Triple
Add Sets - A Revolutionary New Intensity
Technique That Will Work ALL Your Muscle
Fibers In One Set!
Normal
sets only work a select type and number of
muscle fibers. Find out how the Triple Add
Set technique can work EVERY muscle fiber
you've got in a single set.
By
Nick Nilsson
Looking for a new challenge
in your workouts? The Triple Add Set is just
what you need. It is very a tough intensity
technique, but it is extremely effective.
The Triple Add Set will strongly work all
three of the major muscle fiber types (I,
IIa, and IIb) in one extended set, pushing
the very limits of your body's strength and
endurance. If this sounds good to you,
you're going to love this technique!
To
fully understand the effectiveness of the
Triple Add Set, let's take a look at the
muscle fiber types and why it's such a good
thing to work all three of the major types
at once.
-
Type I muscle fibers are endurance-oriented
muscle fibers. They primarily work in higher
rep ranges and during aerobic exercise.
-
Type IIa muscle fibers work when the weight
used is moderate-to-heavy. This fiber type
is most active in moderate rep range weight
training (e.g. 5 to 10 reps per set)
-
Type IIb muscle fibers are the explosive
muscle fibers. They are called upon when the
weight is very heavy and great power or
explosiveness is needed.
When
you lift a weight, your body recruits a
certain number of muscle fibers to get the
job done. It recruits a certain percentage
of each type of fiber, depending on how
heavy the load is. For instance, the
lighter the load, the more Type I fibers
will be called upon. The heavier the load,
the more Type IIa fibers will be called
upon. With very heavy loads, Type IIb
fibers will be the most heavily recruited.
With
regular training, your body learns to become
more efficient with this recruitment and
tries to get away with firing as few fibers
as possible to get the job done. It's the
body's natural tendency to conserve energy.
Unfortunately, this also leaves many muscle
fibers under-worked and not developed to
their full potential. We need to find a way
to force your body to recruit every
available fiber to maximally work the muscle
and develop it to it's full potential.
That's where the Triple Add Set comes in.
If
you're familiar with Triple Drop Sets (where
you start with a heavy weight for the first
part, then drop to a lighter weight for more
reps then drop to a somewhat lighter weight
for more reps to finish with) then you're
familiar with the basic idea of this style
of training.
However, here's the switch: instead of
starting with a heavy weight and working
down, we're going to start with a light
weight and work our way up!
The
Triple Add Set technique will first exhaust
your Type I muscle fibers with light weights
and high reps.
Then
it will work on the Type IIa muscle fibers
by moving to heavier weights and moderate
reps. Since Type I fibers are still being
activated at this point, even though the
weights are heavier, your body will recruit
more and more of those Type I fibers as you
keep going.
On the
third and final part of the set, very heavy
weights will be used. Your Type IIb fibers
will now be preferentially activated. But
now, because the load is extremely
demanding, your Type I fibers and even more
of your Type IIa fibers are being recruited
to help.
By the
time you're done with the Triple Add Set,
you've recruited almost every available
muscle fiber in the target muscle. Then we
do one or two more sets just to be sure
they're completely worked!
How To
Do It:
-
Start with a light weight and do a high-rep
set, e.g. 20 to 30 reps. Your muscles will
be burning. This will hit the Type I
endurance muscle fibers and fill the target
muscles with blood.
-
Rest 10 seconds to flush out enough of the
waste products that have accumulated in your
muscles for you to keep going. This is
basically the time it takes to switch
weights on the machine or grab a new set of
dumbells, take a few deep breaths and jump
back in.
-
Next, you'll move on to a somewhat heavier
weight and aim for about 6 to 8 reps. This
will hit the Type IIa muscle fibers (the
moderate-to-heavy oriented fibers).
-
Take 10 seconds rest again.
-
After that, you will do your last set with a
heavy weight, going for only 1 to 3 reps.
This will work on strength and connective
tissue while focusing on the Type IIb muscle
fibers (the very heavy and explosive
fibers).
-
Your muscles will feel incredibly hard and
pumped up. The effect of this type of
training is immediately noticeable and very
powerful.
It
will take a little practice to figure out
what weights you'll be using. It will really
depend on how well your body deals with
lactic acid build-up. This is a training
stimulus your body will most likely NEVER
have experienced before.
The
first part of the set should use a very
light weight. Go for strict form and go for
the burn. The first time through you should
get at least 20 to 30 reps.
On the
second Add Set, your reps will go down
significantly as the waste products of the
first set will not have been completely
cleared.
The
second Add Set should use about double what
you used on the first set, e.g. start with
25 pound dumbells then do 50 pound dumbells
(this increase will vary a lot depending on
the exercise - experiment with the weights
you use to find out what works for you).
The
third and final part of the set is the
hardest. Since you've already worked hard on
the previous two parts, you will be using a
weight that is lighter than what you'd
normally use for this rep range in regular
sets. When you do the third part, you will
feel an extremely strong and deep burning in
the muscles. You are tapping muscle fibers
that have rarely been worked! The first two
Add Sets worked the majority of your muscle
fibers - every fiber you've got now
has to kick in and fire to move the weight
in the third Add Set!
It's
extremely hard and extremely effective.
You'll either love it or dread it but it
works!
These
are Triple Add Sets. Pick an exercise and
give this technique a try the next chance
you get. You will be amazed at the
incredible burning and pump that results
from this unique training stimulus!
The
Triple Add Set is only one of the many
innovative exercise techniques you'll find
in my new ebook "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat
Loss." This book is all about how to lose
fat as quickly as possible while keeping and
even BUILDING muscle mass.
Click
this link now to find out more!
------------------
Nick
Nilsson is Vice-President of the online
personal training company BetterU, Inc. He
has a degree in Physical Education and
Psychology and has been inventing new
training techniques for more than 15 years.
Nick is the author of a number of
bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic
Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises
You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the
Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and
"Specialization Training,"
all available at
here.
He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.