1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,680 Training intensification methods are challenging, exciting, and 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:06,440 brutal to say the least. They're used by the best 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,040 bodybuilders in the world and programmed by the most 4 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:11,520 experienced trainers as well because we know the benefits 5 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,280 they hold and just how much they can level up someone's training 6 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:15,520 program. And what I'm talking about here 7 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:19,680 is drop sets, Myo reps, rest pause methods, Amraps, giant 8 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:21,440 sets. And in this episode of the 9 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,720 podcast, I'm going to teach you exactly what intensification 10 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,320 methods are by definition. I will give you multiple 11 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,880 examples of those intensification methods for you 12 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,000 to to use in your training program right away, and I'll be 13 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,480 teaching you how to perform these intensification methods 14 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:37,880 properly so that by the end of this podcast, you'll know 15 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:40,240 whether or not you should be implementing them into your 16 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:45,280 training right away. The greatest things in life all 17 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,840 start with a challenge. You must accept that everything 18 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,640 is hard before it gets easy. Every, every every everything 19 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:54,720 you want in life begins with a hard path. 20 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:59,320 First defining what a intensification method is. 21 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,080 Really, this is just any training method we can use 22 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,960 inside of a workout to intensify the workout itself. 23 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:10,240 This is usually going to be done on any given exercise at the 24 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,720 last set, or you can do it on every set depending on what 25 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,960 exercise this is used on. Usually this means dropping load 26 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:19,800 and doing as many reps as possible. 27 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,520 It might mean tweaking your rest periods, it might mean tweaking 28 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:27,040 your tempo where you're pausing within a actual range of motion. 29 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:30,240 And it could also be adding things to exercises, whether 30 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:33,640 that's a deeper range of motion like a deficit or we are 31 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:38,120 combining exercises in a certain way to make it more challenging. 32 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:41,520 Regardless, all's and intensification method is, is 33 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:45,600 something that is thrown into a workout to challenge an exercise 34 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,000 even further. You're not doing just a regular 35 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,160 bench press, you are doing a bench press with a specific 36 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:55,440 method that is going to make it more challenging and ideally 37 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,840 more stress inducing to the muscle because that's the whole 38 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:00,920 point, adding these for more muscle growth. 39 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:05,000 Now what are the benefits or the pros of intensification methods? 40 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,240 You know, the first and foremost thing to think about here is 41 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:11,400 just making the workout more exciting. 42 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:14,480 I think there's a lot of old school bodybuilders that use a 43 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,480 lot of the methods I'm going to share today, and some of them 44 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,600 have actually been proven in research to be less effective 45 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,640 because it demolishes or diminishes volume accomplished 46 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:26,080 in a session, which I'm going to get to soon. 47 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:30,080 But the reality is, is some of those like dungeon style 48 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,680 workouts from like the vault of these old school bodybuilders, 49 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,000 they're just fun because one of the things that we love doing 50 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,600 inside the gym, anybody who likes to lift weights, whether 51 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:41,840 you're after muscle growth or strength or fat loss or 52 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,440 anything, is kind of go to that pain cave, right? 53 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,200 Go to that dark place where you get to let out stress and you 54 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,120 get to push yourself and challenge yourself in a Safeway 55 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:51,800 and really let out some aggression. 56 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:53,000 And some of these things do that. 57 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,880 So outside of muscle growth and strength and, and you know, 58 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,960 neurological adaptations and all these things, just considering 59 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:03,680 the number one benefit in my opinion, being the, the 60 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:05,960 satisfaction of challenging yourself. 61 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:07,240 I think that's the biggest thing. 62 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,920 I think that's the the best pro inside of any of these that I'm 63 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:12,680 going to share with you is just the fact that they challenge you 64 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:14,840 in a way that really motivates you. 65 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,720 And when you have something exciting to look forward to in 66 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:21,080 the gym, in your training session that does a lot for your 67 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,680 effort and your intensity because you are excited, you are 68 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,880 motivated and you are driven to push yourself really hard. 69 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,720 Now, some of these actually have benefits aside from just 70 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,200 mentally being more challenged and excited about the workout as 71 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,480 well. Some of them will help us save 72 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,760 time on a workout because maybe we don't have as much time or 73 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,320 we're trying to fit in a lot of exercises and volume in a single 74 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:43,960 session. And so we need to throw things 75 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,880 like this in to speed up any given exercise or set so that we 76 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:49,320 can accomplish more in a single workout. 77 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:51,560 It might also be that you're trying to squeeze in a 30 minute 78 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:53,520 workout before work or in a hotel while you're you're 79 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:54,680 travelling or whatever it may be. 80 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,800 And these come in handy when we need to get a solid workout in, 81 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:01,680 but we're limited on time, space or equipment. 82 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:06,480 Last benefit I see inside of these intensification methods is 83 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,040 really learning how far you can push yourself. 