important superset question

S

specialk12

0
I found a good site to do supersets on my chest.
This is my plan for tuesday workout with supersets.

the first(out of 4 supersets) superset will be:

Dumbbell Flat Bench Presses -- Do 10 to 12 Reps and then rest for one minute
Then do: Dumbbell Incline Bench Presses -- Do 10 to 12 Reps and then rest for one minute
Then do: Dumbbell Flies -- Do 10 to 12 Reps and then rest for one minute

repeat the superset three times for a total of 4 supersets

I want a bigger chest.

My question is......when doing this kind of superset, should I increase the weight after each superset????

I know that at the fourth superset, if I increase weight I won't be able to do 10 reps, but will probably do 3 or 4 reps.

Should I increase weight for this kind of superset?????

thanx
 
Sounds like a tri-set...should be good to increase your mass...
You don't need to increase the weight, choose the weights that will take you to failure...typically a little less than the weight you would use if you were doing just one straight set. From there, you should get to failure on every set.
Have fun!
 
isnt the whole idea of getting bigger(building mass) to use heavy weight???

Why then would I use less weight when doing my tri-set, shouldn't I be concerned with using heavy weights so I can get bigger???

just a question i have.
 
Logic...if you're doing just one set of 8 reps of dumbbell press to failure, then resting for what 90-120s and doing your next set, to failure...what makes you think you could use that same weight except after you've gotten to failure on that exercise, you pick up another set of weights to do another exercise, without any rest.

I don't mean use a 3 pound weight rather than a 75-pound weight, I just mean that the weight will have to be slightly less.

I hope my explanation is coming out clear...The key to building mass is failure, not max weight ;)
 
actually, I got the oppisite response then what you told me.

Other people say the key to building muscle mass is to lift heavy.

Your saying not to lift heavy but to do it until failure.

Now I'm kinda confused.
fromwhat I understand:

I want to build mass so I would lift heavy until I hit a 1 or 2 rep max with tthe heaviest weight I can handle.

please explain, cause I thhjink you got me more confused about building mass.

thanks
 
To make your muscles grow you need to work all the muscle fibres in a particular muscle. Take for example your pecs. When doing a bench press with say 70% of your max for 12 x 3 will use limited amounts of fibres in the first set, a few more in the second set and a few more in the last set. To hit all your muscle fibres you need to push your low load fibres so hard that u need to use your high load fibres. You can do this by using heavy weights or by taking your self to failure. Both have their merits, but by using heavy weights you are more able to increase your strength, and by going to failure you can increase muscular endurace.
 
As I said, with the tri-sets, you are going to use as HEAVY a weight as you can, however, the weights you use will not be as heavy as the weights you would use for regular sets of the same exercises, just because you are doing all 3 in a row without rest. I am NOT saying to use a weight that is of absolutely no overload, I don't know how much better I can explain this to you.

Say your 3 exercises are flat bench press followed IMMEDIATELY by inclined bench press followed IMMEDIATELY by dumbbell flyes...no rest in between exercises. Do you think, for example, that you could push as much on the dumbbell flyes immediately after having previously done flat press AND inclined press?

What I mean by saying that the key is failure is relative to supersets, tri-sets, drop sets and such. Sure you will gain muscle by pushing in 3 sets of 8-10 reps with the max load you can handle (ie, to FAILURE)...but your question was about supersets and trisets...these are not regular sets.

And just for he record, I DID NOT say "not to lift heavy but do it until failure", as youmentioned in your reply. I am saying that the absolute amount of weight you will be able to lift for the different exercises in the tri-set will be a bit less than what you would lift for the same number of reps for those exercises in a regular set. If you did use the same weight as you would a regular set, you would reach failure on the second and third exercise much before the prescribed number of reps.

Hope this is clearer...sorry if I made you confused about building mass, lol, was just trying to help you man.
 
its common sense that after blasting your muscles with multiple exercises with little rest, they will be tired and unable to lift the same amoutn of weight i.e. you will HAVE to reduce the weight in order to maintain the number of reps in good form.

If you want to use your heaviest possible weight all the time, dont do this tri set routine, just do 4 normalo sets of 6 or something.
 
Mogwai, I read that article and I just wanted to point out one thing the author states that I feel is incorrect.

3. Supersets prevent injury or allow you to work around an injury. I stumbled on the value of supersets as a way to train around injuries at the age of 20 when I ruptured a disc in my lower back. I was a strong squatter at a very young age, doing 405 lbs for 6 reps before I was 20 years old. After the injury, I wanted to maintain my leg size without putting so much stress on the lower back. Because I could no longer squat more than 315lbs without re-injuring my back, I sought a way to maintain my leg size without super heavy squats. Out of necessity, I started doing high reps and supersets. After a relatively brief period training in this fashion, my quads quickly grew to become my best body part. With the exception of brief strength phases when I do straight sets with as much weight as I can, I utilize supersets extensively for quads to this day. Supersets allow you to overload a muscle and generate high intensity without requiring heavy weights. This decreases your chances of injury.
Click to expand...

There is no way that because I'm doing supersets with less weight that I'm at a lower risk of injury. If you are fatigueing yourself with 3 exercises, or a tri-set, I would bet that 3rd exercise, especially if it is the 3rd or 4th giant set, will possibly have very poor form or technique due to the fatigue.
 
Yes, I agree with this...however, it does go wihtout saying that whatever you are doing, whether it be supersets, tri-sets, straight sets, plyometrics, etc, form is always of utmost importance. We therefore assume that one chooses the weights in accordance to the number of reps that must be performed PROPERLY. What the author meant is that he can maintain leg size (hypertrophy, not strength) by doing supersets as opposed to squats alone. His statement alone will spark controversy, and we could debate extensively on the "true or false" of it. However, this was not the portion of the article I wanted to bring attention to for specialk12.

Thanks.
 
i agree with mogwai - it is assumed that you will adhere to strict form, if you dont then its your own fault if you get injured, not the superset.

In fact tat portion of the article was very sueful to me, becuase I too am having trouble developing my legs with squats due to a lower back injury. think I will try supersets as suggested.

thanks
 
Xander,

Quick comment: If you have a lower back injury, shouldn't that be your training priority? As opposed to leg development? Fix what's broken first, if possible :), although I to have constant back pain and I'm only 23. Ugh.
 
thanks mogawi, that was an informative artical.

I p;lan on mixing them up after reading the article. Ill use heavy weights one day and the next time i do the same body parts I'll use supersets.

that way I can get big AND defined. From what the article says, "supersets are a bodybuilding and shaping technique."
 
Jasondragon, I agree that if one has a low back injury, there must be a rehabilitative progression to a full return to the activities one used to be able to do (ie, squats). However, there is a period of time where one will no longer be able to squat, and supersets are just a way of maintaining bulk. More specifically, supersets allow you to gain/maintain mass without necessarily using very high loads. I think this was what that portion of the article was pointing to.

Ciao :)
 
yes i know, but my injury was almost a year ago now and although it still bothers me a bit, I have been through loads of physio, chiropractic, drugs, rehab, Applied kinesiology, etc etc. I have done free weight squats, then gone back to the gym only when i felt I was ready, and slowly progressed.

Now I am at the point where I feel rehab will no longer work for me - i just need to get back in there and use weights again. When doing squats I get an uncomfortable feeling in my lwer back that prevents me from doin enough weight to make my quads ache. I think doing squats with a leg extension superset would really help me out.
 
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