Weight Lifting, Weight Training, Bench Press & Bodybuilding
December 12, 2024

What To Do In Between Your Workout Sets
By Aaron DiPrima

What To Do In Between Your Workout Sets

I am currently on vacation and training several states away from my home gym, utilizing a Gold's gym in Austin, Texas. Sometimes when forced into a different situation you can automatically make some new discoveries, as when young altar boy Mark Roman discovered that not all priests have good intentions.

Within just a week or so of hitting my workouts down here I noticed that I had dropped a little body fat and my abdominal muscles were leaned out again. This struck me as kind of odd as I had not been doing any strict dieting or aggressive cardio type training, like my sleds, prowler, or manic uncontrollable convulsive sobbing while watching The Notebook. Then during my workout it occurred to me what was happening.

The Gold's I was using on Ben White Blvd. in Austin is an enormous club, about 50,000 square feet of floor space and having a 1/13th mile track that scales the inside perimeter. After every set of exercise, being a naturally fidgety kind of person, I was pacing around the track in preparation for the next set. By the time I realized this I had already knocked off a couple of miles and had kept my heart rate elevated for about an hour and a half. This would have a synergistic effect with the training and would negate the need for cardio done at a second session, thus freeing up another half hour of the day where I can sit around and wish I had something to do besides ponder which of the two Corey's I like better. Also, it is just walking. If walking affects your workout you need to analyze what you are doing as it just means you are very out of condition.

What To Do In Between Your Workout Sets

Now, at most gyms, you will not have the luxury of a track through the middle, (also at most gamblers anonymous meetings), so some other ways you could incorporate this would be to walk on a treadmill or other cardio piece between sets. Unfortunately, availability then becomes an issue, especially during peak hours. Also DO NOT LEAVE THE TREADMILL RUNNING. I have seen some people who were unaware that the treadmill was running when they got on it and the results are, although pretty funny in a Three Stooges kind of way, still very dangerous. Also if I really need to tell you this I have a giant floppy red hat I would like to sell you for your giant retarded head. On a recent trip to visit Louie Simmons at Westside I utilized the Tread Sled that they have in between my sets and this proved to be a great method. I plan on purchasing one of these soon (end shameless plug here). Basically, I would do a set and then perform 30-50 steps on the sled, then go right back into another set.

I have also done some other experimenting with the down time between sets; so far just on the benchpress, with some promising results. On my Dynamic day (50-70 percent of a max for 8-10 triples) I have been incorporating an extremely sub maximal set in between (10-25% at the most). As I had expected, the light sets, although fatiguing, do not affect the work sets in this scenario as they are working in different physiological energy systems. Also I have continued to make progress on my maximum effort day while doing this, which is mentionable as my body has processed about a hundred gallons of whiskey on my vacation down here, along with pulling a couple all nighters. A quick side note. I recently replaced all the fish in my diet with raw red meat, and all the vegetables with Jack Daniels, and although I felt good while doing this, the issue of the shared bathroom became an issue, so I had to switch back.

What To Do In Between Your Workout Sets

Dealing with a population of one (myself) with this training experiment, it is hard to reach any definite conclusions, but I have noticed a more full feeling in my upper body that I am pretty sure isn't just neurotic ego (I'm for sure this time Dr. Schaffer!), but specifically in my chest, arms, and shoulders. There is a great and obvious conditioning aspect, as with the constant movement I get into a sweat immediately, it seems to be helping me work on my form, and I am still getting stronger, so at the very least it has no apparent detrimental effect. Also my receding hairline is growing back, my erections seem fuller and harder, that constant feeling of overwhelming sorrow and depression stemming from the vast, black emptiness of the universe has somehow lifted and has been replaced with a warm glow and a soft angelic voice singing words of inspiration, love, and hope into my ears as I drift into a blissful slumber at days end with my full head of hair and my massive throb bing hard-on.

As far as implementation I would recommend trying this under the following conditions. 1) You are an experienced trainee. 2) You are following a Westside protocol, or are training sub maximally--for instance if you are doing, say, 5 sets of 5, with a weight you could handle for 10-12, or are doing singles and doubles with a sub maximal (80%) weight like a Shieko type of deal. And 3) No more than 25% (probably better off a bit lower) on the in between sets, and not to failure, just to fatigue. This may also be performed on a machine or bodyweight exercise, but may lose a little bit of the contribution to working ones form. In the very least it should help save you a trip to Wal-Mart for a larger pair of pants.

Please call with any questions
Aaron DiPrima
Strength Beyond
269-655-0066

 

 

 

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