Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Workout Wednesday #11

Intro:
     Last week I wrote about a workout method where one would try to max out the amount of weight they can do for a certain exercise and this week I will go into more detail on what it is.  Reverse pyramid training(RPT), which is also known as drop set workouts, is a different method to the conventional ways of weight training.  Drop sets can be used for gaining mass, strength, and to shuffle up your workout routine if you have gotten bored of your current workout routine.  This type of workout can also be effectively used to help one loose calories and loose weight as well.


     Like I mentioned last week in my post about maxing at the gym, RPT is a method in which you will be working your way down in weight instead of up.  There really is no warm up other than stretching before hand.  To start out the workout, you pick a heavy weight you know you can do, and do that until failure(I usually aim for about 6 reps).  The sets that follow that, will be you dropping a bit of weight on what you are doing and do the same amount of reps plus one or two more.  You do this until you can't drop any more weight(out of weights) or you do more than a certain amount of sets you set out for yourself.  The rest periods between each set isn't long and should really in my opinion be only as long as it takes you to remove the weight off of the machine/barbell or getting a different dumbbell.  This is a fast pace exercise.


     The reason this method of working out helps you loose weight is because of the amount of calories you burn while doing this type of workout.  Even though the further down in weight you go with exercise the the lighter the weight gets, you still are doing a continuous exercise.  And don't think that because you are lifting less weight, the intensity is going to get any lower.  Remember that there is virtually no real rest time between each set so something that you could easily do before now is very strenuous and is giving you a good burn.  So much intensity that is given and calories that are burned will add up at the end of your workout specially if you also do cardio after your workout.  Once you are done with the workout is the first time you will get a good rest period before you move on to another workout.


     I usually only do about 3 different exercises when I'm doing drop sets simply because of how damn tiring it is.  Also when I do this kind of workout I tend to not focus solely on one body part for the day.  For example I will start off by burning out on bench press(REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE A SPOTTER!), which simply tires my chest and triceps out completely.  After that I'll burn out doing something like seated cable rows which really work the back and biceps.  Then finally I'll move on to doing burnouts on the leg press and call it a day.  I am beat after that and will take a day or two off.


Final Thoughts:
      Now if you are a beginner I would recommend you stay away from doing a full workout routine this way simply because it might scare you away from working out.  If you want to give this workout a try just do it with an exercise you are confident in doing and see how it challenges you.  I also wouldn't recommend doing this type of workout every day since it can quickly lead to over training and injuries.  It is a great method of putting your body to the test and a way I use to check my progress on strength gains.  One can also do this method to help burn a few more calories for the workout as well and giving your self a nice pump.

5 comments:

  1. Heeeey, hey hey...question.

    I recently came under a wonderful kind of muscle strain in my right bicep (apparently mainly on the INSIDE of the arm rather than the outside - it was friggin' visible and radiating heat like crazy), but it might actually be a reaction to a bite...either way, after working in some biofreezing gel (not IcyHot, they had this crazy industrial stuff that was friggin' AWESOME!) I was better in a minute and even better than THAT the next day.

    I'm still just a very-tiny-little-bit sore in that area, but have had a chance to rest up for a day and am feelin' good 'bout it...

    So with all THAT stated, what do you think about gettin' into workin' out after, or perhaps during, a muscle strain?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I might want to try this, but for now I'm just a beginner.

    ReplyDelete
  3. thats really informational thank alot

    ReplyDelete