It sort of dawned on me that some of the terms I use in my blog might be unfamiliar to some of the people reading the blog. Here is a short list of terms that I have already used. From here on out I will include the descriptions in each of the blog posts.
Sets- A set is a group of repetitions performed for different exercises.
Reps- a motion or exercise that is repeated and usually counted
So say that I grab a barbell and perform ten barbell curls. That means I performed 1 sets of 10 reps. If after a small rest I perform another ten barbell curls then I have performed 2 sets of 10 reps.
Often in my blog I will write Bench Press x 6 sets. That means that I performed 6 sets of various reps. Generally I will start with just the bar (45 lbs.) and perform one or two sets of 15-20 reps to warm up the muscles. Then I will put 25 lbs. plates on the bar (so 95 lbs. total) and perform another set of 15 reps. I will then put 45 lbs. plates on the bar (135 lbs. total) and perform another set of 12 reps. Finally I will throw on a 45 lbs. and 25 lbs. plate on each side (185 lbs.) and perform a final set of 10 reps. At this point I am fully warmed up. Depending on what my rep range goal for the day depends on how I proceed. If say I want to go for a heavy double (2 reps) then I might do another couple of warm up sets to prepare my muscles for pushing a heavier weight. If instead I want to do 3 sets of 8 reps then I might only need one more warm up set to prepare for my working weight. When counting up how many sets I do for an exercise I only count sets with weight on the bar (so I do not count the first couple of sets with only the bar).
Work Sets- These are the sets that are performed after warming up.
Supersets- A superset is a combination of one exercise performed right after the
other with no rest in between them. There are two ways to implement a
superset.
The first way is to do two exercises for the same muscle group at once.
For example, doing cable curls immediately followed by dumbbell curls
is an example of a biceps superset. The second way to superset is by pairing exercises of opposing
muscle groups such as Back and Chest, Thighs and Hamstrings, Biceps and
Triceps; or different muscle movements such as Shoulders and Calves,
Upper Abs and Lower Abs.
Supersets are good for increasing the amount of calories burned during training, flooding a muscle with a lot of blood and getting a good "pump", and building up your conditioning. The downside is that you cannot handle as much weight as you normally could.
So for instance, if I write that I supersetted dumbbell curls with triceps extensions for 3 rotations that means I did one set of dumbbell curls and then immediately performed the triceps extensions. Only after both sets were performed do I rest. I will then repeat that for 3 supersets.
Giant Sets- A series of 4 to 6 exercises done with no rest between
movements performed
on either 2 antagonistic muscle groups or on a single body part.
For instance one giant set that Missy and I are quite fond of is as follows.
Incline Dumbbell Presses
Bent Over Dumbbell Rows
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions
Hammer Curls
These exercises are performed back to back for 10-12 reps on each exercise. We like to do these at the end of a training session to really cap it off nicely. We will generally do 2-3 rotations of this particular one.
Likewise we could also perform a giant set just focusing on one body part.
Bench Press
Incline Dumbbell Presses
Decline Barbell Press
Dumbbell Flies
Cable Crossovers
These could be done back to back and really flood the chest with blood and completely exhaust the muscle.
Drop Sets- Performing a set with a certain weight for as many repetitions as possible. Once you can no longer perform a rep you lower the weight and perform as many reps as you can with the lower weight. This is repeated a certain amount of times.
For instance I could perform dumbbell curls with 50 lbs. dumbbells. Say I perform 15 reps and cannot perform anymore. I put the 50 lbs. dumbbells down and grab the 40 lbs. dumbbells. Because my biceps are fatigued I might be able to get say 12 reps on this set. I then put those down and immediately grab the 30 lbs. dumbbells and manage to get 8 more reps. At this point my biceps are on fire and I put the dumbbells down and finally grab the 20 lbs. dumbbells. Normally these would be very light but having already taxed my biceps I can now only perform 5 reps. This would be an example of one drop set.
This post will be updated as I come across more terms that may not be familiar with readers.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Legs and Low Back Training
We trained legs and low back today.
Leg Extensions x 3 sets
Superset
Leg Presses x 3 sets
Front Squats x 3 sets
Superset
Hack Squats x 3 sets
45 Degree Back Raises x 3 sets
Calf Raises on Hack Squat Machine x 3 sets
Leg Extensions x 3 sets
Superset
Leg Presses x 3 sets
Front Squats x 3 sets
Superset
Hack Squats x 3 sets
45 Degree Back Raises x 3 sets
Calf Raises on Hack Squat Machine x 3 sets
Saturday, November 10, 2012
New Training Split
At Deadlifter's Fortress we have begun a new training split. We have decided to train our arms separately on their own day. The current layout looks like this.
Day 1- Shoulders and Back
Day 2- Legs and Low Back
Day 3- Chest
Day 4- Arms
Day 5- Off
Day 6- Repeat
Day 1- Shoulders and Back
Day 2- Legs and Low Back
Day 3- Chest
Day 4- Arms
Day 5- Off
Day 6- Repeat
Shoulder and Back Training
supersetted with
Dumbbell Shoulder Presses
5 x
Bent Over Rows
supersetted with
Side Lateral Raises
3 x
V-Grip Pulldowns
supersetted with
Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises
3 x
Cable Shrugs
supersetted with
dumbbell shrugs
3 x
Dumbbell Shoulder Presses
5 x
Bent Over Rows
supersetted with
Side Lateral Raises
3 x
V-Grip Pulldowns
supersetted with
Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises
3 x
Cable Shrugs
supersetted with
dumbbell shrugs
3 x
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