Intensity Techniques – Part #4…Giant Sets

The saga continues!! No, it isn’t Star Wars, people. It’s the continuing saga of my Intensity Techniques Series. So, let’s recap, shall we? We covered the oh-so-fun topics such as dropsets, supersets and 1 ½ Reps. Now is the grand-daddy of them all. (Well, not really. But it sounded pretty cool, didn’t it?) The GIANT Sets. And yes, I will be capitalizing the word GIANT every time for effect.

So, what’s a GIANT set? Easy, but it requires a little preparation. Select 3-4 different exercises you want to use for the same body part. For one “round” of a GIANT set, you would do one set of the 1st exercise, then move right into another set for the 2nd exercise, and still without stopping or rest in between, go right into another set for the 3rd exercise. For a real world example, let’s use Chest. You’d start out with a barbell press (8-10 reps), then right into a DB Press, then right into a DB Flye!! Ugh, I’m exhausted just typing about it. That, my friends, is an example of ONE GIANT SET.

Obviously, you won’t be able to use the same weights you would normally use, so plan accordingly. As for rep scheme, I would try to get in at least 8 reps per exercise in the GIANT set round. Just keep in mind, at the end it will be extremely difficult to hit 8 reps.

I hate to sound like a broken record…I hate to sound like a broken record…I hate to…(insert me slapping the side of the make believe old-fashioned record player, for those who remember what a record player was). Anyway, while I would normally do 3 exercises in a GIANT set, as I’ve said before, I don’t want to limit you. If you feel that you get better results from higher volume, then by all means, add a fourth or fifth exercises to the mix. Keep in mind, though, that three to four exercises in a GIANT set done 3-4 “rounds” should more than adequately tax that body part for the day!! Any more than that would probably lead to overtraining – especially for a natural athlete.

Now, unlike the other intensity techniques, this one may be a little harder than most. Not necessarily because the pain is so excruciating (although it certainly can be), but because it may be difficult to line up the exercises back to back without some unsuspecting gym patron taking your “bleeping” weights or machine. (Sorry, I just reminded myself of the last time I incorporated GIANT sets and…well, I got a little upset). haha As long as you aren’t training in the evening during the gym rush hour, you should be ok. Just throw a towel or hat on what you’re going to use and you should be ok.

There you have it. Yet another tool in your tool box! It’s up to you to use these tools to build the physique you want.