OnFitness Magazine - May/June 2020 - 69

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Growth
hormone
and rests
between sets
Researchers at the
University of
Connecticut wanted
to examine the
relationship between
rest and growth
hormone release.

W W W. O N F I T N E S S M A G . C O M | V O L 2 0 N O 6 | 2 0 2 0

group with the one that opposes it. Here are the main
antagonistic superset combinations: chest and back,
triceps and biceps, quads and hamstrings, low back
and abs.
An antagonistic superset can consist of an
isolation exercise pair, a compound and then an
isolation exercise, or two compound movements.
How much rest occurs between the paired
exercises? It's the time that it takes you to get from
one exercise to the next. For some pairs, that time is
virtually instantaneous, such as a bench
press/dumbbell row duo or hamstring curl/leg
extension pairing if the machines are side by side.
Other pairings require walking between stations
- depending on the layout of the gym - such as a
dumbbell press/pull-up duo.
The antagonistic superset allows you to maintain
high-volume throughout a session, provided that the
session doesn't get too lengthy. So if you have a
chest/back day that takes an hour and fifteen minutes,
this same volume can be condensed into forty-five
minutes by employing pairings of chest and back
movements.
You may even be able to work with a greater load,
using the supersets, than you would with a traditional
scheme. In traditional sets, one muscle group gets
continually hammered, such as the chest in five sets

Then eurological effect of super setting
Perhaps you've heard of the Golgi tendon organ,
named after the Italian biologist and pathologist,
Camillo Golgi. This is like a shut-off switch in the
skeletal muscle to guard against too much tension in
the tendons (tissue that connects muscle to bone).
Muscle action is turned off so that there won't be any
tendon damage when there is too-high tension.
Let's use the quadriceps and hamstrings as an
example. If you do a set of leg extensions, the Golgi
tendon organs in the hamstrings will be relaxed
somewhat after you finish the set.
If you immediately follow up with hamstring
curls, the Golgi tendon organs in the quads will not
resist as much or " shut down " as much as they would
have, had you not preceded the hamstring curls with
the leg extensions.
The hams will not have to work against the quads
as much and thus can generate more force - which
of course can translate to bigger gains. This is called
antagonist relaxation.
In short, more work can be done with antagonistic
supersets in the same amount of time as traditional
sets. More work in the same amount of time, without
losing output, would logically mean more
hypertrophy.
Some classic antagonistic superset pairs include
the bench press with pull-ups, the bench press with
dumbbell rows, the dumbbell overhead press with
biceps curls, the lat pull-down with push-ups, the
seated row with dumbbell press', the dip with barbell
curls, the leg extension with leg curls, and the back
squat with deadlifts.
Last but not least is a simultaneous antagonistic
super superset: the renegade push-up row. This is a
superset within a superset: the chest then your back,
but alongside those, your triceps and biceps. The
renegade row is a push-up in between repetitions of
dumbbell rows.
What you do is, while holding onto dumbbells,
you do a push-up maintaining strict push-up form,
and at the top of the push-up, you pull one of the
dumbbells up to your chest as you would with a bentover row; pull it in driving your elbow toward the
ceiling, place the dumbbell back down, do a push-up,
then row with your other side.
Doing push-ups after every row ups the ante with
this fabulous exercise. Most people who do this
perform the push-up after every two rows, one row on
each side.
In addition to the back, chest, triceps, and biceps
getting worked, this movement also engages your
shoulders, forearms, and even to a degree, your legs.
And anybody who has done this exercise knows that
it hits the core hard. Z

of bench press with a ninety-second rests in between.
The same hammering occurs with, say, a barbell row.
Now imagine that you do a bench press set, then
immediately do the barbell row, and then rest ninety
seconds before doing the next bench/barbell row
superset.
Your chest will get longer than ninety seconds of
rest, but that extra time won't be without the added
benefit of giving your back muscles a good workout.
The longer rest time will enable a greater load, but
won't shortchange you because that extra time will be
used pumping out the barbell rows. It's like a two for
one deal.

Two groups of men
did six squat sets for
ten repetitions, resting
two minutes in
between each set. The
first group was ten
experienced
bodybuilders who
were used to short
rests. The second
group was physically
active, but not weight
trained. Growth
hormone levels were
then looked at.
Both groups had
similar growth
hormone levels at rest,
and also both had a
substantial rise in
growth hormones
following the training
session. However,
what about growth
hormone release
during the session?
The bodybuilders had
produced more lactic
acid, which triggers
the release of growth
hormones during
workouts.
A trained body can
train at a higher level
of lactate release.
Lactate acts as a
hormone that signals
the release of growth
hormones.

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OnFitness Magazine - May/June 2020

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