This is an e-mail question I got the other day from one of my online followers. It’s a very common question that I get on a regular basis so I decided to post this one for the benefit of all my readers…

Question:

Lee,

Thank You,
Roger

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Answer:

Hi Roger,

Of all the exercises out there I think I get more e-mails asking for variations to squatting than anything else. People will complain that squats hurt their knees, hurt their back, hurt their shoulders, or that they are just plain scared of doing squats.

And you know what, I think every single bodybuilder, weightlifter, or powerlifter out there has felt all these things to some degree or another.

After all no body in their right mind can get under a loaded barbell like that and say it “feels good”. I personally hate doing squats, but I love the results they provide. So for one workout a week I just bite the bullet and squat! Now any squat variation is a good exercise because it’s a big basic compound movement works multiple muscle groups.

Barbell Squats

Squats move your entire body through space while doing the exercise. This really stimulates the central nervous system and triggers a high level of neuromuscular activation compared to exercises where you just move your limbs.

But in all honesty I still think nothing can replace the good old fashion barbell squat. It’s a brutally tough exercise and the fact that it’s so tough is what makes it so effective. Now you can mix up the squat variations you do (i.e. a few weeks of dumbbell squats, a few weeks of front squats, a few weeks of back squats, etc.)

You can even change things up from time to time and do leg presses or hack squats as a easier variation. But you should always come back to regular squats as a foundational exercise in your workouts. You’ll find that as you make gains in the squat, the rest of your body will grow in proportion.

Now back to your original question about dumbbell squats; they are ok, but once you work up to any amount of weight at all they can be quite awkward to perform. And squatting deep with dumbbells is hard because the weights usually hit the floor before you truly do a “full squat”.

Dumbbell Squats

Hip Belt Squats

An alternative that you may wish to try are Hip Belt Squats. This will allow you to squat big, and squat deep, without placing stress on your back, shoulders, etc. It’s a better alternative to dumbbell squats in my opinion.

IronMind sells the hip belt squat attachments. But if you’d like more info about how to actually get the most benefit from this exercise. My friend and old school bodybuilder Dennis Weis (aka: The Yukon Hercules) has written a cool little e-Book called:

Hip Belt Squats ‘The Great Anabolic Equalizer’

This training guide will show you how to incorporate Hip Belt Squats into your leg workout routines for developing the ultimate in explosive quads. You will learn in explicitly calculated detail one of the best exercises for blasting your quads and hamstrings into the piston action force of a kangaroo kick.

Build large impressive KILLER QUADS! loaded with power and slabs of undiluted muscular refinement. The information in this e-Book training guide is encapsulated for easy, quick reading and effective application.

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Sound simple?
Well it is. But there are many different combinations and variations of the Super Set that you can use to make it an incredibly powerful training technique in your workouts:

Such As:
- Antagonist Muscle Super Set
- Pre-Exhaust Super Set
- Post-Exhaust Super Set
- Staggered Super Set

We’ll cover the different Super Set variations in this blog post.

Antagonist Muscle Super Set

An antagonist muscle Super Set is when you exercise opposite muscle groups.
For example, doing a set of bicep curls followed by a set of tricep push downs.

Antagonist muscle Super Sets are excellent for allowing you to compress workout time while maintaining high strength levels. They are my personal favorite kind of Super Set. When you work an opposing muscle group directly after the original muscle it helps to actually INCREASE strength in the second muscle group when you work it.

A great example of an antagonistic Super Set would be to train biceps and triceps together. So you would do a bicep exercise like standing barbell curls, followed by a tricep exercise like tricep push downs (or vice versa). That will be one “Super Set”. You would then rest for a couple minutes and proceed with your next set and so on. Not only will this save time and work the muscles harder, but it will give you an incredible pump throughout your arms as well.

The best muscle groups to pair up for Antagonist Muscle Super Sets are:
- Chest & Back
- Biceps & Triceps
- Quadriceps & Hamstrings

Pre-Exhaust Super Set

In a pre-exhaust Super Set you work on the same muscle group with an isolation exercise first, and then follow up with a compound exercise immediately after without resting in between sets. This is a great way to help build up your stubborn muscle groups.

