At 53-years-old, Betty Pariso won the Tampa Pro women’s bodybuilding title on August 5 and will compete in her eighth Ms. Olympia on September 25-26. Pariso uses descending sets to push some sets beyond failure.

PARISO ON DESCENDING SETS

“I often incorporate descending sets into my training to up the intensity. It’s the easiest way to keep a set going beyond failure. For example, during pulldowns when I reach failure at eight reps, I can immediately put the pin in a lighter weight and keep going. Then when I reach failure again, I can easily lighten the weight again. Usually, two drops are enough, and I like to do it on my last set of exercises to make sure I’ve done all I can.”

BETTY PARISO’S BACK ROUTINE
EXERCISE SETS REPS
Chins 3 8-10
Bent-over rows 4 8-10
V-bar pulldowns 4 8-10
One-arm dumbbell rows 3 8-10