Trying to get in the best shape of your life while getting healthy in the process is stimulating, to say the least. Who doesn’t want to look better, feel better, and get healthier? If time is of the essence, and speed is important then bi-sets are an alternative worth trying out.
Two weeks into bi-set weight training Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and alternate Tuesday and Thursday for distance swimming aerobic activity, the new training program Maysa gave me, has been a blast though challenging. Maysa, a personal trainer threw me a lifeline by encouraging me to work on my results and midsection which had been disregarded, by creating a one-month course to change my training pattern that had been developed over many years.
After years of doing weights and fitness training, my muscles are well developed for a natural bodybuilder, if you can call it that, as coupled to life’s hectic schedule of ups and downs the toll has included overeating and consequently plenty of fat spread around certain areas of my body. I’ve been comfort eating, so my midsection is fatty. Overindulging on occasion has meant the need to work out for prolonged periods to help keep it in check. However, over the years the spread has gradually expanded. It is just damn right ugly!
Bi-sets are when we perform an exercise followed by another, for example, we do a chest exercise and then we do overhead triceps extension, without resting between sets. Alternatively, splitting it by upper and then lower body, and changing either immediately, or 5 or so seconds between exercises to get the blood racing, and consequently helping to improve fitness levels. It also allows the muscle trained time to recuperate.
E.g. Bench press 3 x 15/12/10 – overhead triceps extension 3 x 12 then repeat the process twice more. Then move onto the next combination of exercises.
1 – 15 bench press followed by 12 overhead triceps extension.
2 – 12 bench press followed by 12 overhead triceps extension.
3 – 10 bench press followed by 15 overhead triceps extension.
Bi-sets help a lot of people who don't have much time available in their training, making them naturally faster and more objective. Bi-sets are versatile, as several muscles can be incorporated into the training session.
An example could be bench press for chest muscles, and kettle raises for thighs and lumbar region, lunges for legs and press ups for chest, or straight arm pulldown with lateral bar and then pelvic extensions. Personal trainers seem to have a knack at selecting the right combinations, so if unsure, get one!
Over taxing the system could cause cortisol levels to rise which puts the body’s hormonal system under stress, so before beginning a high intensity program like bi-sets, make sure you are up to the challenge.
Take care!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Kettle raises = Agachamento SumôThighs (n) = The thigh is the part of the leg between the hip and knee, and it contains three primary sets of muscles: the quadriceps, at the front of the thigh. Coxa
Lumbar (adj) = Your lumbar spine is the lower back region of your spinal column or backbone. It consists of five bones. Other structures in or around your lumbar spine are your intervertebral disks, spinal cord and nerves, muscles, tendons and ligaments.
Lunges (n) are a popular strength training exercise among people wanting to strengthen, sculpt, and tone their bodies, while also improving overall fitness and enhancing athletic performance. This resistance exercise is popular for its ability to strengthen your back, hips, and legs, while improving mobility and stability. Afundo
Pelvic (adj) = Having to do with the pelvis. The pelvis is the area of the body below the abdomen that is located between the hip bones and contains the bladder and rectum. In females, it also contains the vagina, cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. In males, it also contains the prostate and seminal vesicles.
Knack (n) = technique, ability, facility, skill, ability