And yeah, I know the name is kind of funny
and kind of ominous at the same time... ;)...

The Triple Add Set is a KILLER technique that targets all three
major muscle fiber types in one set. It's extremely challenging
and incredibly effective for building muscle!

If you're familiar with a Triple DROP Set, this is basically
the opposite...

To do a Triple Add Set, you're going to start with a relatively
light weight and do high reps. This targets the Type 1 or Slow
Twitch muscle fibers. These are the endurance-focused fibers
(also known as "red" fibers).

Then you'll immediately increase to a moderate weight and do
a moderate rep range (6 to 10 reps). This targets Type 2a fibers.
These are used for short-to-moderate duration, moderate-to-
high intensity work, as is seen in most weight training activities.

Then you'll immediately increase the weight once more...using
heavy weight, aiming for 1 to 3 reps. This targets the Type 2b
fibers...which are built for explosive, powerful and very short-
duration activity.

And yes, it sounds completely counter-intuitive to work the
fibers in this order (endurance to power)...and you CAN
absolutely do it the other way as well. Personally, I actually find
I get better muscle fiber activation in the second and third parts
of the set after performing the endurance training for the first
part of the set.

My theory is that by pre-fatiguing your endurance fibers, you
eliminate them from helping with the subsequent loads, forcing
greater recruitment of those fibers by the body to actually move
those loads. Then the same thing happens with the Type 2a
fibers (before doing the low-rep training).

I could be right...I could be wrong...I just know it WORKS.

Now, getting back to the exercise...

This Triple Add Set is going to be done using the Weight Plate
Pizza Press.

It's a very simple exercise for the shoulders...you'll just be
holding a single barbell plate flat on the palm of your hand
(like a pizza), then press it overhead.

This open hand position is similar in effect to "fat bar" training.
I find the open hand position to be very effective for increasing
delt activation during the exercise, similar to if you were doing
handstand push-up with your hands flat on the floor.

You'll have to do this exercise one arm at a time, as you'll need
the other hand to set the plate on and take the plate off.



I'm using a 25 lb weight plate for the first set. The weights you
use will obviously be determined by your own strength levels.
Aim for at least 25 or more reps on the first part of the set.



Then immediately switch hands.



Now set the plate down and grab the next heavier plate. I
went up to a 35 lb plate.





You should get at least 6 to 10 reps on this second part of the
set...the perfect rep range to target those Type 2a fibers.

Now increase the weight again. I went up to a 45 lb plate (and
just fyi, don't go higher than this by adding more plates on top
of each other unless you have a way to secure them...they
WILL slide around and you don't want to drop a plate).





And you're done!

As I mentioned above, you can use whatever weight
combinations work for you. If you find, however, that the
weight jumps are too much or too little, you can sub in a
dumbbell wherever you need to, to make the weight
increases work better.

For me, the 25, 35, 45 worked perfectly, but it may not for you.

Now rest 2 minutes and do it again, starting with the OTHER
hand on the next round (e.g. I started with the right hand on
each part the first time through...the next set, I started with
the left hand).

Give this exercise a try in your next shoulder workout and
let me know how you like it! It will give you a GREAT pump
in your shoulders and really hit them in a completely different
way then barbell or dumbell presses.

You can see the full technique in action on my YouTube channel
here (be sure to subscribe as well, so you don't miss any of
these cool training techniques!)



If you're interested in more INSANE shoulder training like this,
definitely check out my book "The Best Shoulder Exercises
You've Never Heard Of" now!

Nick Nilsson
The "Mad Scientist of Muscle"