, will come steadily. To optimally build thick muscle, you need to incorporate a variety of styles that attack both strength and size so that neither gets left behind.
Putting the "Super" in Supersets
Typically, supersets are performed with antagonistic exercises, but you could make the second exercise one that uses the same muscle group. And, technically speaking, a dropset of a pre-exhaust or post-exhaust pair of exercises could also be considered a superset. For the purpose of our training protocol, we are going to purposely train antagonistic muscle groups by alternating between exercises that specifically address key muscles. But since we want entire body thickness and size, this program ups the ante by hitting the muscles at a variety of angles across several different pulling and pushing sequences. This way, no stone is left unturned, or better put, no muscle is left to question whether or not it will get hit; it definitely will.
Since most of you have probably applied the push-pull or antagonistic training approach to the smaller muscle groups such as the arms, you are probably well aware that continual supersets with minimal rest can quickly lead to exhaustion. When expanding the methodology to larger muscles, fatigue -- in the form of lactic acid burning -- quickly supervenes and needs to be considered. To this end, approach this program with caution if expecting to perform large volume in a short period of time.
Having said that, there are two different approaches to the same muscle group combinations each week. The intent is to improve blood flow, increase pumps, and attack the volume that is needed to invoke serious muscle growth. By alternating workouts each week, you invoke the release of key hormones that activate and accelerate muscle growth, as well as improve your ability to handle volume against a faster pace. And the fact that you get a killer pump while doing this certainly doesn't hurt this equation for building optimal muscle size.
Old Methodology, New Application
You already know that repeated stress, heavy-duty lifting, and big volume cause muscle size and strength to improve. You want to match your muscle building hormone response with proper recovery so that you can continue to build muscle and strength.
Suffice it to say that by using the multifaceted approach of heavy and light alternating sessions, you get the benefit of volume related hormonal changes with respect to improved growth hormone response, and with repeated hammering on the same muscles, the continued increase in testosterone will provide maintenance and growth support.
But perhaps even more important is the fact that doing the same routine day in and day out not only gets stale and causes plateaus, it may also normalize testosterone and growth hormone release. Thus, supercharging your workouts with this antagonistic approach in and of itself makes sense -- old methodology, new application, increased challenge to muscles, greater growth.
Training Protocols
Each muscle group will get the benefit of twice a week training, and volume will be adjusted for optimal recovery.
Round 1
The first workouts of the week will be a heavy-duty, all-out assault. Complete all the sets and reps of a single exercise, taking every set (after warmups) to or near to failure, then swap bodyparts for the next exercise for its full set and rep scheme. Take sufficient breaks to regain your strength, but rather than continue to work that same muscle groups again as in a traditional bodypart workout, switch to the antagonistic muscle. Once you complete that exercise, go back to the first muscle group and continue the cycle. The idea is to completely blast the muscle(s) via that particular exercise before attacking its antagonistic partner.
Round 2
The second workouts of the week will be lighter, high set, fatigue inducing. Focus is on traditional superset/triset style workouts with no rest until all the exercises of the superset or triset are complete. The split is scheduled so that all the upper body training hits the weekend.
Training Split
Day 1: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Abs.
Day 2: Chest, Back, Traps.
Day 3: Shoulders, Triceps, Biceps.
Day 4: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Abs.
Day 5: Chest, Back, Traps.
Day 6: Shoulders, Triceps, Biceps.
Day 7: Rest.
The Workouts
Day 1: Complete all sets for each exercise before moving to the next exercise.
Squat - 4 sets of 8 rep.
Lying Leg Curl - 4 x 8.
Standing Calf Raise - 4 x 8.
Leg Press - 3 x 10.
Stiff Legged Deadlift - 3 x 10.
Seated Calf Raise - 3 x 10.
Decline Weighted Crunch - 4 x 10.
Single Leg Extension - 4 x 12.
Seated Single Leg Curl - 4 x 12.
Hanging Leg Raise - 4 x 12.
(1.5 to 2.5 minutes rest between sets.)
Day 2: Complete all sets for each exercise before moving to the next exercise.
Bench Press - 4 x 8.
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown - 4 x 8.
Dumbbell Shrug - 4 x 8.
Low Incline Dumbbell Press - 3 x 10.
Palms In Lat Pulldown - 3 x 10.
Upright Row - 3 x 10.
Flyes - 4 x 12.
Seated Cable Row - 4 x 12.
Barbell Shrug - 4 x 12.
Cable Crossover - 3 x 12.
Straight Arm Pulldown - 3 x 12.
Bentover Lateral Raise - 3 x 12.
(1.5 to 2.5 minutes rest between sets.)
Day 3: Complete all sets for each exercise before moving to the next exercise.
Barbell Standing Press - 4 x 8.
Skull Crusher - 4 x 8.
Barbell Curl - 4 x 8.
Lateral Raise - 3 x 10.
Pushdown - 3 x 10.
Preacher Curl - 4 x 12.
Dumbbell Front Raise - 4 x 12.
Seated Overhead Extension - 4 x 12.
Seated Alternating Dumbbell Curl - 4 x 12.
(1.5 to 2.5 minutes rest between sets.)
Day 4: Exercises that are grouped together are performed one after another with minimal rest after all of the reps for the set are completed. Rest the prescribed time before continuing back through the group of exercises until all of the sets are complete. Then move to the next grouping.
Squat, triset with Leg Extension and Seated Leg Curl - 4 x 12.
Standing Calf Raise, superset with Decline Weighted Crunch - 3 x 15.
Leg Press, triset with Hack Squat and Lying Leg Curl - 3 x 10.
Seated Calf Raise, superset with Twisting Crunch - 4 x 15.
Front Squat, triset with Single Leg Standing Leg Curl and Rope Crunch - 4 x 10.
(2 to 3 minutes rest between supersets and trisets.)
Day 5: Exercises that are grouped together
are performed one after another with minimal rest after all of the reps
for the set are completed. Rest the prescribed time before continuing
back through the group of exercises until all of the sets are complete.
Then move to the next grouping.
Dumbbell Bench Press, triset with Seated High Cable Wide Grip Row and Dumbbell Shrug - 4 x 12.
Low Incline Dumbbell Press, triset with Lat Pulldown and Bentover Lateral Raise - 3 x 10.
Low Incline Flye, triset with Seated Low Cable Row and Barbell Flye - 3 x 12.
Decline Dumbbell Press, triset with Palms In Chinup and Upright Row - 4 x 10.
(2 to 3 minutes rest between supersets and trisets.)
Day 6: Exercises that are grouped together
are performed one after another with minimal rest after all of the reps
for the set are completed. Rest the prescribed time before continuing
back through the group of exercises until all of the sets are complete.
Then move to the next grouping.
Dumbbell Press, triset with Dumbbell Skull Crusher and Barbell Curl - 4 x 12.
Cable Lateral Raise, triset with Rope Pushdown and Cable Curl - 3 x 10.
Cable Front Raise, triset with Overhead Rope Extension and One Arm Preacher Curl - 3 x 12.
Bentover Lateral Raise, triset with Seated Dumbbell Extension and Seated Dumbbell Curl - 4 x 10.
(2 to 3 minutes rest between supersets and trisets.)
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