Hi everyone, welcome to set types part 2. Last week I explained circuit sets, multiple sets, failure and total failure. Today I’m going to discuss drop sets, strip sets, negative sets, supersets and compound sets. Once you understand how all these sets work you can start implementing them into your workouts to bust through plateaus and strengthen your body beyond what you can imagine. However, take your time because this is a lifestyle change and you will need to stick to a routine for a while. Don’t just jump around from one thing to the other, rather reap all the benefits of one thing until you hit a plateau and then change. “Change” by the way is a topic for another day’s discussion.
Okay so last week we talked about failure when I mentioned drop and strip sets. Essentially they’re very similar except strip sets use a spotter and drop sets you do by yourself. If anyone here doesn’t know what a spotter is, it’s the little guy or gal who stands behind or in front of you making sure you don’t drop the weights on your head! Ouch! LOL. Anyway, this is the way it works: you pick a heavy or reasonably heavy weight, let’s say a weight you can do for 4 to 6 reps maximum, on the bench press for example, maybe 200 pounds. This will be a strip set. Using a standard Olympic Bar, load the bar with smaller barbells – 25’s, 10’s and 5’s as opposed to larger, 35’s and 45’s (unless you’re super strong). In this example using 200 pounds, start pressing and go to failure. Let’s say you get to number 5 and fail with good form. Have the spotter help you finish number 5. Rack it just long enough for the spotter to knock off 10 – 15 pounds from each side. Then pump out 3-6 more reps and repeat. Make sure you only drop off 10% to 15% of the weight. You need to be in failure by 3 to 6 more reps. The spotter should move quickly, as little rest as possible. The whole exchange should take less than five seconds. 0 would be preferable but may not be possible unless you have more spotters (but that’s usually not practical).
Now drop sets are done in the same manner except you do all the work. Typically, doing this with barbells is less effective. Machines and dumbbells are more preferable for drop sets. On dumbbells you can run-the-rack. Which means grab a pair of 65’s, a pair of 50’s, a pair of 35’s and do a set of 65’s for 4-6 reps, a pair of 50’s for 4-6 reps, and a pair of 35’s for 4 to 6 reps. Do a set, drop it, pick it up, do a set, repeat. Repeat 2-4 times. Promise, whatever exercise you’re doing, this will kill you the first time you do it after having not done it for a while, or having never done it at all. Especially the latter.
Got that, okay, next up – negatives. Negatives do involve going to failure and beyond. When you do a motion in an exercise, let’s say a bench press, it involves three motions: isometric, eccentric and concentric. That’s basically in order for that exercise. At the top of the bench press once it comes off the rack holding the weight is considered isometric, lowering the bar is eccentric and raising the bar is concentric. The focus of negatives is the eccentric portion of the exercise.
The fact is you are stronger ecentriclly then you are concentriclly, and for this reason you can increase your gains more by using this method. However, a word of caution: use perfect form and a strong spotter. Only do this occasionally as your central nervous system needs to adapt. Again with this one, injury can easily happen. This set type is for advanced training only. The way it works is to do an amount of reps until you reach failure, then have the spotter help. Proceed to do 1-2 reps, after reaching failure. On a bench you would slowly lower the bar, the spotter helps pull the bar back up, then you lower the bar very slowly at a 4 to 6 second count. Once the bar touches your chest the spotter and you then push/pull the bar back up to the top. At that point you slowly lower the bar back down again to your chest at a 4 to 6 count. This type of training is brutal ladies and gents. Just wait until you try it. Once again this is for advanced trainees only.
Finally the last type of sets is super and compound sets. Compound sets involve doing two exercises for the same muscle group back to back with no rest period. Supersets involve doing two opposing muscle groups back to back with no rest. An example of a compound set would be doing and incline bench press with no rest, followed by an incline dumbbell fly. An example of a compound superset would be doing a bicep curl with no rest, followed by tricep extensions. These two set types are great for building strength and endurance and an excellent choice for intermediate and advanced training.
Well there you have it folks, that’s all there is for today! Please join me next week when I will be discussing more set types. I have a lot of really wonderful things in store in the future so keep reading my blogs and feel free to comment in the section below. Thanks, Donovan.
Hi everyone, welcome to set types part 2. Last week I explained circuit sets, multiple sets, failure and total failure. Today I’m going to discuss drop sets, strip sets, negative sets, supersets and compound sets. Once you understand how all these sets work you can start implementing them into your workouts to bust through plateaus and strengthen your body beyond what you can imagine. However, take your time because this is a lifestyle change and you will need to stick to a routine for a while. Don’t just jump around from one thing to the other, rather reap all the benefits of one thing until you hit a plateau and then change. “Change” by the way is a topic for another day’s discussion.
