Asending Sets

Ascending Sets
by Jacob Wilson

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. It's 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 5^th 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, Use the Pre-Exhaustion Principle to Increase Muscle Mass!. 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 Trainer@abcbodybuilding.com