Feeder Sets

[mantica]

I was surfing on T-Nation and I found this article http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/rapid_fire.

I'd like to know your opinion about this part of the article:
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Tip #3: Feeder Sets

The concept here is simple: after a few heavy sets of a given exercise, drop down the weight and rep out. This is often called a ?back off set,&quot; but I personally prefer the term feeder set. ?Back off&quot; has a somewhat negative connotation and really doesn't say much about the use of the set.

On the other hand, ?feeder set&quot; is more appropriate as it explains why this form of training is useful: it'll increase blood flow to the muscle, thus bringing in more nutrients which will increase amino acid and glycogen uptake by the muscles. In short, you'll be able to adapt more rapidly to your heavy training!

What I like to do is drop the weight to 50 to 60% of what I used for my heaviest set and perform 10 to 12 more reps. If my heaviest set was 5 reps with 350 pounds, my feeder set would be approximately 15 to 17 reps with 175 to 210 pounds.

Feeder sets are unnecessary if your heaviest set was for more than 8 to 12 reps, as doing that many reps will significantly increase blood flow on its own and the feeder set becomes redundant. Also, feeder sets don't have to be performed after every single exercise. I only suggest using one feeder set per muscle group on the last exercise used for that muscle group. However, some people respond better to feeder sets after each exercise. It's up to you to find out what works best in your case.

Here are some general guidelines:

Load of heaviest set: 90-100% of 1 rep max
Reps in heaviest set: 1-4
Load for feeder set: 60-70%
Reps for feeder set: 10-15

Load of heaviest set: 80-90% of 1 rep max
Reps in heaviest set: 5-8
Load for feeder set: 50-60%
Reps for feeder set: 15-20

Load of heaviest set: 70-80% of 1 rep max
Reps in heaviest set: 8-12
Load for feeder set: 40-50%
Reps for feeder set: 20-25

Load of heaviest set: 60-70% of 1 rep max
Reps in heaviest set: 12-15
Load for feeder set: None
Reps for feeder set: None

Load of heaviest set: below 60% of 1 rep max
Reps in heaviest set: over 15
Load for feeder set: None
Reps for feeder set: None
</div>

Could it be useful ?
Does it have any &quot;scientific&quot; background ?


Andrea

 

[Joe.Muscle]

Without reading the entire article...it looks like basic metabolic work...which is a good thing as long as it does not cause you fatigue,decrease in frequency or load.

 

[colby2152]

Metabolic work, drop set, back off set, cool down, feeder, whatever you call it, it's all the same!

 

[bullseye]

It's all the same, but a cool name

 

[Joe.Muscle]

Nothing wrong with doing 1 set of 6-8 reps for maximum MU recruitment and then banging out some higher rep sets for TUT.

 

[TunnelRat]

<div>
(Joe.Muscle @ May 21 2008,5:33)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Nothing wrong with doing 1 set of 6-8 reps for maximum MU recruitment and then banging out some higher rep sets for TUT.</div>
Yup, that's my understanding of why you'd do a heavy set followed by a lighter one. Once you've got all those little MU's firing, give them a run for their money...!

 

[quadancer]

Read my log. I've been doing a lot of them, especially lately where I've gone into overload and needed the TUT after the heavy sets to fill in the workload. But it was also intended to help with conditioning, but that didn't work out, so I'm on SD.

 

[soflsun]

I always do one &quot;burn&quot; set for each muscle group I worked at the end of my workout. It's good to push some extra blood to the region as well as to remind yourself to keep strict proper form and squeeze every rep really focusing on the muscle...which tends to get tougher as the weights get heavier IMO.

 

[quadancer]

Oh heck, I was just wimping out and going back to lighter weights...