Build More Muscle With Extended Sets

With regards to coming up with your workout program it can be hard to know what option is perfect for your sets and reps.

Nothing beats a good burn and the pump that goes along with it. After a hard workout routine it is satisfying to get that pump, and have your muscles get bigger . It may be short-lived, but it does provide a sense of accomplishment. There are a number of different ways that you’re able to get that pump, this article will describe a few ways you can do it in just a couple of sets. I do have to warn you, it is going to burn and there will be some pain, but you’ll love it. A word of caution, you may love these techniques too much. These are advanced principles and are not to be used all the time. If you don’t heed this advice, eventually you will burn out and your muscle growth will stall.

You will find there’s a large number of variety with these approaches. Each of these techniques can even be implemented with a workout without weights.

Extended sets for muscle building Extended sets are approaches of getting more reps done in you set once you have hit muscle failure. There are several ways to achieve this: rest pause tri sets negatives drop sets partial reps All these methods are different nonetheless make it possible for you to keep going when you have hit the wall. Be sure to hang in, these routines are short, but intense. Your muscles will burn, but you will get a great pump. You can also use these methods to spur on muscle growth when it slows.

Drop sets

I would have to say that this is one of the most popular techniques. All it takes is one or two sets. Quick and effective, maybe that is why this technique is one of the most popular To do a drop set start with a weight that you can do about 5 times. Go until you can’t get another clean rep. You are going to repeat this, keeping the reps clean, going to failure and dropping the weight. Continue this dropping weight and doing reps until you hit your goal for the set. That can be a goal number of reps or a mini sets. 30 reps is the maximum amount of reps you will do in any one set, or up to 6 drops in the weight. If you decide not to count reps and go until you hit a minimum weight, that is just as effective. One example of this is biceps curls. Be sure to use lots of small weights on the end of the barbell. Keep taking plates of until you are left with nothing but the bar. Play around with how much weight you drop for each set, and different the different methods.

Rest Pause Method I like this method because it allows you to go heavy but still get some volume in. Basically you are going to do a few low rep sets as part of a giant set.

How To Do A Rest Pause Set In this example we are going to use the bench press. You’re going to use your bench press nine rep max. Now this is where the fun begins. You’re going to get 12 reps with your nine rep max. To do this you’re going to do multiple sets of three or four reps. Start by doing three reps. Rack the weight and take a 15 second break. Unrack the weight in another three reps, rack again and rest. Continue doing this until you get 12 reps, to make one set.

Limited Range of Motion

This method is not used all that much. As the exercise gets more difficult the range of motion decreases. The board press may be the best example of this method. Adding more boards reduces your range of motion making the lift easier. Start off doing regular bench, hit your reps, then add a board, repeat adding a board each time. Work your way up to 3 boards. All it takes is one set and your triceps are done for. Try two if you are brave.

Negatives

These are best done with a training partner. Until you reach fatigue, this set is like any other. Once you hit fatigue, you’re going to need the assistance of your training partner. For the remainder of your reps your partner will help you lift the weight, but you are to do a slow control negative. Continue this approach until you can’t lower the weight under control. This method takes advantage of your body’s ability to handle greater loads on the negative portion of the left.

Tri sets

Three different exercises, all for the same muscle group are used to make one set. Kind of like a superset on steroids. Keep the weight the same, but change your exercises throughout the set. The most difficult exercise is first. When you fatigue or reach your reps move down the line of exercises to he next most difficult. Finally end with the easiest muscle building exercise. Great method to kill the legs. They can take the volume so you can get after it. I know it is not a true tri-set as laid out but you get the idea.

Front squats is the first exercise. Hit your reps here, make sure you push yourself. Next is the classic back squat. Rack the bar and back under it. No need to change the weight. Now here is where I go off track a bit. You will end with sissy squats, of course there isn’t any weigh used here. This is where I deviate off the plan slightly. Because it is too difficult to do proper sissy squats holding a bar you have to drop the weight. For the typical tri set you would use the same weight for all three exercises. A biceps pump may be a better example: From most difficult to easiest these are your three biceps exercises. reverse curls regular curls, palms up hammer curls When you do this routine you may not feel it but each exercise gets easier. Because it does you will not need to change weight. Extended sets - why use them There are two main reasons extended sets work so well… recruit more muscle fibers time under tension

All good things do have a negative side. Training like this can be hard on your body. If not careful you can easily over do it. It is not necessary to do these all the time, when you do, do them limit your sets. You will only need one or two sets per muscle group. And don’t do them for more than three weeks in a row. To prevent burnout be sure to eat well and get lots of rest. Eating healthy tends to be dull however you can find great healthy strength training meal options. It is advisable to follow a difficult exercise session like this with a lot of carbs and proteins. And eat a healthy bodybuilding meal.

We certainly have covered a number of various variants of extended sets. Ensure that you do put a few of these into your mass building program for some variance or alternatively times when you desire a good pump.