If you want to achieve hypertrophy in a muscle, one of the key factors to focus on is Time Under Tension (TUT).

In the case of building muscle, you need to put that muscle under continuous tension for at least 40-60 seconds.

This is not always easy to do...it's painful and it's humbling in terms of the amount of weight you can use, when done properly. When most people train in a "normal" fashion, there are breaks in the tension. For example, the bottom of a curl or the top of a bench press are two key points where you might "rest" during a set.

When doing a strict TUT style of set, you need to eliminate those rest positions and focus on maintaining tension in the target muscles.

 

That's where this TUT In-Set Superset comes into play.

An In-Set Superset is specific type of superset that alternates reps of two different exercises targeting a single muscle that share either a start or end position.

In this case, we're going to be alternating overhand-grip barbell rows and overhand-grip deadlifts.

Since the row is the weaker exercise, we'll be using that as the "load limiter" for the combination. In other words, use a weight you can row for at least 10-12 good reps.

The deadlift will be relatively easy with that weight, but since the focus is on tension on the lats, you'll need to focus on maintaining that tension as you come up into the top of the deadlift. I'm using 185 lbs in the demo here.

First, you're going to grip the bar, a little outside of shoulder width, then stand up with it to perform a deadlift first.

Now, come down into the bottom position of the row.

DO NOT SET THE BAR ON THE FLOOR DURING THE ENTIRE SET.

This is in all-caps because it's absolutely critical to the goal of the set. Keeping the bar off the floor means CONTINUOUS TENSION on the lats.

Now row it up.

Lower it down to the bottom of the row...and again, DO NOT let the bar touch the floor.

Now deadlift it back up.

Keep going for as many reps as you can get...the goal is going to be TIME UNDER TENSION of at least 40 seconds. We're not concerned about the exact number of reps you get, just that keep that tension on the lats and that you FEEL them loaded under tension.

And yes, this technique is HARD...and totally worth doing, especially if you have a hard time feeling your lats working in other back exercises.

Do 3-4 sets of this technique, first in your back training, while you're fresh. You don't want grip or lat fatigue from other exercises to be a limiting factor with this style of training. Take at least 1 to 1 1/2 minutes rest in between sets.

And feel free to curse me as you're doing them...I know I did.

The video of this In-Set Superset combination really shows you exactly the kind of movement, tempo and tension you need to keep for optimal back development.

Enjoy!

Nick Nilsson
The Mad Scientist of Muscle

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https://youtu.be/Wzulbu_LtZQ
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