Well, if you haven’t noticed, it’s springtime (or road construction depending where you live) and no doubt you’ve been to the shop and picked either a manager or sales associates brain on training and nutrition.
But it’s crunch time. It’s now April and you’re finding the workout portion of your program is lacking a bit. Don’t worry, there are some techniques that you can use to put some iron to the fire (no pun intended) to round out and lean up those muscle bellies a bit more.
Supersets:
This is usually the first intensity technique people go to to lean up a bit. Now, something people don’t know is that supersets are to work ANTAGONIZING muscle groups. That means opposite of each other. So a superset workout should be constructed like the following…..
Chest/Back
Tricep/bicep
Hamstrings/Quads
The only thing that is hard to superset in pure terms are shoulders and calves, but guess what? That’s curable…..
Compound sets:
These are what I like to call the close cousin of supersets. Compound sets are two consecutive exercises for the SAME muscle. It can be two basic, multi-joint exercises, a basic movement followed by an isolation two isolation exercises in a row (generally not advised but can be used if an injury or nagging pain is hitting you).
Giant Sets:
This technique is quite simply, the devil. Only the strong use this type of technique. So this is a circuit of exercises done for the same or opposite muscle group. This is an advanced technique, but since it’s almost time for boat parties and pool dates, we’re gonna bust this out. With these you want to ideally do these in an empty gym and you’ll also want to string an upward of five exercises together. So lets take a look at how would we want to put together a giant set workout for legs, as we are sadistic here at Rexius Nutrition (ok, really just me.)
Lying leg curl
followed by
Leg Extension
followed by
Leg Press
followed by
Hack Squat
followed by
Stiff Leg Deadlift
What you want to understand with giant sets is that there is no real “right” way to do them. But what needs to be kept in mind is to keep a balance of exercises pretty even. Now sometimes that’s hard to do, so don’t beat yourself up over it if it doesn’t turn out that way.
Putting It All Together: Sample Workouts
Now that we have a basic grasp of the concepts, lets piece together sample workouts to execute. You can play around with exercise tempo and other factors later on, but lets just put together a simple module of exercises.
Chest/Back Superset:
Flat Bench
superset with
Bent over Barbell Rows: 4 sets of 10 (after 2 warm-up sets)
Chin-up
superset with
Incline Machine Press: 4 sets of 10
Lat pulldown
superset with
Machine (or dumbbell) fly: 3 sets of 10
Compound set: Sample Back Workout
Chins
followed by
Bent Over Row: 4 sets of 10
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown
followed by
Seated row to the chest: 4 sets of 10
Hammer Strength Pulldown
followed by
Dumbbell Pullovers: 3 sets of 10
Things to Consider: Downfalls
While supersets, compound sets and giant sets are great for leaning out, the volume accumulates QUICKLY. That means the risk of overtraining is greater. I advise that you use this for a period of time when you really need to pull that last few pounds off before heading on vacation. There is also a strong cardiovascular effect, so no real need to hit the step mill after a heavy volume workout like the ones listed above.
Also, the amount of weight you use will be limited. While it’s always great to use a heavy load, you won’t be pressing super heavy weights on this type of training. Moderate weight with good power output should be the goal of these.
Intra and post-workout nutrition is of utmost importance. We have the tools you need to get you recovered and ready for your next session. My personal favorites (but not limited to)….
Intra: Recovery Factor x by Granite Supplements or Postlift by Nutrex
Pre: Arc Reactor by Granite Supplements or Convict by Condemned Labs
Post: Postlift by Nutrex
Keep the intensity high during a stretch of training like this and reap the rewards!