This method is one of the most commonly used methods for upping the intensity of a lifting workout.  If you were working your arms, you could efficiently use super sets to work your biceps and then your triceps.  You could start out working your biceps by doing alternating dumbbell curls and then immediately go to skull crushers to work your triceps.  When you complete one set of each exercise you have completed one super set and you would then rest  before starting another super set.

This methodology is common with workouts today because it allows you to get more done in a shorter amount of time.  It makes your gym time more efficient and the intensity level much higher.

You can then take the first two methods of increasing intensity and apply them to the super set technique.  It is possible to use a drop set as part of the super set.  You can also use timed repetitions with the super set.  Coupling either of those two methods with the super set is going to give you one very intense burn in your muscles.

Today I took my first spinning class.  It was intense.  I was sweating profusely and my heart rate remained high the entire time.  At the same time, when you do the spinning correctly, it works your legs, hamstrings and glutes.  It was a massive cardio workout. 

Additionally, after consulting with Carlos DeJesus about the lack of fire in the belly during Friday's lifting, I have decided to cut back to two days a week lifting.  Carlos had told me originally that this might happen.  He warned me that recovery would eventually become an issue.  To quote Carlos:

"The stronger you get, the harder you can train
That's what intensity is.
If you are stronger and can train harder, you will still need recovery time.
And as you get stronger and can train harder you will still need more time for recovery.
There is no guarantee that three days should be your Training Model with this type of intensity.
There should be no assumption that 3 is better than 2 days."

I noticed that it was taking me about 20 seconds to complete an exercise to 10 reps.  I would do 3 sets for a total of 60 seconds of work on the muscle group being trained.  When I switched to the 3 x 3 cadence I was able to drop down to 1 set.  You see that meant I was taking 60 seconds to complete 1 set of an exercise.  This was equivalent to the workload for 3 sets of an exercise.  This type of intensity allows you to get in and out of the gym quickly.

Time under tension is extremely important when lifting.  Your muscles work harder the longer they are kept under tension.  Time repetitions increase the time under tension naturally.  You also get to do a nice, slow, controlled rep, insuring that your form is accurate.  This leads to greater growth from the better form that you are using.  My legs have grown 0.5 inches in 3 weeks using the timed repetition method of intensity.  I've even added 0.25 inches to my biceps, a muscle group I could never get to grow in the past.  I've even lost an inch in my abdominal area and that is a result of holding in my abs when doing certain lifts as well as blasting them with the ab mat (I use timed repetitions on my ab work as well).

A drop set is when you take your exercise to the point of momentary failure, switch to a lighter weight and take that to the point of momentary failure and continue on down to the lowest weight.  When using dumbbells this can be a set number of drops as determined by you before you begin.  When using a barbell it ends when the bar is empty.

So you decide to make the curls more intense by using drop sets.  You know that you can curl 30 pound dumbbells for 12 repetitions.  You grab a pair of 30's and put them on the ground.  Next you grab 25's, 20's, 15's, 10's and 5's.  You line them all up on the floor so they are in order by weight from highest to lowest.

You step up to the 30's and you begin your set.  You get to 13 reps and you fail.  You immediately put down the 30's and immediately pick up the 25's and begin working again.  You continue this until you have gone to failure at every single weight level.  Only do one set like this in your bicep workout, but it will be a set that makes the entire workout extremely intense.

Another approach to drop sets is to have 2 weights you want to work with.  In the example of the curls, perhaps you'd have 30's and 20's lined up.  You would take the 30's to complete failure, set them down and immediately take the 20's to complete failure. 

Working out with drop sets is a sure fire way to increase the intensity of your workouts.  Whatever body part is subjected to this method will be screaming and on fire by the time you are done.  You will spur on growth like non other.  In addition, drop sets are a great way to get over a plateau in your training.  I personally enjoy using this technique on lat pull downs, curls, bench press, overhead press and many other exercises.  Give it a try and let me know your thoughts.