Testing a Tri-Set Workout

I read an article over on Muscle & Strength about running what they call a “giant set” workout.   It consists of doing three exercises, each for 10 reps, back to back with no rest between them.  I read this and thought – “Supersets aren’t horrible, how hard could this be?” I’ll be the first to admit, that this workout was a whole lot tougher than I thought it would be.  With shorter rest periods between giant sets, and no rest between three exercises working the same major muscle group, I was put to work!  It was intense to say the least.  If you’re adventurous – give this a go! I took my BEAST MODE 30min before and then did my usual 5 minute warmup on the treadmill and was ready to go.  I took a few minutes to setup each of the three lifts so I could move quickly between them.  The plan:  Do 10 repetitions of each of the three lifts with no rest, then rest for 2-3 minutes and do it all over again until you’ve completed three GIANT sets. The first three exercises:  EZ-Bar Reverse Grip Row Barbell Row (standard overhand grip) One Hand Dumbbell Row (10 reps on each side) Seems easy enough right?! –But by the time I finished the first set and put down the dumbbell at the end of the rows, I was already feeling it.  If you’re doing the exercises with proper form, you should be feeling it in your lats and traps after wrapping up the first set.  I rested up for 2-3 minutes and completed the second set of exercises.   I even had to drop the weight (yes, the first set was done with my EGO since I was planning on this not being very difficult).  Doing 30 reps in a row that works the same muscle group gets tiring pretty quick!  I rested up again and hit the last three exercises again.  This time I kept the weight the same with the exception of increasing weight on the dumbbell rows. When you’ve wrapped up those three GIANT sets and are ready for some more – It’s time to blow up your biceps.  Yep  - 30 straight reps w/o rest on your biceps, rest for 2-3 minutes and repeat!  If you made sure to take your BEAST Mode before the workout, your arms are going to feel like they’ll pop after these! The second GIANT set: Barbell Curl Dumbbell Concentration Curl (10 reps each side) Dumbbell Hammer Curl (10 reps each side) Check your EGO before you start this GIANT set.  Concentrate on FORM and getting a good contraction – you don’t want to be that guy rocking back and forth trying to swing 70lb dumbbells in the air, trust me.  You’ll look funny and you’re risking injury.  Your arms will burn after just the first set, but you need to suck it up and finish all three sets.   Don’t make excuses to stop early or try to sneak in a break between exercises either.  You’ll only cheat yourself. So, there you have it.  The GIANT set workout.  Give it a go and let us know how you did.  Thanks to M&S for the workout.  Now, if you’re really feeling good after this – you can throw in some deadlifts since the back work here doesn’t include much lower back effort.  I suppose you could pick another lift to wrap up with, but I like my compound exercises and REALLY enjoy deadlifting  I was feeling good after the 6 giant sets so I went for it.  I pulled a warm-up set of 135x8, then 2 working sets: 225x10 and 350x7 (which by the way was a PR set).   That was the end of the day for me.  I was wiped.  Downed my BEAST Whey post workout and had a large meal about an hour later. From 9-5, Lonnie sits in front of a computer.  Outside of being an IT Geek, he’s an athlete who’s familiar with the cycle of being fit-fat-fit that so many of us struggle with.  Down from his highest weight of 300lbs in June 2009, he’s made the permanent lifestyle change to remain Big. Strong. Fit. Healthy.  When not spending time with his wife, son and daughter, he’s at the gym keeping off the fat and adding quality lean mass.