How You Can Combine Several Hypertrophy Methods At The Same Time And Still Get Results

With all the information readily available these days, it can be hard to decipher what training program/method is best for you, and what you should probably avoid. Even on this site alone, there are numerous strength trainingtechniques to which you can apply to make positive strides towards getting theresults you are training for.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should apply all of them at once, does it? Well, in most cases no. But what if you did? I mean, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should... or does it?

This article will go over some practical situations in which multiple strength training techniques geared towards those training for hypertrophy are used within the same training session. Remember, training is not so black and white like science, or mathematics. There are several methods that can be effective in getting to the end result. While there are no ‘wrong’ answers, there definitely are more effective ways than others.

Here are some alternative ideas that you can apply to your next training session to add some variety to your workouts:

The techniques that will be covered are doublé, giant-sets, pre/post exhaust, and the exercises used will be as unconventional, or uncommon, as possible toreally provide some variety for ya.

For those who have difficulty recruiting a muscle, an isolation exercisefollowed by two other exercises for the same muscle group, and then concludedwith the same exercise that you started with would be an acceptable approach.

Typically the pecs, lats, and quads (by quads I'm referring to squats only because most people don’t squat properly through a full range of motion) are the hardest to recruit, because tension passes through the arms, which then generally take over the movement in the case of the upper body, and hips/low back in the case of the lower body. Here are a few examples of how to implement the hypertrophy methods outlined above for these muscle groups:

PECS pre-exhuast, doublé, giant-set

A1) Cable Crossover

A2) Guillotine Press

A3) Reverse-Grip Bench Press

A4) Cable Crossover

LATS pre-exhuast, doublé, giant-set

A1) Straight-Arm Pulldown w/Rope

A2) Weighted Pull-Up (or front lat pulldown depending on your strength levels)

A3) Weighted Chin-Up (or reverse grip pulldown depending on your strength levels)

A4) Straight-Arm Pulldown w/Rope

QUADS pre-exhuast, doublé, giant-set

A1) Leg Extension

A2) Heels Elevated 1 ¼ Front Squat

A3) Barbell Hack Squat

A4) Leg Extension

For those who have the ability to recruit a muscle at will, a compoundexercise followed by two other exercises for the same muscle group, and then concludedwith the same exercise that you started with would be an acceptable approach.

Typically the arms (biceps and triceps) are the easiest to recruit as they are heavily used during nearly all upper body movements. Here are a few examples of how to implement the hypertrophy methods outlined above for these muscle groups:

BICEPS post-exhuast, doublé, giant-set

A1) Weighted Close-Grip Chin-Up or *Pull-Up depending on your strength levels (use the lat pulldown with the desired grip if strength is a limiting factor)

A2) High-Pulley Behind-Head Cable Curl

A3) Incline Off-Set Dumbell Curl

A4) Weighted Close-Grip Chin-Up or *Pull-Up depending on your strength levels (use the lat pulldown with the desired grip if strength is a limiting factor)

*Close-Grip Pull-Ups are more challenging than Close-Grip Chin-Ups

TRICEPS post-exhuast, doublé, giant-set

A1) California Press

A2) Lying Triceps Extension w/Cable

A3) Seated Triceps Pressdown w/Close Neutral-Grip Handle (same handlecommonly used for seated cable rows)

A4) California Press

As far as the sets and reps are concerned, those should be determined based on the goal. The following parameters would be appropriate for a fast twitch dominant individual:

5 sets of;

A1) 2-4 reps

A2) 4-6 reps

A3) 6-8 reps

A4) 8-10 reps

The following parameters would be appropriate for a slow twitch dominant individual:

3-4 sets of;

A1) 6-8 reps

A2) 8-10 reps

A3) 10-12 reps

A4) 12-15 reps

These routines would be classified as very high volume routines, and therefore would be a part of an accumulation phase, should you choose to follow a periodized approach to your training. They can be substituted into your current routine immediately to provide some much needed variety, and the exercises can easily be swapped for ones that you prefer, or based on equipment availability.

As stated earlier, there are multiple ways to go about getting a desired result with strength training. The purpose of this article was to shine light on some new ideas and throw together different, but also somewhat related, techniques (doublé, giant-sets, pre/post exhaust) that have been previously published on this site.

If you have any questions about how to combine doublé, giant-sets, pre/post exhaust supersets into a training program, feel free to contact me at ben@paramounttraining.ca. I'm available for online consulting and personalized program design, as well as one on one training if you are located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).