Set extensions?

[Frederick Foresight]

Reading back I notice that I took the thread a bit off-topic. My message was triggered by @Baron 's message, and especially the sentence he wrote in bold letter font.
I don't have experience with various forms of set extensions such as drop-sets, negatives or static holds after completing a full set. I have read about these, but haven't applied those techniques.

I don't think you took the thread off-topic, and I hope Baron and others chime in.

Struggling with the last few reps shouldn't really make the set more risky. Using a heavier weight than you are capable of handling and/or using "Body English" and/or momentum rather than strict form is what gets you in trouble.

 

[Baron]

Mike Mentzer and HIT come to mind:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Mentzer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_training
I tried it for a while. However, I didn't have the impression that it was helping me very much. And it is injury-prone due to the heavy loads you are using. I had to be very careful in finding the right balance between using a heavy load and not injuring myself.

The main problem with HIT workouts is that you really need a spotter or trainer to guide you through the workout because it's hard to generate the necessary intensity on your own.

 

[Baron]

I don't think you took the thread off-topic, and I hope Baron and others chime in.

Struggling with the last few reps shouldn't really make the set more risky. Using a heavier weight than you are capable of handling and/or using "Body English" and/or momentum rather than strict form is what gets you in trouble.

I agree. When I was trained by Ellington Darden in HIT workouts, we used lighter weights than normal, not heavier. That is offset by the fact that you are going to negative failure in addition to positive failure which makes you want to throw up after a single set.

 

[Baron]

So instead of doing 3 traditional sets of dumbbell bicep curls, what you do is a single standard set of 8 -12 reps with a weight that you would struggle with on the last couple reps. Then after that set, sit the dumbbells down and wait 10 - 15 seconds, which goes really fast. Then pick the dumbells back up and do another set, which may only be half to a third as many reps as you just did. And after that's over, repeat that process once more. On that third set, you may only be able to grind a couple of reps, but you'll feel the burn like crazy and will feel like you really created a deeper level of muscle breakdown, and you did it in literally one fifth of the time it would have taken to do 3 traditional sets with longer rest periods between each set.

So yesterday I applied the workout style above to the following exercises:

1. Hamstring Curls
2. Leg Extensions
3. Single Leg Standing Calf Raises
4. Leg Press
5. Bodyweight Dips
6. Underhanded Close Grip Lat Pulldowns
7. Side Lateral Raises
8. Front Lateral Raises
9. Dumbbell Bench Presses
10. Wide Grip Seated Rows

It was a hard workout and I had a good pump by the end.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

I agree. When I was trained by Ellington Darden in HIT workouts, we used lighter weights than normal, not heavier. That is offset by the fact that you are going to negative failure in addition to positive failure which makes you want to throw up after a single set.

I think you'll agree, though, that a downside of engaging in too much inroading too often can potentially make it too much from which to recover. Recovery ability varies, so people will have to determine through experimentation how much of such intensity enhancement they can tolerate and how often. For example, if they start getting weaker, then they haven't yet fully recovered from the last workout. So either the last workout was too recent or too intense.

 

[Baron]

For the intensity of my own workouts, it seems like I can handle a full-body workout with 10 exercises and 1 good all-out set per exercise about once every other day. Sometimes I may need an extra day of rest, but for the most part EOD weight training seems to be the sweet spot for me.

 

[Baron]

This guy is an exxageration and I don't have his size but look at the upper width added to the lat width:

Traps get a lot of workout on the power cleans and snatches and deadlifts so I am ok there but like the shoulder width baby.

I like that width because as I slim down the middle and work on my lats I want to also fill out the width. For me, shoulder balance also is important for me because I am still an active softball and basketball player. For soccer I just want them to shove into a guy to move them off the ball.

This guy looks great not just because his shoulders are good, but because his waste is so freakin' small, so his shoulder to waste width ratio is insane. And having zero bodyfat helps too. I'm jealous!

 

[El OchoCinco]

True dat....i like the squared off top which I will not get like him but working my delts will make the shirts hang better .

 

[destriero]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by set extensions. I do, on occasion, do an isometric set after failure with normal reps.

135 yet?

 

[destriero]

I thought this was a math thread...