Set Your Strength Training Sets!

There are many different types and styles of sets for strength training that can get you to your fitness goals. There are 5 main types of set systems and each has its specific niche in exercising and strength training. The five are: Single Set, Multiple Set, Pyramid, Superset, and Circuit training. There is not one of these that outperform the others in the lab, but each will help in different areas of stabilization, strength, and power.

Single Set
The oldest of the five mentioned methods single set training consists of 1 set of roughly 8 to 12 reps of the exercise. The key to single set exercise is tempo. If your goal is to tone the muscles you should use a slower tempo with less weight. If your goal is to gain muscle mass use a tempo of about 2 seconds down and 2 seconds up with lower reps. Many in the health and fitness industry will blow off this training method stating that there is not enough stimuli to grow muscle. Recent research shows however that this is not true. Most novices to exercise will benefit from single set training. I would recommend this for the person just starting or getting back into fitness after a long hiatus.

Multiple Set
Developed about 70 years ago the multiple set system remains the most popular style of resistance training. The system consists of doing multiple sets of specific strength training exercises. The number of reps and sets should be selected by a fitness professional or done be a fitness website such as www.hyperstrike.com in order to meet your specific goals. Multiple set resistance training has been shown to be a better style than single set due to the increased volume of the training.

Pyramid Set
Pyramid sets involve either building up in resistance or building down in resistance as you perform multiple sets. Heavy to light pyramid systems involve 1 to 2 reps with a heavy load then increasing the reps by 2 usually for 4 to 6 sets. The light to heavy system works in opposite starting with 12 reps and a light load then increasing the load and decreasing the reps. This system works better for the individual who has gotten to know their way around the gym and has been strength training consistently for at least 2 months.

Superset
Supersets allows the individual to maximize their time in the gym by performing a couple of strength exercises one right after the other. When deploying this system into your fitness routine use 10-12 reps with about 2-3 different exercises. The best designed supersets are done with opposing muscles such as biceps and triceps or chest and back. An example of this would be doing a bench press immediately followed by a shoulder row. Supersets are popular among athletes and body builders because of their advanced ability to build muscle.

Circuit Sets
Circuit training is extremely similar to a superset however uses more strength training exercises with a short period of rest after. Usually they are a group of 4-6 exercises performed at 8-15 reps with a period of rest of about 15-50 seconds rest after the circuit is performed. This system is perfect for the individual on the go. A complete circuit full body exercise can be completed in about 5-15 minutes! This method has helped many individuals meet their goals with minimal time donated to fitness,

Remember to switch things up in your fitness routines to keep them fresh. Using these different styles of training can help keep your exercises fun, interesting and challenging!