Straight sets or alternate sets?

J

Julesx

New Member
Hi Guys

Just a quick enquiry!

Just starting out on my first HST routine!

I have read loads on here, but one question....................

I am doing:

Squats

Bench Press

SLDL

Rows

Military Press

EZ Curls

Tricep Press

Calf Raise.


Should I alternate as suggested when I get to the 2 sets of 10's and 3 sets of 5's. ie: Squat/bench, Squat/bench and then Rows/Press, Rows Press or should I do 2 sets of squats and then move on to 2 sets of bench, 2 sets of rows, etc?

Many thanks

Jules
 
Welcome Jules!

So are you thinking along the lines of supersetting (old Weider term) some of your exercises? Where was this suggested?

I think the idea of alternating exercises is usually referred to here in the context of using two similar compound movements where one is performed each session. So, for example, one session you would do dips and the next session, bench. Same for rows and chins or presses and upright rows.

From memory, the original idea of supersetting was geared towards heavily fatiguing a muscle group by using two exercises for the same muscle group, with no rest between them. (I have also seen it used to describe doing a similar thing but using any two exercises whether they were for the same muscle group or not.)

Supersetting used to be very popular due to the mistaken idea that you could train for fibre type and that fatigue was necessary for muscle growth - so that if a weight was perceived as heavy (due to the effects of fatigue) it would have the same muscle building effect of an actual heavy weight.

In view of all that, performing two exercises back to back is a way to save some time but I think it works better when used with isos or 'lighter lifts' (eg. tri press and ez curls). Supersetting squats and bench is ok if you really need to save the time but you'll probably find it gets pretty hard to do (mentally and physically) during the heavy end of the cycle.

Personally, I'd rather work through each of my main compound exercises in turn and leave supersetting for arm isos. I used to save some gym time by following a set of pull-downs with a set of calf raises and then going straight back to chins etc. It worked well as long as the gym was fairly empty.
 
Excellent!

Thanks for the reply.

It makes sense! Funny I've been working out for years but new to HST. It's funny how a new system takes some getting used to!

HST looks simple but there seems to be much more to read about.....................

Thanks

Jules
 
talking about supersets, I was about to open a thread on this. But I think since this thread exist I'm gonna ask my question here. Hopefully the thread starter won't mind
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Guys, I realized that when I do supersets on all of my exercises, I save a lot of time, not just that, but to me, I have more strength when I workout in a shorter period of time. Today I started supersetting all of my exercises and I found that I have more energy to do all of the exercises due to the shorter duration of the time. I workout at home so I won't have to wait in line to use anything. What do you guys think?

Before using HST, I followed the optimum anabolics program by jeff anderson that uses supersets and it was great.

I read in a magazine recently that Mark Wahlberg said he supersets everything in his workout and no rest and his workout only lasts for about 30 to 45 minutes.
 
Maybe it depens on your age and level of training but i tell you what, after i do one heavy set of 5 deadlifts or squats i need a break for at least a minute or 2. Even after doing a set of max 15's i need a short break.

I agree with LOL, it's doable with isolations exercises, but doesn't seem to fit within the HST program with 90% compound movements for me.

I could see how supersets would be a time saver for someone doing mostly iso work with 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps on each exercise and spending 2 hours at the gym at a clip.
 
Xero: it sort of depends on the stuff Riggins said and where you are in your program too. I couldn't do a whole HST program with superset myself, except when in the low numbers. Max days are just that: max. Fatigue would offset the true maxes. Besides, this program is fatigue management, so I'd expect to hit the CNS by adding it in.
 
quadancer: maxes, yeah, now that u mentioned it, I think it's not a good idea to do it during the maxes, cuz most likely people will be maxed out and can't continue. But during the normal 10 rep and 5 rep weeks, I think its good on those weeks, because when I tried it, there's not much difference in strength, I feel slightly more energetic to workout when I don't wait around for one muscle group to rest. Infact if I wait around to rest, I noticed that in half an hour, I've only done squats, chest and back, including the warmups. With supersets I can finish em faster, and I don't think that I'll reach CNS just because I put more intensity in a very short time, unless i'm doing the maxes. Well that's what I think
 
I use supersets on antagonistic muscle groups (chest/back>Bis/Tris>Quads/Hams>etc). I do it to reduce the amount of time I spend sitting around...and I like how it feels frankly.
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<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I use supersets on antagonistic muscle groups (chest/back&gt;Bis/Tris&gt;Quads/Hams&gt;etc). I do it to reduce the amount of time I spend sitting around...and I like how it feels frankly.
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This is how I use them too, mainly to save time. I'm pretty loose with the time I spend between antagonistic muscle group exercises, though. For example, I don't rush to do a set of weighted chins immediately after a set of weighted dips, but rather take my time if I need it (but definitely much shorter than &quot;normal&quot; rest time between two sets of the same exercise).
 
I use supersets on muscle groups that almost has nothing to do with the other muscle group. Like Legs/Chest, Back/Calves, Bis/Abs. I find that it gives my muscle more time to rest while having almost no rest or very little rest in between workout than doing antagonist supersets.
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Good point Xero. The antagonistic method is what I was referring to as being somewhat, um, stressful. Yours is more upper/lower. I found that on push/pull with same joint movements it was harder on the joints.
 
My daily workoputs only consist of 4 to 5 sets so I don't have to superset to save time.    
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     Now I take around 3 minutes rest between sets for the same muscle group. It's surprising how much more weight you can move that way.  

I used to be a big fan of giant sets but, thanks in part to a lot of the research that Dan put on the web in an accessible place, I now do the reverse. Fatigue, pre-exhaustion, etc., does not build muscles. In fact, in my opinion, it can actually condition muscles to endurance and inhibit growth. And no, Messers. Lab Coats, I don't have any peer reviewed studies of couch potato mice to back that statement up. Just me own experience.  
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I think what Jules may have read was more along the lines of &quot;circuit&quot; and less &quot;superset&quot;.
In one of the articles I read online (not an official HST article) the writer suggested doing the routine in a circuit fashion so that each excersie is given equal energy. However IIRC he still recommended rest between each excersise.
I am switching over from a 5x5 program that is also a 3x week full body routine and it rarely exceeds 45 minutes. I limit the rest between sets/excersises to 2 min with the exceptions being the last set of squats and the single working set of deadlifts. They sometimes creep up to 3-4 mins. For my HST cycle I have planned rest times of 1 min for the 15's, 1.5 min for the 10's, and 2 min for the 5's.
As long as your lifts are in an antagonistic order you can usually get by with less rest time between excersises. If you arent doing it in this fashion and you are looking to save some time give it a try.
 
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