Subject: You're going to HATE me for this leg workout...(for real)
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]
Nick Nilsson
The "Mad Scientist of Muscle"
P.S. If you know anybody else
who might benefit from this
information, feel free to forward this email to them!