VRT In Supersets

[bennyb]

I discovered this a few weeks ago wanting to try something new for VRT & DVRs and started to try Supersets, 2 exercises back to back. After doing 2 or 3 supersets my entire upper body was pumped and it felt far more powerful then just doing 1 at a time. I find this to be the ultimate pump and if you're a stud go for trisets, 3 exercises 1 after the other in one set. I have experienced pumps in weights doing super even trisets but nothing came close to how pumped I got from doing this for VRT. The moment I got done with the workout doing 4 supersets today I literally thought I was on steriods of how big my muscles looked it was that awesome. VRT does do its job and then some. It truely is the ultimate bodybuilding/mega pump system.

[Hank_Z]

I discovered this a few weeks ago wanting to try something new for VRT & DVRs and started to try Supersets, 2 exercises back to back. After doing 2 or 3 supersets my entire upper body was pumped and it felt far more powerful then just doing 1 at a time. I find this to be the ultimate pump and if you're a stud go for trisets, 3 exercises 1 after the other in one set. I have experienced pumps in weights doing super even trisets but nothing came close to how pumped I got from doing this for VRT. The moment I got done with the workout doing 4 supersets today I literally thought I was on steriods of how big my muscles looked it was that awesome. VRT does do its job and then some. It truely is the ultimate bodybuilding/mega pump system.

Hi Benny,

Thanks for the excellent information. Being a newbie, I'll go ahead and ask a couple of very newbie question.

1. Exactly what is a "superset"? Can you please give me an example of doing a superset with the VRT exercises?

2. Can you also give me specific examples of what doing 2, 3, or 4 supersets could be with VRT?

Thanks a ton! :act-up: :act-up:

--Hank

[VRT Man]

Hank, Benny can chime in here, but permit me to interject. A superset is doing both sides of a limb or muscle group to totally pump up the area; both the flexor (bends the limb) and the extensor (straightens the limb). First a set of one followed by a set of the other. An idea that Joe Weider claimed to have developed.

Say one does bicep curls, then one immediately does the back of the arm, the triceps, in the form of a tricep press right after the curl, to totally swell up the upper arm with vasocongestion (the fancy name for the pump).

It is something that I realized that one didn't necessarily have to do DVR's and VRT with tension in both directions; bodybuilders use it to totally pump up an area. Say for the thighs, you do a squat. This pumps up the quadriceps. Then lay on your stomach and do hamstring curls. This pumps up the biceps femoris, or the back of the thigh. Your upper leg is hit both front and back with a pump. Really swells it.

The superset is done first for the muscle group that bends, then immediately is followed by a set for the muscle that extends. As Benny says, this will really give the muscle a great increase in size, and you'll feel it.

--Greg Mangan

[bennyb]

Hi Benny,

Thanks for the excellent information. Being a newbie, I'll go ahead and ask a couple of very newbie question.

1. Exactly what is a "superset"? Can you please give me an example of doing a superset with the VRT exercises?

2. Can you also give me specific examples of what doing 2, 3, or 4 supersets could be with VRT?

Thanks a ton! :act-up: :act-up:

--Hank

Greg did a great job notifying what a superset is thank you greg that was an excellent explanation. Now to answer your questions Hank heres what I believe would help.

1. Look at gregs answer lol....he summed it beautifully

2. Multiple supersets would be 2 execises per superset as in after doing a set of 2 exercises back to back for a couple sets then move on to 2 others and so on and so forth. Say for the 4 supersets......you would be doing 8 exercises. Think in 2's here when I would say I did 3 supersets I mean I did a total of 6 exercises doing 2 exercises at a time. If you don't understand PM me and i'll see if I can make it sound better.

[gruntbrain]

I'll continue to pound the table for workouts that emphasize stregth endurance; ie, perform a medley of VRTs without resting. Clearly my approach is not optimal for those seeking pure strength.

[Bruno]

Grunt, your suggestion sounds like circuit training and is a good method to build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

[gruntbrain]

Circuit training is an accurate description. Moreover, such training can be done aerobically; use a heartrate monitor to verify

[MikeNY]

gruntbrain tried it wow!

[rclightning]

Bennyb,

Thanks for the post. I would like to give this a try. How many times a week do you use this method? For example, if you worked out six times a week, would use supersets every other day?

Ron

[bennyb]

Bennyb,

Thanks for the post. I would like to give this a try. How many times a week do you use this method? For example, if you worked out six times a week, would use supersets every other day?

Ron


In the last 2 weeks, I do them at night every night straight. Its not a long workout, less then 10 min. cause your working a lot o exercise in this manner. I'm more use to it then you may so I would say do them every other day or 3 times a week. I never take a day off so I would do them then move on to something else for a while and then every now and then i'll go back to them.

[drb01]

Like Gruntbrain, I do the vrt's one after the other for one set of 10 reps, this lifts my pulse rate by around 25% on the few times I have taken on completion.

Sometimes I do an aerobic activity first to get a better cardiovascular effect from this.

Supersets sound very interesting. I can understand the examples given with the bicep, then the tricep and the drive followed by the hamstring. I would assume that the abs would be supersetted with the back. However how would the shoulders, forearms, chest and calves be supersetted?

This is also something that Greg can discuss more fully when he finally responds to the many requests of writing a book!!!

[Royce]

Hello,

I thought you might like to experiment with one of the many routines I have used over the years. I created the following program a few years ago, and it has worked very well for many people.



DVR/VRT Primer

The following program will net results. Most of the exercises are DVRs, although there are a couple of DSRs and one power cal. This program can be done in a relatively short period of time under just about any circumstances that I can conceive of. However, there are two vitally important things to remember if you are to get the most out of this program.

First, you must apply maximum tension in all of these exercises.

