And yeah, I'm really not kidding about that. Every time
I do this one, I'm swearing at myself pretty much the
whole way through.

Just to be clear up front...this is NOT a beginner training technique. You
should be comfortable with squatting a good amount of weight before
using this one. It's going to push your legs to the limit.

The technique is the Triple Add Set and the exercise is the Barbell Squat.

The Triple Add Set is one of my favorite intensity techniques... I find
that adding weight during a set is much more productive because it
increases tension as you go through the set, rather than decreases tension,
which is what I find happens with Drop Sets...they just don't work well
for me.

The Triple Add Set technique allows you to target a full range of muscle
fiber types and when done with squats in this fashion, can really help
stubborn quads get back to growing.

So with a "normal" triple add set, I would have you using three different
weights. You'd start with a light weight for very high reps (30+) then
move to a moderate weight for 6 to 8 reps then a heavy weight for 1 to 3 reps.

These different rep ranges target the three major muscle fiber
types (Type 1, Type 2a and 2b).

THIS version of the Triple Add Set works range of motion instead of
resistance changes to hit those different rep ranges and different muscle
fiber types, ensuring you work maximum muscle mass in the set...though
for the barbell squat, you actually WILL need to make one change in
resistance for best results (you'll see why below).

To do this one, you'll need a power rack and two Olympic bars. You
CAN do it with just one bar, as long as you can be quick with a weight
change after the second part of the set. I find it easier to have two bars
pre-set and ready to go, though.

The first part of the Triple Add Set is going to be very high rep
lockout partial squats.

I've got 405 lbs on the bar and the blue thing I'm using is called a "Manta Ray",
which I highly recommend. It's a molded plastic piece that snaps onto
the bar, with the goal of distributing the weight of the bar more evenly
over your shoulders.

The Manta Ray is a great piece of equipment, in my opinion (and it's cheap
at 40 bucks), if you really want to get into heavy partial squats. I've used
it for lockout partials upwards of 1200 lbs and it works like a charm.

Anyways, it's very useful but it's certainly not necessary for making this
technique work.

So the setup that I like to use for this is the heavy barbell in the normal
racking pins at the top position, with the second bar set on the safety
rails towards the back of the rack.

The reason I have that second, lighter bar set up is this...the changes in
leverage over the range of motion of the squat are the most extreme of
any exercise I know of, because of the long range of motion. The amount
of weight you can use in the top few inches is substantially greater than
what you can handle out of the bottom...like on the order of 3 times greater.

That's why when you start with the very high rep partials, you have to
use a much greater weight than what your body will be capable of
towards the end of the Triple Add Set for full range reps.



The range of motion here is very short...just lowering the bar a few inches
then coming back. Don't bounce but use a deliberate movement, contracting
the quads.



Do as many reps as you can of this...ideally 30 to 50+ reps.

Re-rack the bar then rest 10 seconds.

Get back under the bar, unrack and step back. Now you're going to partial
squats in a somewhat greater range of motion...about 1/4 to 1/3 of the range,
coming to just above the sticking point/dropping point of the squat. Basically,
where if you come down any further, you would drop to the safety rails.





Perform 6 to 8 very controlled reps here, contracting the quads and keeping
the tension on them during the movement. You've pre-exhausted the legs
to some degree with the very high reps...now you want to build on that.

When you've completed your reps (and don't push to failure here, just fyi),
re-rack the bar and get set for full range.

If you're only working with one barbell, here's where you going to pull some
plates off. Knock the weight down by almost half.

Since I have two bars, I've got 225 lbs on the second bar and I'm going to
do bottom-start squats off the rails.





This kind of squatting is great for developing tension and building power out
of the bottom because you're eliminating elastic tension from the lift. At the
bottom of every rep, you're setting the bar down on the rails completely
before you start the next rep.

If you just have the one bar, do a deep, full-range squat as you normally would.

Do 1 to 3 reps of this full-range squat.

You're done! And believe me, you're DONE.

This Range-of-Motion Triple Add Set Training is extremely demanding. You
can do one to three full sets of this technique in total, depending on how
your legs hold up. I would recommend at least 2 to 3 minutes rest in between
Triple Add Sets.

If you've got stubborn quads that need work and you're ready for a challenge,
this is exactly what you're looking for.

And if you have any questions about the technique, just let me know!

Enjoy!

[insert diabolical mad scientist laugh here]