How do you do your sets? All at once?

[Sharky]

Hi-what i mean is, say you're doing 3x10 bench presses, do u do one set, and then rest for a short time and then do another set, then rest and quickly do another set?

Or, do you do a circuit/cycle of sets of other muscle groups while resting that muscle group?

To make it simplistic, say we have the following workout

1) 10 Benchpress
2) 10 Bicep Curl
3) Ab workout, whatever
4) 10 Squats

Okay, we want to do 3 sets of these reps. would you do 1,1,1 then 2,2,2 then 3,3,3 etc, or would you do 1234, 1234, 1234?

What are the results and disadvantages of both these methods? I started doing 1234,1234, but recently have started doing the 111,222 etc pattern for no apparent reason.

Any help dudes?

Thanks

Edd

"You can't see it if you blind but we will always prevail (true)/Life is like the open sea, the truth is the wind in our sail/And in the end, our names is on the lips of dying men/If ever crushed in the earth, we always rise again/When the words of lying men sound lush like the sound of a violin/The truth is there, it's just the heart you gotta find it in" - Talib Kweli

[SevenStar]

What are you trying to achieve? how you workout should be based on your goals.

those who make war against the United States have chosen their own destruction - dubya

[nospam]

I was never one for circuit training. In the beginning of my weight training I did the whole body workout for a couple of months before changing to specific body parts. Now I do the '111' set routine.

One thing I do that is different from the normal 3 sets per muscle group (or the '111') is that I start with my maximum weight then work down the dumbbell rack.

Although people will have varying opinions, there is no 'better', just what works and feels best for you.

nospam.

[Lost_Disciple]

I'd always heard you take a 30 to 60 second rest for a cardio work out. Otherwise, you can also do it as a superset (no rest)- but these are usually 3 sets in length and incorporate different exercises like nospam was saying.

If you want power go longer than a minute-thirty, probably ideal around 3 minutes rest.

If you just want an average workout, just rest a minute to 90 seconds- decent mix of maintaining/building strength and cardio.
.

Just some thoughts from an ignoramus.

[Braden]

I do supersets (12rest,12rest,12rest) for maybe 3/4s of my exercises. I find they work especially well with paired muscle groups (eg. bicep/tricep superset). The rest I just do sets (1rest,1rest,1rest). I know people who do trisets (123rest,123rest,123rest), however, I've never found they felt right to me. The 1234 system seems like too much stacking.

[Silumkid]

I do my workouts using the 111, 222, 333 method you refer to. I keep my rest time minimal regardless of what weight I am using. About 60 seconds between. Circuit training has it's uses, but unless you are a bare bones beginner, you may not get much from it. However, don't discount it as a good variation if you are using periodization. Some folks use it as the "2 week recovery" cycle.

We are trained in wushu; we must protect the Temple!

[ElPietro]

Sharky I hope that example workout you posted isn't actually what you do...cuz...well...it's ugly. You are working chest, biceps, legs, abs, triceps from chest...and many other stabilizers from squats...

You would be able to work out twice a week max if you trained with intensity because you'd have to wait for your entire body to recover...I would recommend a push/pull/legs split for you, comprising of bench,shoulders,tris/back,traps,bis/legs. This will allow you to train 3 days a week and give ample recovery time. If you do cardio, do it after your workout as glycogen stores will be low so you will actually be targetting more fat than anything else...

I think these 111's you are talking about are what are referred to as reverse pyramid sets...I do them for smaller musclegroups like biceps. I'll grab a dumbell that is around my max for my first set and then drop the weight the next two sets. I think this is a good way to build strength as you aren't pre-exhausting your muscles. The only thing I would recommend with this method, is that if you are training larger musclegroups make sure you put a warm-up set or two in before you go to your max weight...

[Robinf]

Does anyone here stretch in between sets? I've gotten into weight training recently and between each set instead of just sitting there, I stretch. Am I harming myself in the long run?

Robin

Surrender yourself to nature and be all that you are.

[ElPietro]

Yeah I usually always give a light stretch between sets...it isn't hindering you.

[Robinf]

Cool. My concern is gaining flexibility along with strength. My flexibility has improved a little since I started, I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't potentially causing harm. I'm still new to weight training.

Robin

Surrender yourself to nature and be all that you are.

[Silumkid]

Robin,

Not at all as long as your aren't overstretching. Remember that the idea of weight training is to cause microtrauma to the muscle to allow for it to supercompensate...just stretch to a comfortable range of motion and it's no problem.

We are trained in wushu; we must protect the Temple!

[Sharky]

To make it simplistic, say we have the following workout

1) 10 Benchpress
2) 10 Bicep Curl
3) Ab workout, whatever
4) 10 Squats

=====

"You can't see it if you blind but we will always prevail (true)/Life is like the open sea, the truth is the wind in our sail/And in the end, our names is on the lips of dying men/If ever crushed in the earth, we always rise again/When the words of lying men sound lush like the sound of a violin/The truth is there, it's just the heart you gotta find it in" - Talib Kweli

[Silumkid]

My own workouts are never structured this way. I rarely ever do split routines but when I do they go:

Chest and tris
Back and bis
Legs (upper and lower)

Abs every workout

But like I said I usually don't follow this.