Second, you must not do more sets or repetitions than suggested. Certainly, you should not add extra training days with other kinds of exercises, such as weights, DSRs, calisthenics, etc.


Anyway, let’s focus on some exercises:

Let’s start out with a four day per week training program. You will work the upper body twice a week and the lower body twice a week.

(Important note: Many people like to turn this into a two day a week, split routine. In that case, you would do work the upper body once per week and the lower body once per week. For high percentage of people this is more effective than a four day program!)

Although the “tiger moves” are great in their own right, I think it will be more productive to focus on simulated barbell exercises. In short, you will, in most instances, be replicating standard barbell exercises with DVRs. In plain terms, you will be pretending to lift a barbell while generating DVR tension.

All exercises must be done at maximum tension. You will do but one set of each exercise for ten repetitions. You will not attempt to do a negative contraction after the concentric—that is, tension will be applied going in only one direction.


Here’s the basic routine:

Upper Body

Monday and Thursday: (The same for both days except that I suggest you alternate between the bench press and the overhead press.)

Neck: Hand resistance. Push forwards, backwards and to both sides using your hands for resistance. Do one set of ten repetitions for each movement. ( This is, of course, a DSR, the only one listed here.)

Back: Bent over rows-- one set of ten repetitions.

Biceps and lats: Pull downs—one set of ten repetitions.
Biceps: Curls (Palms up) one set of ten repetitions.

Triceps: French curls—one set of ten repetitions.

Chest: Bench press on Monday. (Vary the hand positions from week to week.) One set of ten repetitions.

Upper shoulders: Overhead press on Thursday. One set of ten repetitions

Chest:Flies-- One set ten repetitions.

Deltoids: Side lateral raises—One set ten repetitions.

Deltoids: Front raises—one set ten repetitions.

Wrists: wrist curls (Imagine winding a weight attached to a handle and piece of rope.” One set ten repetitions.

Traps: Shoulder shrug—One set ten repetitions.


Lower body:

Tuesdays and Fridays


Tuesday:

Flat footed Squats: One set and ten repetitions

Knee extensions: One set ten repetitions

Leg curls: One set ten repetitions.

Hindu squats: one set of as many as you can do.



Friday:
Lunges: One set of ten repetitions for each leg
Knee extensions: One set ten repetitions
Leg curls: One set ten repetitions

On your off days make sure you take a brisk half hour walk.

If you aren’t sure how to do the exercises listed, you can find them illustrated here:


http://www.thetrainingstationinc.com/exercises.html


Training variations for the legs, including power flexing:


Anyway, let’s get to the issue of power flexing for the legs.

Standard DVR leg presses and power flexing are combined in my current workout. I do the leg press while lying on my back. I do each leg separately.

My first flex is done with the knee of my leg pulled close to my chest.

If I were standing, this would equate to the full squat position.

I apply full DVR braking action to keep my leg from moving. After a ten second count, I release the tension just enough to allow my leg to be straightened. I then do nine more regular leg press movements with DVR resistance.

After that, I do the same with my other leg.

This is a most important exercise, since many people are weak in this deep position. I have tried doing a flex from a very deep squat position, but I found that it caused me some discomfort in my knee. And my motto has always been: “If it hurts, don’t do it!”

This is followed by DVR squats-- one set of ten reps. After the squats, I do power flexes for a ten second count in three positions. I choose to do them at the half position, three quarter position and then the third at a point just a little before a full standing position. I guess we could call it the 7/8ths position. Ha, ha!

At that last position, I take care to get an extremely hard flex in my “glutes”—that is, my butt. Interestingly, one gentleman has suggested that flexing the butt very hard has had a beneficial effect on his urinary function. He says it helps reduce his need to run to the bathroom at night. Consequently, he flexes throughout the day at various tension levels. I was a bit surprised to hear his claim about the flexing impacting urinary function, but hey…………………we will take whatever benefits we are offered! Right???????

Anyway, all of the above exercises are done with INTENTION. And they are done on in one direction. In recent months, I usually make a point to send a message of INTENTION to my muscles during the flexing.

Although the DVR braking action is sufficiently intense to prevent any movement, my mental message to my limbs is to move. That constitutes INTENTION.

I have also found the knee extension movements and leg curl movements to be very useful, and in some routines add them. Like the other movements listed here, I flex in three positions at maximum tension for a ten second count.

INTENTION is added to both the knee extension and leg curl. If you think about it, you will understand that a flexing routine for the leg curl and knee extension would be indistinguishable if one weren’t differentiating with INTENTION. That’s a neat subtlety.

All readers should keep in mind that all of these exercises put an extreme work load on one’s muscles. So it is easy to “burn out” if you do them too often. Once or twice a week should suffice.

Although not absolutely necessary, I like to add a few “pistols” to my workouts, primarily because they require good balance. And working on balance is important to all of us.

[douglis]

Here is my approach on supersetting:

No,I'm not talking about the one-directional vs bi-directional debate.I'm not even talking about supersets between different muscle groups.
I'm talking about what we (ex-ironheads) were fimiliar as pre-exhaust sets.I think this method (and all the HIT principles as Royce noted many times) fits perfectly with VRT.
For example,do one set of wide grip pullups(10-12 reps).Your lats (agonist) and your middle delts (antagonist) are now exhausted.Immediately do one set of rows (the antagonist now is front delt and chest) and feel the burn in your lats since the braking force is now fresh.
I'm talking about 2 positive only sets one after another.
Other options are: side leterals and military press for the shoulders,flies and bench press for the chest and you can try combinations for all muscle groups.
In fact I think pre-exhaust sets (and all the HIT principles) work even better in VRT than weight training since it's not so easy to lead to overtraining.