Silly Sets, a Serious Workout

Are your workouts getting stale? Have you hit a training plateau? If so, here is a simple way to re-energize your workouts and get your blood pumping fast!

Over time, any workout can become mundane. Even if you can handle the monotony, your body needs a jolt. Doing the same workouts week after week may be a comforting routine for you, but if done for too long, your body will stop responding. When this happens, you need to shock your body and force it to respond favorably.

With Silly Sets, you will find just the jolt your body needs. Over the years, there have been all sorts of new approaches to working out and even shaking up your workouts. A long time ago, someone decided to pair two exercises together to work muscle groups in tandem to create a great pump. These were called Super Sets.

Later, naturally, somebody decided to join three exercises and call this grouping of exercises, Giant Sets. I assume you can guess what’s coming?

I had used the routines above, long before they had names. This was simply the byproduct of living in the gym in the 1980’s. You get bored, you try things. Eventually someone gives these methods a name and sticks them in a magazine and, a trend is born.

I came up with Silly Sets in 2012. I was preparing for my first mud-run (at the age of 47) and I needed a way to prepare my muscles for endurance demands. I needed a way to work as many muscle groups as possible in the shortest amount of time. I wanted to improve my cardio endurance, and I needed to burn-off the last of my body fat. I found the answer I was looking for!

Now, if someone out there has come up with this method and given it a different name, I am not trying to take credit or step on any toes. I just thought of this method and gave it the appropriate name. And, here we go!

Silly Sets are a simple training tool that you can alter greatly for your needs. This is simply the grouping of 4 exercises, done back-to-back, in order to train as many muscle groups as possible all in a few simple sets. This is simple, but it can be as challenging as you want to make it.

The exercises are done with a set of dumbbells and a flat bench. That’s all you need . . . and a good bit of energy. The 4 exercises (in order) are; flat-bench dumbbell presses, straight-legged dead-lifts, one-arm dumbbell rows (I call these lawn-mower starters), and dead-lifts. Are you ready?

Simply grab a set of dumbbells which you can easily handle for at least 10 reps of chest presses. Go to the bench and do 10 reps of the following exercises, in order, for 4 sets each. Do NOT stop once you begin. Keep going without setting the weights down, except for your one-arm dumbbell rows.

1. 10 Reps Flat bench chest presses

2. 10 Reps Straight-legged deadlifts

3. 10 Reps (Each arm) One-arm dumbbell rows

4. 10 Reps Deadlifts

Do these sets one after the other, without stopping, and repeat 4 times. Never stop the entire time. This will take you about 9 minutes. You can use this to warm up before your workout, or as a great way to finish-up after a workout. Your body won’t know what hit it.

Used as a shake-up for a stale routine, you can do these two or three times a week for a month. This should help you get past your plateau. Or, if you are really ambitious and want to challenge yourself, you can try what I did. (I only did this once to prepare for the mud-run). It was very tough for me.

Do the Silly Sets as described above, but add this twist. Start out with Dumbbells at a weight that will challenge you. Do the exercises for 4 sets without stopping, then, still without stopping, grab dumbbells which are 5 lbs. lighter and do the sets all over again. Then, drop 5 more pounds and continue until you get to dumbbells which are too light for this exercise.

In my case, I started with 45 lb. dumbbells and kept going from 45, to 40, 35, 30, 25, 20. This was brutal. When I finished, it looked like someone had a water balloon fight at that bench.

I only did this once. I think I’ll try to get back to that again. This is a good challenge. I liked it, and I hope you will too. I will continue to share my gym thoughts, techniques and ideas.

Feel free to leave comments, questions or ideas. Everyone has something to share.

Stay fit my friends!

"Click to get fit!"