Functional training, HIIT, crossfit, powerlifting… In the world of fitness they are also the order of the day training methods or disciplines. Each one with its nuances and peculiarities. Some combine cardiovascular work with strength, giving priority to the former, and others focus mainly on increasing muscle mass. These that we have mentioned are the most popular in recent times, but there are more and perhaps less known today for people who are not experts in gym training. For example, him method 10/5/20which is actually another way of calling supersets, a concept that also boomed within fitness and is still very much alive.
The 10/5/20 method is a type of training where you works by number of repetitions and series. As his own points out, each series consists of three exercises in which the repetitions are marked by the sequence that gives the method its name: 5, 10 and 20. As the popular North American trainer explains Mike Rashid, It is a methodical but “quite flexible” way of training, with some simple guidelines to follow and easily customizable depending on the objectives of each person. In addition to the 5-10-20 sequence, “you’ll do 5 sets in each rep range and you have to start with a heavy compound movement, progress to a medium-weight assistance movement, and finish with a single-limb movement,” he explains. Coach.
The goal of this type of weight training is to place a large amount of metabolic stress on the target muscle fiber group, since all three exercises included in the series must activate the same muscle group. They don’t necessarily have to do it specifically, but they do have to prepare the muscle area that the third exercise is going to focus on, which does have to be located in a very specific muscle group. That is, in the same workout you can work several muscle groups, but the 10/5/20 method involves doing five sets of the same sequence of three exercises for the same group of muscle fibers.
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“What we get from a final set of 20 repetitions is a large amount of acidity that accumulates in the body,” they point out from Allegiate Gym, a training method created by former North American football players who use this training system in their sessions. “This acidity leads to a lipolysis (fat burning) pathway. Acidity can also lead to increased production of anabolic hormones which in turn leads to protein synthesis (muscle building)”, they continue to explain from a technical point of view.
What you get with a training based on supersets of 5, 10 and 20 repetitions is to “increase overall volume, work, and training effect,” and the set of work done is “a tiring, fat-burning, muscle-building block,” the Allegiate Gym experts conclude.
Specific exercises that fit into supersets
Mike Rashid states that 5-rep sets “are considered a good mix of size and strength training.” They must be heavy exercises but adjusted to the physical level of the person who trains with this method to achieve that number of repetitions that allow the muscle to grow.
In addition, it is essential that the exercise prioritize stability because a lot of weight is moved in the 5 repetitions. “Because you’re going to be lifting a lot here, you want to use a stable, compound movement that distributes the load across as many muscles as possible,” advises Rashid. That’s why, he adds, people tend to resort to basic, heavy lifts, “which hit the majority of the muscles and sets the stage for the rest of the workout,” he adds.
Some exercises suitable for 5 repetitions are: the bench press, the shoulder press, the deadlift, the squats and the pull-ups.
Next, the exercises for 10 repetitions, the middle station of the super set of the 10/5/20 method. “We’ll stick with big, compound lifts, but this is where we can use a bit of variety to help highlight our weak spots and work on building specific mass a bit more effectively than 5-rep sets,” Mike notes. Rashid.
Your personal trainer recommends these exercises for 10 reps: incline/decline bench, seated shoulder press or behind-the-neck press, front squat, leg press, machine shoulder/chest press, and T-bar row or power row hammer, among others.
Finally, the series of 20 repetitions closes, in which the bottom of the muscle becomes important to the detriment of the weight for obvious reasons, since there are 15 more repetitions per series than the first exercise.
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Mike Rashid assures that it is at this point in the work where you have to focus on the muscle group you want to work in that superseries. “This is not the brutal sets of 20-rep squats or the fatal sets we sometimes do at the end of the main workout, but rather a way to safely and effectively work smaller muscles, while sparing joints and muscles. small ligaments and tendons that are also important to train,” he says.
Although each master has his booklet to execute the 10/5/20 method, the expert recommends including “isolation and unilateral exercises in this group, since they generally benefit from a higher repetition range.”
The personal trainer gives some specific examples of exercises that would fit in this part of the job, although he assures that there are many different options: front, lateral and rear deltoid raises; dumbbell bench or shoulder press (including unilateral); rowing with one arm or ‘lat pull down’; single leg deadlift; or triceps extensions. «You can mix and match them as you see fit on a weekly basis if you wish», he concludes.