84 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:13,120 I think there's a lot of people who fail to accomplish the right 85 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,480 RIR reps in reserve, which is kind of our gauge for effort and 86 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,200 intensity. They fail to accomplish a high 87 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,800 enough intensity or hard enough effort in the gym to really 88 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:23,880 stimulate as much growth as they can. 89 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,480 They're not getting the results that they could get because they 90 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,160 don't know how to push themselves to that place or to 91 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:31,800 that level. And what some of these 92 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,120 intensification methods do is allow us to do to accomplish 93 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:37,840 that, to push ourselves beyond what we're used to, beyond what 94 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:42,400 just the sets and reps say on a piece of paper, but really to a 95 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,560 place that shows us how heavy we can lift, how many reps we can 96 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,520 do, or just how hard training really feels. 97 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,640 So for example, if you do a set to failure, you'll actually 98 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,400 begin to learn what training to failure looks like. 99 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,680 But if you never trained with A0R IR reps in reserve, you'll 100 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:00,440 never actually learn what that is. 101 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:02,640 Now, you can't train with to failure all the time because if 102 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,840 you do that, you won't fully recover and then you won't adapt 103 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:06,200 and then you won't be able to progress. 104 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,400 So it's not smart and injury risk goes up. 105 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:12,160 But if you never trained a failure, you never learn how to 106 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,160 gauge your training effort in the gym. 107 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,000 So you have to, right? There's other times too where I 108 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,680 will program for somebody the weight to lift and Max reps if I 109 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:22,280 don't think they're pushing themselves hard enough. 110 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,760 I will program 40 LB dumbbells for Max reps 'cause I saw them 111 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,440 do 40 lbs for 8 reps last week and I know they can probably do 112 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:30,960 more. And I want to challenge them and 113 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:34,280 show them that this is possible. Or if they do a drop set or a 114 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:38,880 rest paw set, and I can say, hey, if you do more than blank 115 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,880 rest paw sets or blank reps in the rest paw set or blank Mio 116 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,120 reps, both of which I'm going to get too soon. 117 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,240 As far as how to perform these intensification methods, then I 118 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:49,880 know you're not lifting heavy enough or hard enough. 119 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:55,080 And so this person can do 6 Mio reps after their last normal Rep 120 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,360 of the set. And I told them, if you get more 121 00:05:57,360 --> 00:05:59,520 than three, we're not lifting hard enough. 122 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:02,960 So these can be indicators to allow us to better gauge our 123 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:07,480 training in the future. So what are the negatives or the 124 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,360 cons? Well, one of the main cons of 125 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:15,800 this I would say is a lack of progression and an ability to 126 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,680 progress or even to track progression, right? 127 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:22,080 If I'm doing a drop set or a Myo Rep or any of these things that 128 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:26,600 we'll cover, it's very difficult to actually progress those and 129 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,560 track your progression. If you're doing 4 sets of eight 130 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,520 of dumbbell flat bench press with a 2 minute rest period in 131 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,760 between, it is so standardized and simple that we can repeat 132 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,160 that exact format and increase weight and track the weight that 133 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:41,840 we increase week after week after week. 134 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,760 But if we are doing 4 sets of eight plus as many mile reps as 135 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,160 possible with the same load or we're doing a drop set with a 136 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:52,480 25% load reduction, it it's very difficult because you know, did 137 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,800 it take you a little bit longer to walk over to the dumbbell 138 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,080 rack and grab another dumbbell? Did you take a couple extra 139 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,080 breaths? Were the 30 LB demos gone? 140 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:01,880 So you actually did a drop set to the 20 fives. 141 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,560 Are you doing Max reps? Are you doing 10 plus reps on a 142 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:07,320 drop? Like there's so many variables 143 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:09,880 that get thrown around, which is part of the reason why it's 144 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:12,080 exciting and challenging 'cause you never know what you're going 145 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:13,680 to get. But the problem with that is we 146 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:16,040 can't really progress that. And so if we just did all 147 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,480 intensification methods, as fun as that might be, you're 148 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,000 probably not going to progress properly or be able to track 149 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,200 your progress in a way that allows you to standardize it and 150 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,600 progress properly going forward. The next thing I would say is 151 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,800 the injury risk is higher if we are doing crazy drop set methods 152 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:33,840 and all these things that these, again, dungeon gym style 153 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:35,800 bodybuilders have done in the past that are really exciting 154 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,960 and fun. They also pose the risk of 155 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,600 injury because if we didn't warm up properly today, if we didn't 156 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:43,640 get enough sleep, if we're a little dehydrated or glycogen 157 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,560 depleted, or we're on week four of the same program and probably 158 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:48,160 need to deload. But we didn't take one. 159 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,360 And then we do this monstrous giant set with the drop sets 160 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,520 included or whatever it may be. Or you're at a new gym and use a 161 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,920 new machine and you do this drop set on it and you're not used to 162 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,880 that machine. Any of these things could cause 163 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,440 an injury to a tendon, ligament or muscles. 164 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,080 And we don't want to cause a strain or a tear or anything 165 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,320 like that 'cause that just sets us back from the gym even 166 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,000 further. And when we're doing really well 167 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,280 formatted and standardized exercises that we know we have 168 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:15,800 great form on, we can control the movement pattern and the 169 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,600 progression pace that we take week to week. 170 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,000 Injury risk is extremely low. There's just more control. 