Seth (bodybuilding)

Beginners begin each exercise with one or two warm-up sets with low weight (especially if this is the first complex exercise for a particular muscle group). Experienced athletes can perform one or three heavy warm-up sets, and only then “working” sets with a weight of 75-100% of one rep with the maximum weight ( 1PM ). Thus, a total of two to four sets per exercise for a beginner and 5-10 sets for professionals.

More experienced athletes maximally reduce the duration of warm-up sets, to prevent the adaptation of muscles to higher loads, otherwise, performing a lot of warm-up sets, there simply will not be time and energy for working sets with limit or sub-limit weights, which is necessary for the growth of strength and muscle volume.

There are low-repetitive ( power ) and high-repetition ( endurance ) sets performed in a pumping manner (for muscle volume). Sets can be sequential (regular or singles) and combined.

Regular sets

Regular sets :

• Drop-set (or “falling set”; from the English drop set ) - reducing the weight of weights, for example, first by a quarter, then by a third and after half, and performing the maximum number of repetitions of the exercise in a pumping manner in one approach with micro-pauses ^{[ ~ 1]} .
• Descending set - first you select the weight that the athlete can raise by 10 repetitions in one set at the limit of possibilities, then the weight of the projectile decreases so that you can perform 10 repetitions in the set again and so on until four or six such limit sets are completed.

Singles

Single sets (or "single sets" from the English single - "one", "separate"):

• The “ Rest-pause ” method ^[1] - performing an exercise with such a maximum weight with which it is possible to perform only two or three repetitions, in multi-repetitive mode: the athlete makes a micropause (approximately 20 seconds ^{[~ 2]} ) between two or three microseries repetition, but does not stop the exercise and does not budge until it completes the full set and can not perform at least one technically correct repetition, after which the exercise is considered completed. This method allows you to perform the exercise with the maximum weight and with a large number of repetitions without serious risks of injury ^{[~ 1]} .
• “ Strip set ” (from the English strip set ) - reducing the weight of the projectile by 20% and performing several more repetitions after achieving muscle failure , then again reducing the weight and performing several more repetitions of the exercise. And so, the exercise “back ladder” occurs until the bar is empty ^{[~ 2]} .
• “ Stepped Set ” - a series of single repetitions from the warm-up to the working weight with its gradual increase; between repetitions, a pause (rest) is possible from a few seconds to several minutes. For example, an athlete crouches: 120 kg × 1 time, 140 kg × 1 time, 160 kg × 1 time, 180 kg × 1 time, then five singles with a weight of 200 kg follow. Another option is to use less weight, but perform more singles with less weight gain - 10-20 kg. Progress will stall if you make too many singles with the same weight.

Combinations

Combined sets :

• Jump set (from the English jump set ) - pumping simultaneously paired muscles in the same set without rest, which are each other agonists (flexors) and antagonists (extensors), for example: chest - back , biceps - triceps , quadriceps and hip biceps , and others.
• Giant set (or “compound training” ^{[~ 3]} ) - a combination of several (three to six) exercises per muscle group ^{[~ 4]} . All exercises in the superset-triset-giant set are performed practically without rest between them, between the sets themselves the pause is slightly increased, most often it is about two to three minutes ^{[~ 3]} . The giant set is usually performed two to three times before moving on to training another muscle group ^{[~ 3]} . Great for working out small muscle groups, such as deltas ^{[~ 5]} .
• Combi set (combined set) - performing one after another without rest, as a rule, two different exercises for one muscle; the alternation of diverse exercises does not tire the psyche.
  • pectoral muscles: bench press and wiring of dumbbells lying down (emphasis on small and large pectoral muscles);
  • latissimus dorsi: backward draft of the bar and pull of the upper block (emphasis on the top and bottom);
  • Abdominal muscles: bending the torso in the upper section and raising the legs while lying on a bench (emphasis on the upper and lower middle muscles of the press);
  • quadriceps: leg press and leg extension in the simulator.
• Super set (from the English super set ) - a combination of two exercises on opposite muscle groups ( antagonist muscles , for example: biceps and triceps, pectoral and latissimus muscles) ^{[~ 3]} with a little rest between performing different exercises on different muscle groups, usually 30-60 seconds. It is great for working out small muscle groups, for example, deltas ^{[~ 5]} or hip biceps and quadriceps in leg flexion-extension exercises on simulators ^{[~ 1]} .
• Triset (from the English. Three set ) - three exercises are combined (in the vast majority of cases - on one muscle group) ^{[~ 3]} . Typically, large muscle groups are pumped in trisets: chest, back, abs, legs. For example, for legs: squatting with a barbell - extension of legs in a simulator - bending of legs in a simulator; for the press: bending to the left, right and right of the body on an inclined board with weight; for the chest: bench press dumbbells , wiring dumbbells and information hands in the block. Also, this method is suitable for working out at once all bundles of small muscles, for example, deltas - front, middle, back bundles ^{[~ 1]} .

