Researched
and Composed by
Jacob Wilson, BSc. (Hons), MSc. CSCS
Introduction
Its
extremely disappointing but I rarely
hear about Ascending sets in mainstream magazines or even famous books. I
say disappointing because this extreme shocking method has always been a
vital asset to myself and those that I
have trained! That being
said, I have decided to include it
in this months issue because I believe
that you will also find it to be extremely
rewarding in the muscular gain
department!!!!!
What
are ascending sets?
Well
if I had only one word to describe them
it would without a doubt be " pain."
However, if you can get past this aspect
then you will reap tremendous tremendous
rewards, I guarantee it! Ascending sets
are actually the exact opposite of strip sets. Rather then
starting heavy and stripping down, you
start light and pyramid up without the
aid of rest between sets.
How
Ascending sets produce growth
A.
They
produce growth through several different
pathways. One, is that they produce
extreme blood pumps that are perhaps,
second to none. If you read my
article on supersets
you can see how a pump will
actually increase our capillaries which
contribute to vascularity and the
overall size and hardness of the muscle structure.
B.
Anytime you expose your body to
extreme new methods of shock it will
have to adapt! Which
again translates to new growth.
C.
The sets are long and allow you to
work both heavy and light at the same
time. You will
therefore, target a massive amount of
muscle fibers in one blow! The
more fibers you damage, the more growth
you will experience. Its really
that simple!
A
sample Ascending
Sets Workout Routine, “ Can
you Handle
The Heat!!?”
I
realize the importance of having huge,
vascular, brick hard biceps!
So my sample workout will center
around this coveted muscle group!
I personally like to
work my biceps
immediately after my back, but if you do
not, then make sure to properly warm them
up.
Lets say that you can
curl 50 pound dumbbells in an incline
bench position 10 times.
I want you to begin by first
selecting a pair of 10 pound dumbbells
and curling them for 10 repetitions in a
slow and controlled fashion.
Each rep should emphasize a peak
contraction at the top and a controlled decent to the bottom.
No big deal so far right?
Now immediately set down the 10
pounders, pick up the 20’s and perform
the same number of repetitions.
By now you should not feel
pain, but rather a warm sensation
swelling up in your biceps.
The blood is now beginning to flow in, so
hold onto your seat and be sure to buckle up
because the ride is about to begin!
As the patter
suggests you should now grab the 30’s
and again squeeze out the same number of
repetitions. Only now you will
notice more discomfort. The blood
will have totally engorged your
biceps at this point!
Congratulations you have entered
the growth zone!
Immediately set down the 30’s,
pick up the 40s and eek out 10 extremely
painful repetitions.
While performing these, blood will
begin to seer down into your
forearms and fill them with its deadly
heat!
At this moment you will want to
quit, but its too late to stop now!
You have reached what the point of no return!
Pick up the 50’s
and attempt to get your normal 10
repetitions.
By the 5th rep The
pain will become almost unbearable!
It will seem as if all the blood
in your body has transferred itself not
only into your biceps and forearms but
even down to your very grip!
It will feel as if you are
clenching hot coals and the heat will be
so intense that you will want to throw
the dumbbells across the room just to
relieve the pain!
However you must dredge on!
Since your biceps are fatigued
failure should be achieved around the
6-7 rep range.
That my friends is what rest
pause training is for!
Set the dumbbells on your lap for
a total of 20 seconds and attempt to eek
out another repetition.
Continue this until you reach the
mark of 10 reps and then pat yourself on
the back, because you deserve it!
Further
examples
Quads
My
favorite exercise to use this shocking
method on are without a doubt my quadriceps! For example I might
start with a 50 pound stack on the leg
extension machine and rack out 10
reps. When that is completed I
will
add 25 pounds to the stack. This
pattern continues on until I actually
reach a weight that causes my legs to
fail. I can guarantee that you'll
be gritting your teethe on this one!!!
I find that this does a stupendous job
at bringing out and separating all four
heads of the quadriceps.
Side
Deltoids
If
your goal is to put a cap on your side
delt so thick that you'll have to turn
sideways just to walk through a doorway then
try this! Take a seat and pick up
a light pair of dumbbells and perform 6
reps, keep pyramiding up until you find a weight that you reach failure
on. No matter how extreme the heat
continue to concentrate on a peak contraction at the top of the movement
because it is this that will cap off
your delts! That means pausing for
at least a second at the top of the
movement.
I
believe you get the pattern here so here
is a quicker list of exercises I prefer
to use this on:
Forearms:
Wrist curls and reverse wrist
curls
Hamstrings:
Lying Legg curls are an excellent
exercise to use this with!
Traps:
I have used this shocker with
dumbbell and barbell shrugs and the pump
you will experience is
nothing short of amazing!
Back:
I prefer seated cable rows because I
can concentrate on the back more.
Lat pull downs
are also a good option.
Chest:
Try this with dumbbell fly's and I
guarantee you'll hate me for it!
But you will love the pump afterwards!
Tips
Pre-fatigue
Not
only is this a great finisher but also a
great way to actually pre-fatigue a
muscle group! If you haven't read
my article on pre-fatiguing the muscles
then you can do so by clicking
here. It is one of my favorite
ways
to utilize ascending sets!
Use
it with machines or isolation exercises
I
usually only use this with exercises
that either isolate the muscles or are
on a track such as machines.
Compound exercises such as the squat and
bench press take too much endurance to
use this on.
Conclusion
If
you want an extra boost in the muscle
growth department then these can
certainly be an asset. Have fun
and good luck!
Jacob
Wilson
jwilson@abcbodybuilding.com
© ABC Bodybuilding Company. All rights reserved. Disclaimer
|