171 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,800 And again, most intensification methods are ballistic. 172 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,320 There's less control. Again, part of what makes it 173 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,240 fun, exciting and challenging, but also does increase injury 174 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,400 risk, especially if we're doing it all the time. 175 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,720 Lastly, the the main con that has been actually demonstrated 176 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:40,400 in research is that it could potentially decrease the volume 177 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:42,840 you're doing. So for example, if you do four 178 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,800 sets of eight to 10 on that same dumbbell bench press and you are 179 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:50,320 just doing four straight sets and you're taking adequate rest, 180 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:55,080 your general metabolic fatigue and your direct localized 181 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,040 fatigue to the muscle and all these things, it's going to be 182 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:58,120 lower. You're going to be able to 183 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,120 control those things. If you're doing a drop set on 184 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,200 every set, you're going to get a really gnarly pump, which is 185 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:04,360 great. You're also going to be 186 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,920 metabolically fatigued because instead of doing 8 to 10 reps, 187 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:12,440 you did 8 to 10 + 10 to 20 with a lighter load between each set. 188 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,720 So you still have the same rest, but we're doing more reps. 189 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:17,880 We're going to be metabolically fatigued and our joints, 190 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,560 tendons, and muscles are more fatigued going into set 2. 191 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:23,040 It's very unlikely we're going to be able to use the same 192 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,120 amount of load as we did in set 1. 193 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:28,520 And at the end of the workout, if we just tally up the sets 194 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,040 times, reps, times, weight, you are probably going to progress 195 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:36,080 more if you do more straight sets with heavier loads in your 196 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,600 training than you would if you were doing drop sets on 197 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:40,880 everything. Because again, the metabolic 198 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,400 fatigue more than anything goes up really high. 199 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:45,600 Your heart rate's jumping. It's almost like you're doing 200 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,520 cardio now. You're trying to lift heavy 201 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:49,080 again. And So what they see in research 202 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:51,160 is that this can actually negatively impact us because it 203 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,400 can lower your load depending on the type of intensification 204 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:56,160 method you use or how often use it. 205 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:58,880 And they also see this with supersets, which is one of the 206 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:01,600 methods we'll cover today. When doing a super set, you 207 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:03,480 might actually be hurting yourself because if it's not 208 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:07,880 paired up perfectly, now we are creating more fatigue globally. 209 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,560 So across every general metric of fatigue that we're looking 210 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:14,840 at, that's going to make your performance worse and your load 211 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,160 and potential, your reps, both key metrics of volume are going 212 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:20,880 to decrease as the workout progresses. 213 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,080 So in general, the negatives are pretty strong and I would say so 214 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,800 are the positives. Because even if the only main 215 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:31,880 positive, let's say is which it's not just being more 216 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,240 motivated, that is going to carry somebody consistently 217 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,160 beyond anything else. You are consistently going to 218 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:39,840 train harder with more effort over time. 219 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:43,640 If you are consistently highly motivated to work out and if 220 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:46,200 things like this make your workouts exciting so that you 221 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,520 can be in that state, that is a very, very big pro. 222 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,520 OK, so the first intensification method supersets, this is the 223 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:55,880 one we're going to cover. This is probably the most 224 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:57,480 popular. A superset is just where you go 225 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:00,200 from one exercise to the next. And, and what this might look 226 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,760 like is a, you know, AB structure. 227 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:07,080 So our first exercise, 1A might be a bench press, 1B might be a 228 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,320 bent row and we are doing 8 to 10 reps on both. 229 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,480 We're going to do 8 to 10 reps on the bench press, go right to 230 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:15,560 a bent row, do 8 to 10 sets there or 8 to 10 reps there. 231 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,000 Then we are going to take a short rest period, 2 to 4 232 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:19,320 minutes and then we go back to the top. 233 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:21,920 This is 2%. Instead of doing all four sets 234 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:25,360 of the bench and then all four sets of the bent row, we are 235 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:28,160 going to put them together and go back and forth with taking a 236 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:31,240 rest period after both exercises have already been performed. 237 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,600 There has been multiple studies that show this to be really 238 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:36,160 effective. In fact, there has been multiple 239 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,720 studies to show specifically this helped people save 30 to 240 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:43,680 40% of the time in the gym. Compared to doing straight sets, 241 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,760 which is a lot of time we're spending an hour. 242 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:50,120 You're almost cutting that in half if you get up to 40%. 243 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:53,200 And that's a lot of time saved, which also means if you want to 244 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,280 keep going for an hour and do this, you can actually just do 245 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,040 more within that hour and accomplish more volume, which is 246 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,800 huge. Now, one of the things that they 247 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,640 did see that was a negative in these studies was that metabolic 248 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,640 fatigue increased. So again, metabolic fatigue, 249 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,360 think of this as like high intensity exercise. 