We are trained in wushu; we must protect the Temple!

[nospam]

Robin! ;)

No, you want to stretch before, after every set, and after your workout. Just don't do the dreaded bounce stretching..you want to elongate the muscle group. Although I stretch before I start, I usually only stretch one the 1st and 2nd set. I only do 3 sets per exercise, but I will stretch anew on each new exercise if even for the same muscle group.

Note, when you stretch..get your mind into it and visualise both the muscle stretching and the feel of the stretch.

nospam.

[Robinf]

nospam,

Those are the stretches that I do--to elongate. I never do any sort of bouncing stretches. I warm up with about 5 minutes of cardio and stretch lightly, then do the first set, stretch, second set, stretch, third set, stretch. Then do heavy stretching at the end. I've gotten more flexible thanks to the gained stregnth and all the stretching.

Another question. I think this was on here before, but I'm too lazy to find it.

My goal is to stregnthen. Is it better to keep at a medium weight (in between the absolute lightest and heaviest I can handle) and add on more sets of repetitions (I'm up to three sets of 10 right now). Or should I stay at three sets and add on more weight.

A side-goal is to finally be able to do pullups--for no other reason than the fact that it's the long standing goal stemming back from when I was eight (I could never make it up the rope, either, but that's for another time). I have a routine, but again, do I stay at a medium weight and add on sets, or do I NEED to add on weight for this?

Thanks for all your help.

Robin

Surrender yourself to nature and be all that you are.

[nospam]

If you want to add strength, then you must change the exertion your body (muscles) has become used to over the past several weeks/months. This is called progressive weight resistance. We need to continuously add stress to the muscles in order for them to grow in size (density) and thus increase strength.

I would not recommend you simply add more sets. After a period, you are not adding greater stress that will have much impact on your muscles besides strengthening tendons and ligaments, both of which are very important. Instead, if you are at the usual 3 sets per muscle group, increase the poundages so that you are being taxed around the 6th rep and on the 9th to 10th rep, you are at the point (if you have a spotter) of total exhaustion.

The above will depend on how you are integrating your initial '3 sets' per muscle group. If the 1st set is a warm up set, then go ahead and add a 4th set. If all 3 sets are incrementally strenuous, then add more weight when 10 reps becomes easy (relatively speaking) to achieve.

Our body will match or adapt to the resistance placed on it. This is why it is important to vary the type of exercises done, the frequency, and fundamentally, the poundages used. This also depends on why you started lifting in the first place.

Be forewarned that moving real heavy weight isn't necessary for the avg body builder. And that most people are presently using too heavy a weight to achieve maximum range of motion and thus are getting only 60% results from 100% effort. Train hard but smart.

Robin, if you want to achive a specific goal, then ensure your routine involves that specific task. Pullups/chinups for example, are you incorporating pullups as part of your routine? If not, do so within 6-8 weeks of starting your workouts. It will be easier to have a spotter grab your hips (don't grab the legs as it then becomes too easy to push off with your legs) and assist you by lifting half of your body weight. You can also do half-ups, which are great for the shoulder girdle area. Get a stool or chair, grip the bar and hang, then concentrate on lifting your body with just your upper back- again, visualise the movement. Then let yourself go. Repeat and do them at a moderate pace for 2 sets of 10. I do these to actually increase my shoulder motion and strength. These are also a precursor to pullups (which I use a wrist wrap for).

Hope that helps. As with almost all of my posts, this is exactly how I do thangs.

nospam.

[Robinf]

nospam,

Thanks for the help. :)

I started weight training only three weeks ago. The past two sessions I have gone over to the chin bar, hung from it, and pulled. I go up about an inch and hold it, pulling as hard as I can. Nice to know that this is not in veign.

I'll add more weight on over this week. I'd like each set to be taxing. As it is now, the first set is no longer taxing. Time to move up.

A couple of immediate improvements, beside my flexibility (and energy level--I lift midday, nice pick me up), is that my hamstring injury and my wrist injury are finally healing after about a year. I can walk without pain and do regular pushups. Woohoo! My knees are also benefitting--I've been trying to stregnthen up so they wouldn't get sore, that's what got me into the gym.

I have a few other goals, but healing my injuries comes first, so I'm taking it a bit slow to be sure I get the proper range of motion and I don't overtax and reinjure myself.

Robin

Surrender yourself to nature and be all that you are.

[nospam]

Excellent! Robin, that's great that you're having positive results, and so quickly. When we fatique our muscles and tax our tendens and ligaments, the infusion of blood does soooooooo much good to the over-all Body. As you stated, your energy level has even increased. Your entire body is reacting...changing in direct relation to what you have started. Congrats!

Oh, and in that you think you are going 'slow', by deed you are not. Keep the same pace throughout and simply...improve ;)

nospam.