Elevation

Stretching between sets is something I have been reading about since I began lifting and now, more than 10 years later, it appears the jury is still out.  There are two schools of thought on this, both of which are based in science and both have some valid points.

The first school of thought, and the one I prescribe to when it comes to resistance training is; don’t do it.  The sliding filament theory of muscle contraction tells us that maximum force is developed in a muscle when it is at its resting length.  The more force a muscle can generate, the more weight that can be lifted and the stronger, or larger a muscle will become.

Stretching between sets would pull the actin and myocin (see link above) beyond their optimal overlap, thereby reducing the number of fibers that are able to reach their maximum force while contracting.  Not a problem at the end of a workout, but detrimental to my goal of engaging as many muscle fibers as possible each set.

The opposing opinion holds that after a muscle contraction there is lactic acid present in the muscle as well as myocin heads which may not have disengaged from the actin.  Both of these factors could reduce the ability of a muscle fiber to produce maximum force on the next contraction.

Stretching therefore would have two beneficial effects.  First, it could lengthen the muscle, possibly allowing more blood flow into the capillaries and removing the lactic acid more quickly and bringing additional nutrients to the muscle.  The second effect would be to free up the myocin heads allowing for a greater number of cross bridges during the next contraction.

I have tried stretching between sets in the past, but I feel a fuller and stronger contraction when I simply allow the muscle to rest at its normal length.  Until the guys in the white coats tell me differently, this is the method I will stick with.

Supersets and compound sets can be great tools for creating shorter workouts as well as shocking muscle groups that have been lagging behind. However, I often find that there is confusion about exactly what these terms mean as well as how to most effectively use these techniques in a program.

Super Sets:
A super set is when 1 set of 2 different exercises targeting unrelated muscle groups are done back to back without rest. This technique can shorten the total time a workout takes, but is very intense.

I always recommend pairing 2 medium, or 1 large and 1 small muscle groups when super setting to allow maximum effort to be given to each exercise. Some good examples would be a dumbbell chest press super set with a barbell mid back row, or a leg extension super set with a hamstring curl. Super sets are best used as part of a workout where strength, hypertrophy, or general fitness are the goals as they require longer rest periods between sets. This allows muscle group A to recover while muscle group B is being worked.

Compound Sets:
A compound set is when 1 set of 2 different exercises targeting the same muscle group are completed back to back without rest. Compound sets are most effective as a means of shocking a muscle group to increase or speed development and is an advanced training technique. Compound sets can lead to overtraining, or injury if they are utilized too often. When assigning compound sets

I recommend the first exercise be the harder, or more complex of the 2. This gives the user the best chance at keeping the intensity high for both exercises as well as reducing the risk for injury. Some good examples of supersets would be a bench press followed by a cable chest fly, or a barbell biceps curl followed by a barbell reverse curl.

A consideration that needs to be made when including either of these techniques in a workout is the availability of equipment. If the workout will be completed in a small, or busy gym, time spent waiting for the necessary equipment to become available can really bog down the pace of the workout.

Whether you need to fit more exercises in to a workout, or up the intensity of a more advanced program, these techniques are a great solution.