250 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:11,880 Your heart rate gets up, you are metabolically challenging 251 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:13,880 yourself. That is a type of fatigue that 252 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:15,840 can make performing in the gym really difficult, especially if 253 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,520 we're lifting heavy. What they saw is as metabolic 254 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,240 fatigue increase, it led to potential nausea and literal 255 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,280 nausea in multiple participants. So I would just say as somebody 256 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:28,640 who has been coaching and training for a long time that 257 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:31,080 this is just a matter of making sure somebody's a robot capacity 258 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:32,720 is good. Even if you are a lifter that 259 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,400 just wants to build muscle, you need to do some form of aerobic 260 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:38,560 training in cardio because if you are not conditioned at all, 261 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:42,240 it is going to be very difficult for you to hang in the gym and 262 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,520 push yourself in these workouts. You need that your aerobic 263 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:49,440 system helps you recover and take in oxygen literally between 264 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,560 reps, sets and even days in the gym. 265 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,600 And so if you are completely ignoring cardio, and this is a 266 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,400 side tangent, that is a mistake and that could actually fix this 267 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,800 issue. But 30 to 40% save time is huge. 268 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:04,360 There is a potential drop in volume if load suffers due to 269 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:06,560 shorter rest periods. So as I mentioned, you know, 270 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:09,920 depending on the superset you create as well as just generally 271 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,760 speaking, you might have more metabolic fatigue if you're not 272 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,760 cardiovascularly adapted or or have a high aerobic capacity. 273 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:19,160 And that might lead to you lifting lighter because you're 274 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:20,880 just tired, right? And so you might lift heavy your 275 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:22,840 first set, but then after a couple sets, you're just more 276 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:25,640 fatigued. And this is going to cause a 277 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:27,800 drop in volume. And if your load or the reps you 278 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:30,880 can accomplish each set drop, that's going to lower the amount 279 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:32,120 of muscle you can build in that session. 280 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:34,840 So it might be counterintuitive. However, this is only some 281 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:38,120 people again, like it can potentially lead to nausea. 282 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,280 And I would say that part of the study just tells us that some 283 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,120 people get metabolic fatigue during super sets and others 284 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:45,640 don't. So if you feel that way, you 285 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:48,240 just got to step up your aerobic game and get back to it because 286 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,040 I think this is a game changer. 30 to 40% can save you so much 287 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,320 time that you can either A, not spend as much time in the gym or 288 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:56,880 B, if you like spending that time in the gym, you can do more 289 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:00,120 while you're there. And then lastly, I would say 290 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,080 that this must be antagonistic for them to be beneficial. 291 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:07,360 And So what an antagonistic example is or an antagonistic 292 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,280 superset would be is doing opposites. 293 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,200 So a leg extension and then a leg curl, quads, hamstrings, 294 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,080 opposite sides of the leg, obviously of the femur bone that 295 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:18,560 is going to be opposite muscle groups, opposite movement 296 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:21,200 patterns from knee extension to knee flexion. 297 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,760 And so when we fire our quad, we are releasing tension in our 298 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,080 hamstring, and then when we fire our hamstring, we are releasing 299 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,760 tension in our quad. This is similar to a bicep curl 300 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,360 and a tricep extension. You can do a bench press or a 301 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,120 bent row combination. You can also do an overhead 302 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,280 press like a military press and a pull down or a chin up. 303 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,360 They've even shown calf raises with leg presses or squats to be 304 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:47,440 beneficial as well, which is most likely less to do with the 305 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:52,000 actual blood flow or tension inside of a muscle and more to 306 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,400 do with the range of motion. Because when we do calf raises, 307 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:57,360 we're taking our ankles through complete planner and 308 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,920 dorsiflexion under load. When we open up our ankle, we're 309 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:04,480 going to be able to get into a deeper squat or a deeper a leg 310 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:06,040 press. And what that's going to do is 311 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,280 create a fuller range of motion, a longer stretch or a bigger or 312 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,000 more tension based stretch phase of that movement. 313 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:14,800 And we know that the stretch phase of any movement is a key. 314 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:18,200 It's a direct correlation between stretching the muscle 315 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:20,360 and muscle growth. So if we can stretch the muscle 316 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:22,720 more under load, we're going to build more muscle. 317 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:24,880 And so I think the calf raises actually allow us to do that 318 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,160 with the leg press or squat. But all these other variations 319 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,560 are all upper body except the leg extension of leg curl. 320 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,720 And as you can see, it's opposites, Tricep curl, tricep 321 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:37,360 extension, leg curl, leg extension, bench press, bent 322 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:42,200 row, military press, pull down, vertical, vertical push, pull, 323 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,320 horizontal push, pull, elbow flexion, extension, knee 324 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,440 flexion, extension. And this again is is directly 325 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,640 taking blood flow out of the muscle from the last exercise. 326 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:53,040 And that actually speeds up recovery. 327 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,120 So now we're able to accomplish plenty of load in tension on the 328 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,680 muscle while doing it and then take away some of that tension 329 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,680 to help recovery so that we can get back to it and keep the 330 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:03,960 loads higher. And This is why they have seen a 331 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,520 lot of success with supersets and muscle growth for 332 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:12,200 antagonistic muscle groups. However, just know that this 333 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,680 does not apply to the same muscle groups. 334 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:20,360 Meaning if I do a supinated like a barbell curl or easy bar curl, 335 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,720 supinated grip, bicep curl, and then a neutral grip like a 336 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:27,400 hammer curl, bicep curl, I'm not going to progress faster. 