Antagonistic SuperSets: Bize and Trize

You are running low on time, you have a Zoom date in 60 minutes and you want to make sure your arms look nice and pumped while on quarantine. You need a quick fix to blast the bize and trize but you only have 30 minutes to really get YOKED. What can you do to stimulate that massive pump?

Massive Pump

We know the in’s and out’s behind chasing the PUMP. When a relationship is on the line and there is a minimal amount of time to get swole, there are a few tricks that can be used to spark that sarcoplasmic growth in the upper arms.

Remember, there needs to be a significant amount of Time under Tension and there needs to be some rest period in place to pull the extracellular water inside the muscle fiber. If we can stimulate enough of a metabolic response in 30 minutes, we could theoretically put the icing on the cake in regards to impressing our dream girl through the quarantined Zoom meeting.

Forget the principles of Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy? Check this out:

WTF Is It?

Training the bicep and tricep is like having two peas in a pod, like white on rice, like cheese and wine...you get it. This is the most fun training an athlete can do. The reward is incredible, it’s not overly difficult and the discomfort is borderline enjoyable. The key? ANTAGONISTIC SUPERSETS!

But what does that even mean? For starters, antagonistic would mean opposing muscle groups. If we are smashing bench presses, the opposing muscular group would be some form of horizontal row or pull up. These muscular groups would be referred to as “antagonistic.”

When referring to a superset, what does that specify? This is taking an exercise that would be a priority (again, the bench press) and pairing it with another assistance based movement that may not be as much of a priority (row or pull up in this case). A few key aspects come into play when utilizing antagonistic supersets.

Supersets For Gains, but WHY?!?!?!

When training for tricep strength and size with bicep strength and size, we can use one muscle group to help stimulate recovery for the opposing group. Research has shown that when a tricep exercise is done during a rest period of a bicep movement, the bicep muscle actually recovers faster and is able to put out more force, thus leading to more strength! Remember, strength gains will ultimately lead to size gains!

As the arm flexors are hammered, they undergo a significant amount of stress in the elbow joint. Fortunately, utilizing tricep movements in conjunction with bicep exercises leads to a tremendous improvement in structural integrity. The elbow joint tends to function healthier because both muscle groups grow synergistically. This improvement of structural integrity also leads to a healthier shoulder joint, likely due to the improvement in the bicep, which inserts at the shoulder.

When time is ticking and you have somewhere to be, nothing gets work done like supersetting antagonists. In this case, those antagonists are the biceps and the triceps. By creating 3-4 antagonistic exercises, we are able to get a significant workload accomplished in a very short period of time. Three to four movements may otherwise take up to 45 minutes to execute, with proper rest periods and timing, supersets ultimately only take about 20-30 minutes when working 3-4 movements!

What are the Best Pairings

Let’s get down to the nuts and bolts. Enough of the science, no one gives a shit about that anyway, we want to get BIG! Inside Bize and Trize 2, we cover some of the craziest and most effective ways to smash the upper arm. We will share THREE of our favorite Bize and Trize pairings, just to help you chase DaPump.

1A) Miracle Gro 5 x 12

1B) Hammer Curls 5 x 17/17

2A) DB Tricep Extension 4 x 20

2B) Incline Curl 4 x 17

3A) Tricep Pushdown 3 x 30

3B) Zottman Curls 3 x 30

This workout will get you absolutely DESTROYED and blow up your sleeves for the first time in your entire life. By working antagonistic muscles.

That feeling when you are about to have your Quarantined Zoom Date after some serious Bize and Trize...

Recap

We know what happens from a physiological perspective when we smash high rep sets with minimal rest. There is clear comprehension behind the hormonal response as well. By utilizing antagonistic movements, the individual is capable of getting more work done in a shorter period of time while enhancing their own recovery AND improving their structural integrity. This will lead to greater development long term and a much higher rate of mechanical loading which leads to greater muscle protein synthesis and greater growth from muscle mass!