Another example.
Performing dumbbell "side raises" immediately prior to behind-neck presses.
In this case,
perform a set of about ten repetitions of STRICT side raises with dumbbells; keep the palms of the hands turned down towards the floor, rather than permitting the palms to rotate forward –maintain a solid "lock" in the elbows, don't permit the arms to bend at all – keep the arms well "back" in line with your shoulders, if held far enough back the arms will "lock-up" in the shoulders at a point just above level –move smoothly and without body-swing – and continue with partial repetitions, following about ten full repetitions, until you are simply unable to move the dumbbells away from your sides.
Then – INSTANTLY – do a set of about ten repetitions of behind-neck presses; with a fairly narrow (slightly
wider than shoulder width) grip. And, again, carry this exercise to the point of utter failure.
And now the final example; pullovers immediately followed by pulldowns.
In this instance, do a set of as many as fifty repetitions of stiff-arm pullovers, carried to the point of failure – performed on a decline (head lower than feet) bench if you have one available.
Then, immediately perform a set of about twelve repetitions of
behind-neck "pulldowns" – using a fairly narrow (25 inches wide) grip, and with a bar designed to provide a
parallel grip, a grip such that the palms of your hands are facing each other when your elbows are forced back in
line with your shoulders.
Done properly, that cycle will "pre-exhaust" your latissimus muscles without tiring your arms – then, during the brief period while your arms are actually stronger than your upper-back muscles, you can take advantage of that momentary condition to use the strength of the arms to work the latissimus muscles much harder than would otherwise be possible.
But – IN ALL CASES – the "recovery time" of the pre-exhausted muscles is very brief indeed, usually
something on the order of three seconds, or less; thus, for best results, you must move INSTANTLY from one set of an exercise to the next set of another exercise, with no rest at all, not so much as two seconds of rest.
This principle can be applied to almost any compound exercise; simply decide which muscle you wish to
concentrate on, then pre-exhaust that muscle by the performance of an isolation type exercise, and then instantly involve the same muscle in a set of compound movements.
Obviously – when using this system – you WILL NOT be able to use anywhere near as much weight as you normally would in the particular compound exercises involved – in the above examples, these were the squats, the behind-neck presses, and the pulldowns; but you certainly will do far more in the way of stimulating muscle growth.
How many such cycles?
At first, not more than one – later, probably two cycles during each of three weekly workouts; but never more than three such cycles in any workout – and in that case, you would probably be well advised to practice those particular exercises only twice weekly.
And while I promised only three examples, it may be a good idea to add a few more; barbell curls, immediately followed by regular-grip chinning –triceps curls, immediately followed by parallel dips – stiff-arm supine lateral raises, immediately followed by barbell rowing motions. The list is almost endless.
Remember – during a workout, you are trying to build strength, not demonstrate it; the actual amount of weight is of no slightest importance –so long as it "feels" heavy to your muscles.
Try this principle – and try to understand it clearly; once you do, it can be used to simply enormous advantage
in workouts conducted for any purpose.