337 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,480 I'm actually just going to fatigue myself more, potentially 338 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,960 overtrain my bicep or my elbow tendons and ligaments. 339 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,560 And that's not going to help me create more volume for growth. 340 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,680 So it's very specific to opposite muscles. 341 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:40,160 You don't want to superset them together. 342 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:44,000 However, there is something called a giant set which does 343 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,240 exactly what I just said don't do and I still advise not to do. 344 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:49,720 But it is an intensification method that is very popular and 345 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,240 I think it makes sense to share it on this video. 346 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:57,280 So a giant set is super setting three to five exercises that all 347 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,080 target the same muscle. You take no breaks from going 348 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,360 one to the next. And it it typically decreases 349 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:05,119 difficulty as the set progresses. 350 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,040 And so this is doing again, exactly what I said not to do. 351 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,119 And so I wouldn't recommend doing this very often, but 352 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,160 there's times where this might come in handy at a hotel, you 353 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,920 don't have any, you know, much to to work with. 354 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:17,800 And so you're just going to hit chest really hard today. 355 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:19,839 OK, cool. Do a chest giant set and just 356 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:22,359 demolish your chest. Get a good pump, get out the 357 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:23,960 door. You're not training in a hotel 358 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:26,800 expecting to build muscle. You're just in there to release 359 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:28,440 some stress. Stick to the plan, maintain 360 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,120 muscle, maybe get a workout in. So there's times where this 361 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:33,000 makes sense and this is a very old school bodybuilding 362 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,800 approach, but it clearly limits your ability to lift heavy or 363 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,640 create maximum tension because it is so fatiguing. 364 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,560 And I would say injury provoking because if anybody has ever had 365 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:47,280 a bicep tendon or rotator cuff injury or even a a PEC minor 366 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,320 major tear or anything like that, you know that you should 367 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,960 not do heavy loaded chest presses in three different 368 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,920 styles of exercises back-to-back to back and expect not to 369 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:59,920 potentially get injured. So an example of this would be 370 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:01,840 really simple. You could do a chest press. 371 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,320 So this could be a bench press or a hammer strength machine 372 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,800 chest press, then go right into a chest fly, then go into a push 373 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:09,320 up. And so typically you lift 374 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,680 heavier and it is a little bit harder to do a heavy chest 375 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:13,680 press, whether it's a barbell or a machine. 376 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,240 Then it's a little bit easier, but still very difficult from a 377 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,240 tension perspective to do a chest fly, whether it's a PEC 378 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:21,880 deck or a cable or anything like that. 379 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:24,880 Would not recommend dumbbells on that chest fly because you can 380 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,200 drop the dumbbells, a machine or a cable. 381 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:28,840 You can drop those, not injure yourself. 382 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:31,520 And then lastly, a push up, which is self limiting. 383 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,440 So you're going to go until you just can't and you're not going 384 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:35,720 to get injured because you're just not going to be able to get 385 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:37,840 off the floor on your last push up. 386 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,840 So this would be, again, chest press, chest fly push ups, doing 387 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,400 them back-to-back. Usually, let's say you start 388 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:47,640 with 10 reps, 10 to 15 reps, and your goal is to try to stay in 389 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,600 that range or just do as many as possible as the sets progress. 390 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:53,000 And you would take a long rest period before doing it again. 391 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:55,520 Or you would just never do it 'cause it's really not that 392 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:57,920 smart of a intensification method to try. 393 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,600 Next we have drop sets. So drop sets are really popular, 394 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:04,320 really well known. And typically you just drop the 395 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:06,600 weight and do another set. Really simple, right? 396 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:08,080 These are great. These are. 397 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,240 This is a great way to add intensity to a training session. 398 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,120 It's also a really great way to increase volume. 399 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:16,360 As long as you're not doing this every set. 400 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,680 This is an awesome way to train because I do believe this can 401 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,280 actually progress you faster. Doesn't take very long at all. 402 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:23,880 It's very intense and challenging. 403 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,600 It's fun and it can accomplish more volume. 404 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:30,960 For example, if I were to do 4 sets of 10 on any exercise and 405 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,160 do a drop set in between each set. 406 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:37,000 So I would go four sets of 10 + a drop set 4, or I'm sorry, I 407 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,000 would do a set of 10 + a drop set 10 + a drop set 10 + a drop 408 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,960 set for all four sets. After each drop set, I'm going 409 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,600 to be more fatigued locally, globally, metabolically. 410 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:49,160 Now moving into set 2, it's going to be harder for me to 411 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:51,680 stick with that same weight. So if I had £100 dumbbells on 412 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,600 set one, it's very unlikely I'm going to be able to do set 2 413 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:55,920 with those same 100 LB dumbbells. 414 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:59,560 And if I have to drop to 90s or 80s, that's a dramatic drop in 415 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:01,800 volume. When we do sets times, reps 416 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:05,560 times load the total tonnage and that's a disadvantage for 417 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:06,920 overall volume and muscle growth. 418 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:12,000 However, if we do sets one through 3 without a drop set, we 419 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,280 can still do set four with that same load. 420 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:18,600 So now I can do 100 lbs for set 123 and 4, but on my 4th and 421 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:20,760 final set, I'm going to throw a drop set in there. 