For example; let’s say your chest is a stubborn muscle group for you that isn’t growing well. In this case you probably have a hard time feeling your pecs working when doing chest exercises like the bench press. So a great way to work around this problem is to start with an isolation exercise to pre-exhaust your pecs first, before moving on to your compound exercises after.

So you could start with a set of pec deck flys, immediately followed by a set of barbell bench presses. That will be one “Super Set”. You would then rest for a couple minutes and proceed with your next set and so on.

The pec deck flys will isolate, pump, and pre-exhuast your pecs before you move on to the bench press. Which is a compound pressing exercise that not only works the chest, but brings the triceps and shoulders into play as well.

Here are some good examples of Pre-Exhaust Super Sets:

Shoulders:
- dumbbell side lateral raises + barbell shoulder press

Chest:
- pec deck fly + bench press

Biceps:
preacher curls + standing barbell curls

Triceps:
- tricep push downs + close grip bench press

Legs:
- leg extensions + squats

Post-Exhaust Super Set

Another version of super setting is the post-exhaust method. This is the exact opposite of the pre-exhaust Super Set. So instead of starting your target muscle with an isolation move, and finishing with a compound move. You start with the compound move first, and finish with the isolation move afterwards.

This still works the targeted muscle hard, but it will allow you to lift heavier weight for the compound exercise because your targeted muscle group is not pre-exhausted yet. One method isn’t necessarily better or worse, there are pros and cons to both pre-exhaust and post-exhaust Super Sets. But you could cycle through doing several weeks of pre-exhaust style Super Sets, and then several weeks of doing post-exhaust Super Sets to reap the benefits of both variations.

Staggered Super Set

This type of Super Set pairs up training totally unrelated muscle groups. And it’s a great way to “sneak in” extra training for stubborn hard to grow muscle groups. For example; let’s say your calves are a stubborn body part for you. One way to get extra calve training into your workouts is to Super Set in calve raises with your other body part workouts.

For example, when doing your chest workout you could simply add in a quick set of calve raises after each set. So once you finish up a set of bench presses, go over and rep out a set of calve raises. Then rest a couple minutes and repeat. This would be considered a Staggered Super Set.

You could also do the same thing with abs. Just toss in a set of crunches or leg raises in between your other exercises.

Adding in Staggered Super Sets work best with smaller non taxing muscle groups such as abs, calves, forearms, etc. You wouldn’t want to stagger set in a big move like deadlifts with your regular workout routine because the deadlift is such a demanding exercise in itself. But you could easily stagger set in calve raises, crunches, or wrist curls with pretty much any other workout.

Super Sets are a VERY effective technique. Give one of these Super Set variations a try in your next workout, and then leave me a comment below letting me know how it works for you!

I bet you’ll be amazed by how much they jack up the training intensity of your workouts and help stimulate new muscle growth!

Vince Gironda Doing The Low Pulley Lat Pull Variation. He also did a ‘high pulley’ variation of this move, which I demonstrate in the video clip below…

Vince Gironda is an old time legend and was the outspoken bad boy of old-school bodybuilding!
Gironda is often quoted as saying that bodybuilding is 85% nutrition. In fact, he was what some may call a health food nut. He was also an early proponent of low carb dieting and was the first truly “Ripped Bodybuilder”.

In addition to his nutrition theories, he had what many consider “unorthodox” training ideas. His secret to muscle building success was was in the combination of proper exercises and the strict adherence to proper exercise form.

And one prime example of such an unorthodox exercise is the Gironda Lat Pull…
This move helps build maximum back width and V-taper from the combination of a
full stretch and a strong peak contraction of the lats with very strict form.

Give this exercise try and then leave me a comment below letting me know how it works for you!

And if you want to get some more interesting old-school bodybuilding tips & tricks, be sure to pick up a copy of the Vince Gironda Program at: www.VinceGirondaProgram.com

Click Here To Get Your Copy Now…

I just wanted to share some killer “Pumped Up” workout gym pics with you.

I just got these pics today and posted them up on my Total Fitness Bodybuilding Facebook Fan Page