The purpose of combining several exercises is not only to reduce the time of rest and, accordingly, training, but also the possibility of a deeper impact on the target muscle group. So, exercises performed from different positions (extended, neutral, shortened), with a different number of repetitions ( the “6-12-25” method ), different grip of the projectile, different amplitude of movement, etc. can be combined into trisets.

Rest between “heavy” sets should be within two to four minutes, usually no more than three minutes. The duration of rest depends on the experience and experience of the athlete, the exercise (basic, isolating, auxiliary) and the number of repetitions. For example, a professional athlete performing squats with a large number of repetitions (12-20) takes three to four minutes to rest in order to restore breathing , pulse and muscle function. On the contrary, an athlete performing exercises for many small muscles of the forearm is sufficient in any exercise options for only one to two minutes. The more muscle and the more their number is included in the work, the more time is required to rest.

Well-rested muscles after resting between sets work better, an athlete can use large weights and considerable training time, with subsequent workouts, the percentage of strength and, accordingly, muscle volume exceeds on average 10-15% than athletes who believe that muscles need “Hammer” to the limit, not allowing them enough “rest” between sets.

The rest between the “heavy” sets (super sets, trisets and giant sets) is more often than between regular sets. To speed up recovery, between “heavy” sets stretch the tired muscles. When fully stretched, the muscles better pump blood through themselves, respectively, heal faster, restore energy and shrink more, which allows the use of large weights in training.

The optimal number of heavy sets for a workout is from two to four, professional bodybuilders can use up to 10-15 sets, performing only two or four exercises for the entire workout.

Footnotes

1. ↑ ^{1 2 3 4} Kanevsky Edward. "Fitness slang for beginners v.2 . "
2. ↑ ^{1 2} Murzin D. “The Bible of bodybuilding” , “Sadomazo”, p. 165.
3. ↑ ^{1 2 3 4 5} Robert Kennedy. “Cool Bodybuilding,” Chapter 15, “Principles and Techniques,” p. 167-178.
4. ↑ Murzin D., “The Bible of Bodybuilding ,” “The Principles of Joe Vader,” p. 158-160.
5. ↑ ^{1 2} Murzin D. “The Bible of bodybuilding” , “MF”, p. 101.

Sources

1. ↑ “Rest-pause” // Megabild LLC: monthly. Journal .. - M .: " Iron World ", 2008. - No. 01-02. - S. 14. - 40,000 copies. - ISSN 1726-8109 .

• Dmitry Murzin. Joe Vader Principles // Bodybuilding Bible. - il. - M .: Eksmo , 2011 .-- S. 158-160. - 256 s. - (Men's Health Library). - ISBN 978-5-699-44109-9 .
• Robert Kennedy “Cool Bodybuilding” = “The New Hardcore Bodybuilding” / Per. from English Ostapenko L. A. .. - ill. - M .: Terra-Sport, 2000. - 224 p. - ISBN 5-93127-073-6 .

• Kanevsky Edward. Fitness slang for beginners v.2: drop-set, rest-pause and not only (Russian) ( HTML ). www.m24.ru. Moscow 24 (10/10/2018). Date of treatment August 5, 2019.
• Jerry Brainum One or many approaches (Russian) ( HTML ). www.ironman.ru . ironman . Date of treatment August 5, 2019.

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