422 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:24,040 So I dropped the weight. I grabbed 50 to 60 LB dumbbells 423 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:26,600 and I do as many as I can on that exercise. 424 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:30,200 Say it's a dumbbell bench press. Again, that's an easy way 'cause 425 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:33,800 now I have four sets of 10 with 100 lbs, which is a great amount 426 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,000 of volume. Then I added in a drop set, 427 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,880 which if I didn't, that wouldn't have happened at all. 428 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:44,720 So I went from zero extra volume to, you know, one set times 429 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,920 however many reps I got. Say I got 15 reps times 50 to 60 430 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:50,880 lbs. That's a lot of total tonnage 431 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,640 added into a workout that took me an extra 30 seconds to a 432 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:55,480 minute. So it can be a great tool. 433 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,080 However you have to do it in that way. 434 00:20:57,080 --> 00:20:59,080 And I would also say that you you make got to make sure that 435 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:02,360 you don't have another chest exercise coming up or exercise 436 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:04,720 for whatever muscle grip you're training with that drop set. 437 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:07,960 Because if I did that on my first exercise, which is a bench 438 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,400 press, and then I have a dumbbell bench press and then a 439 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,840 chest fly, the dumbbell bench press and the chest fly are 440 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:17,400 going to suffer because of that drop set on the initial bench 441 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,480 press I did. So when doing this, what you 442 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,280 want to do is set it up for your last set of an exercise that is 443 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,440 the last exercise for that muscle group during that 444 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,200 specific workout. And so a traditional drop set 445 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,200 would look like immediately reducing the load after your 446 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:34,200 last Rep and performing as many reps as possible. 447 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,280 So again, last set, I do 100 lbs, I drop them, I grab 50 LB 448 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:42,160 dumbbells up to 75. I always recommend 25 to 50% 449 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,560 load reduction depending on the exercise you're doing curls 450 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:48,720 with. You know 30 LB dumbbells because 451 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:51,320 you might not want to do a 50% drop because now you're going to 452 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:53,920 fifteens. You can do a 25% drop and go 453 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,680 towards 20 to 25 lbs, right? You can also take the math out 454 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,440 of it and just go down a dumbbell depending on the 455 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:00,800 exercise. But point is you you reduce the 456 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:04,160 load and then do a Max Rep set right afterwards. 457 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,120 And then there is a mechanical drop set, which is a really cool 458 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:09,560 variation as well. And with this one, you decrease 459 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:13,320 the performance advantage as the sets progress by changing 460 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,840 something like the angle. So for example, a incline bench 461 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,600 press is more difficult than a flat bench press and a flat 462 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:22,320 bench press is more difficult than a decline bench press. 463 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:26,200 So you can do a dumbbell incline bench press for 10 reps, sit up, 464 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,760 have your training partner drop it to a flat bench, sit back, do 465 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,120 10 more reps because now it's easier than it was. 466 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,960 Even though you reached near or to failure on the incline, 467 00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:39,480 taking that small 5 second rest while the person drops the bench 468 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:43,640 down on the angle, you have enough in you to do another set 469 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:46,760 of 10 reps with the flat. Because a flat bench is easier 470 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,600 than the incline. Once you do 10, you sit back up, 471 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:53,280 they drop it to a decline, then you go into a decline bench 472 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:55,560 press, which is easier than the flat, and you might be able to 473 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,680 accomplish 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps, or even just close to it. 474 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:01,520 So maybe it's 12108. That's fine too. 475 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,000 Either way, we're increasing volume to the chest and we're 476 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,840 just doing it by changing the angle of the bench, right? 477 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,200 You could do this with a row, you could do this with a lot of 478 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:11,120 exercises. And what we're really doing here 479 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:14,760 is we're decreasing the disadvantage or the advantage, 480 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:16,000 however way you want to look at it. 481 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:18,480 And so the disadvantage of an incline bench is that when 482 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,480 you're in an incline, you're going more overhead, you're 483 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:22,840 doing less chess, a little bit more dealt, but regardless, it's 484 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:26,040 more difficult. So we can essentially decrease 485 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,120 the difficulty by changing some factor like the angle of the 486 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:31,840 bench. Next we have Myo reps and rest 487 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:33,920 paw sets. Rest paw sets are really well 488 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:35,920 known. They've been used in many 489 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:37,760 different types of weightlifting, whether we're 490 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:40,040 talking about powerlifting or strength training or CrossFit. 491 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,800 Myo reps are almost exclusively known in the old school 492 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:45,480 bodybuilding world. So if you've never heard of 493 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:47,600 that, I'm going to explain it, but it's very similar. 494 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:48,840 So I put them in the same category. 495 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,200 And this is really just a way to take your muscle to absolute 496 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:54,480 failure. It's really what it is and it's 497 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,280 a Safeway to do it. So I, I do like this. 498 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:58,000 So a rest pause set is pretty simple. 499 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:00,920 You're going to perform a set of reps until near muscular 500 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,000 failure. So let's say you know, one Rep 501 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,640 in reserve, then you're going to take a very short rest period, 502 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,440 usually 10 to 20 seconds. And then you're going to 503 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,760 immediately continue to perform as many additional reps as 504 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:11,960 possible. So this is similar to a drop 505 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:13,400 set. The difference here is you're 506 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:15,840 not changing the load, you're just taking a short break and 507 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:17,560 then you're doing as many reps as possible. 508 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,400 So if I did 10 reps on a bench press, I would rack it, I'd wait 509 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:23,480 10 to 20 seconds, and then I would do as many reps as I can. 510 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,440 And I would suggest doing this with an exercise that's safe. 511 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:28,680 Not like a barbell bench press where you can drop it on your 512 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:30,640 throat and die. Don't do that. 513 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,640 Do this on next size like curls or leg extensions or something 514 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:39,120 like that, or if you have a training partner that can spot 515 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:42,240 you. Now, Myo reps are very similar, 516 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,400 but you're going to do what they call an activation set, which is 517 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:47,680 really just your first set. You do your 10 reps, you rack 518 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,120 it, then you're going to take 3 to 5 seconds. 519 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:52,600 A lot of times the way I coach this is just take three to five 520 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,240 breaths. You don't want to worry about 521 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,240 having a timer. Just breathe three to five 522 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:57,760 times. Once you do that, you're going 523 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,640 to move into back off sets. And so these have the same load 524 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,760 just like the rest pause. But the difference is, is you're 525 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,680 only doing 3 to 5 reps. So what this looks like is doing 526 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:11,080 your normal set of 10, you rack it, wait 3 to 5 seconds or take 527 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:15,400 3 to 5 breaths, unrack it, do three to five reps, rack it 528 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,040 again, take a three to five second break. 529 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,200 And then you repeat that as many times as possible until you can 530 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:24,440 no longer get 3 full reps. So I would rack it, do three to 531 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,400 five, rack it, do three to five, rack it, do 3 to 5 over and over 532 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:29,680 and over again with just three to five seconds or three to five 533 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:32,200 breaths in between each of those mini sets. 534 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,600 These are called Myo reps and when I can no longer get more 535 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,240 than three, so let's say I get 5 and then I get 4 and then I get 536 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,320 3, then I get 3 and then I get 2, I'm done. 537 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,600 As soon as I hit 2 or I cannot get three or more, I am done. 538 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:46,120 And you can add a lot of volume with this. 539 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:48,080 So this is another one I really like and just like the drop set. 540 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,880 I suggest doing this when you don't have any more exercises to 541 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,960 target that same muscle in that last session so that you don't, 542 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,880 you know, decrease the performance of the load used in 543 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:00,680 the this the next exercises coming up for that muscle group 544 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,880 and you do it on your last set. You don't want to do this on 545 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:04,160 every set. It just doesn't make sense. 546 00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:09,040 Descending RIR is another really good one and this is probably 547 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,080 the one that I would recommend using more than any other one. 548 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:15,160 That's why I put it last. A descending RIR is an 549 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:17,680 intensification method, but really it's a coaching technique 550 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:21,280 to help make sure that your clients are reaching near enough 551 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,640 to failure to really stimulate muscle growth or get the best 552 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:25,920 results possible. So if you're not a coach, you 553 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:27,440 can just use this on your own program, obviously. 554 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,480 And So what you do is you start with leaving a few reps in the 555 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,400 tank and you get progressively closer to failure as the sets 556 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:34,920 progress. And this is something I've been 557 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,320 doing ever since reps in reserve has been studied extensively. 558 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,000 And so the last couple years I've used this and it has taught 559 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,440 people how to train harder. It has taught people what real 560 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:45,400 failure looks like. It has taught people how to use 561 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,160 an RIR scale better. And it has ensured to me that I 562 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,720 know my client is going at the exercise hard enough to really 563 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:54,120 get the good result. And if I question their ability 564 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:56,280 to do so, then I'm going to program something like I 565 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:58,960 mentioned before, where I throw in an exercise with a specific 566 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,520 weight for Max reps and I ask them to track the amount of reps 567 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,080 they got. And then we compare it to when 568 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:08,200 they were doing that same load for only 8 reps at A1 RAR to 569 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:12,040 show them and deprove, like disprove, you know, that isn't 570 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:13,400 enough weight for you on that exercise. 571 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,720 And this is actually a really cool method that I talked with 572 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:20,280 Doctor Brad Schoenfeld about on my podcast about a year ago as 573 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,960 I'm recording this when he was on as a suggestion from him as 574 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:25,040 well. And it was something I brought 575 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:27,360 up that I do and he suggested it and says that he does it with 576 00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:31,320 his clients and he really promotes it now after seeing the 577 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,840 studies that he was a part of inside of muscle hypertrophy. 578 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:36,480 So an example of this is pretty simple. 579 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,960 If you have a lat pull down and you're doing 4 sets of eight to 580 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,800 10 reps set 1, you would do three RAR and you leave 3 reps 581 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,880 in the tank, 3 reps in reserve set #2 you have a 2 RAR so you 582 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:48,520 leave 2 reps in the tank on your final Rep. 583 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,120 Set 3 you have one RAR so you only leave one Rep in the tank 584 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:56,600 on your final Rep of set 3 and then your final set set for zero 585 00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:57,760 RAR. You take it all the way to 586 00:27:57,760 --> 00:27:59,400 failure. I wouldn't recommend doing this 587 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,160 on a back swat or something, you know, intense like that, or a 588 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:05,240 deadlift, a compound lift, but on a lap pull down a curl, A 589 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:08,280 dumbbell bench press, anything that you know you can bail or 590 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,600 you can't hurt yourself because it's self limiting. 591 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:12,920 An inverted row, you can't hurt yourself on that. 592 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,480 You just aren't going to pull yourself back up to the bar, any 593 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,680 kind of row really. But maybe a dumbbell bench 594 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:19,880 press, you're a little bit more cautious. 595 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:21,640 OK, well, if you're good at bailing and throwing the 596 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:23,600 dumbbells off to the side, you can use this with it. 597 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:26,320 But essentially what you're doing is you're descending the 598 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,480 RAR. Descending as in dropping 4321, 599 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:30,640 right? It's that simple. 600 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:34,240 On a compound lift, on an accessory, in isolation, 3210. 601 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,920 So you're going all the way to failure on your last Rep. 602 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,440 Now, knowing all of this, how do you apply it? 603 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:42,680 Really, really simple. You probably gathered a lot of 604 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:45,880 that throughout the context of the entire video after I went 605 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,520 through each of these different intensification methods. 606 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:51,800 But here's what I would suggest in a nutshell. 607 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,320 Here's my Cliff notes. Use supersets when you need to 608 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,280 save time. I think everybody should do this 609 00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:58,960 when their antagonist exercises big compound lifts. 610 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:00,040 You're probably not going to do this. 611 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:01,800 You can do this on a bench press in a Ben row. 612 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,040 And they have seen positive results from that. 613 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:06,600 I still do believe if you really want to see strength 614 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:08,600 progressions on that, you probably should just keep them 615 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:11,200 as straight sets. But you know, for 90% of your 616 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:13,560 training, I, I see no reason why, at least upper body 617 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:15,440 training, there's no reason why you can't use super sets. 618 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:17,880 You can save time whether you're in a time crunch or not 'cause 619 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:19,440 if you're in a time crunch, here you go. 620 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:21,200 Training's less stressful to fit in your calendar. 621 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:22,920 If you're not in a time crunch, there you go. 622 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,640 You have more time in the gym now to put more volume into your 623 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:29,400 training and build more muscle. Use drop sets, myo reps, and 624 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:33,600 rest paw sets up to once per workout on a non compound lift 625 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:35,240 as a way to intensify your session. 626 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:37,840 I like doing this with clients. I like doing this with myself. 627 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:42,600 One exercise per workout. I'm going to throw something 628 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,840 crazy on it. A drop set, a Myo Rep set, a 629 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,120 rest pause set, you know, go all the way to failure kind of set 630 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:51,840 something different that I can just put in there to make that 631 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,120 work out fun. It's waiting for them. 632 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,320 They know after they get through these things, they got that one 633 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,280 death set, let's say, which is made famous by John Meadows. 634 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:02,400 And if you want to really a long list of cool intensification 635 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,480 methods, look up John Meadows, the Mountain Dog. 636 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:07,840 RIP. He was a legend in the strength 637 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:10,440 industry, but especially with bodybuilding. 638 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:12,800 He has so many that I've taken over the years. 639 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,240 But these are great to throw in just for one exercise on a given 640 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:18,280 can work out. It's not overkill and it gives 641 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:21,240 enough to really create some challenging efforts in the gym 642 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:23,080 and excite somebody to go to the gym. 643 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:28,280 Use things like giant sets almost never but or multiple 644 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:30,920 intensifications methods like I've been talking about with 645 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,320 this when training out of hotels or you're travelling or you're 646 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:35,720 in your home gym because you, you can't, you know, it's 647 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:37,320 snowing outside and you can't drive to the gym. 648 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,240 And all you got is some bands and a set of Bowflex dumbbells, 649 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:44,280 which is a really common pair that people have in their garage 650 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:47,280 and that's all they have. If that's all you got and you 651 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,080 have no other way to get a workout and you just want to get 652 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:50,880 something in or you're travelling, do it. 653 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:52,560 Do giant sets. They're a great way to create 654 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:54,600 intensity. And if you're in that situation, 655 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:56,720 you probably don't have heavy enough weights to really cause 656 00:30:56,720 --> 00:30:59,560 injury anyway, so it's good for those sessions. 657 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:04,480 And then lastly, use a descending RR model on 90% of 658 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:07,440 your training to ensure effort is high enough for optimal gains 659 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,480 and to make sure that you can actually gauge your progress and 660 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:13,160 progressively overload with the right intensity over time. 661 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,800 And so literally 90% of your training, you should follow a 662 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:21,680 descending RAR going 3210 on any four sets of any exercise. 663 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,920 That 10% where you're not doing that is going to be on your 664 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:29,760 compound lifts, So your squat, leg press, and leg press, you 665 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:31,320 honestly can too, but you just got to be safe. 666 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,600 Dead lifts, overhead press, all those kind of big compound 667 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:39,200 lifts, especially with barbells. Don't do a descending RIR model 668 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,120 all the way to 0. You can still use a descending 669 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,600 RIR model, but go to 1. Leave one Rep in the tank at 670 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,160 least on your last set to keep it safe and keep it progressive, 671 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:50,280 and everything else go all the way to 0. 672 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:52,560 There's nothing wrong with that as long as it's a safe exercise 673 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:54,880 for you, and that's probably going to stimulate more growth 674 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:56,160 and gains in the future.