• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The BarBend Logo in white.

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Top Athletes
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • HYROX
    • Competition Results
    • Latest Research
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini Massage Guns
      • Individual Recovery Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainers
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
        • Best Fat Burners for Men
        • Best Fat Burners for Women
        • Best Non-Stim Fat Burners
      • More Supplements
        • Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
        • Best Supplements for CrossFit
        • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
        • Best Supplements for Bodybuilding
        • Best Supplements for Men
        • Best Supplement Stacks
      • Individual Supplements Reviews
    • Equipment
      • Cardio
        • Best Treadmills
        • Best Rowing Machines
        • Best Exercise Bikes
        • Best Ellipticals
        • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Strength
        • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
        • Best Dumbbells
        • Best Kettlebells
        • Best Barbells
        • Best Squat Racks
        • Best Free Weights
        • Best Weight Benches
        • Best Resistance Bands
        • Best Slam Balls
        • Best Weighted Vests
        • Best Leg Extension Machines
        • Best Cable Machines
        • Best Power Racks
        • Best Pull Up Bars
      • Best Home Gyms
        • Best Smart Home Gyms
        • Best Gym Equipment Under $100
        • Best Home Gym Essentials
        • Best Home Gym Flooring
      • Individual Equipment Reviews
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Apparel
        • Best Weightlifting Shoes
        • Best Cross Training Shoes
        • Best Gym Bags
        • Best Gym Shorts
      • Training
        • Best Weightlifting Belts
        • Best Knee Sleeves
        • Best Lifting Straps
        • Best Grip Strengtheners
        • Best Wrist Wraps
        • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Individual Fitness Product Reviews
    • Certifications
      • Best Sports Nutrition Certifications
      • Best Personal Trainer Certifications
      • Best Nutrition Certifications
      • Individual Certifications Reviews
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
      • Individual Program Reviews
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Nutrition Tips
      • Daily Protein Needs
      • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
      • Foods With Creatine
      • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Bent-Over Row
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Crunches
      • Farmer’s Carry
    • Best Exercises
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Back Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Glute Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Hamstring Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Calf Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
      • Triceps Exercises
    • Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • German Volume Training
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • The Cube Method
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Build Your Own Program
    • Fat Loss
      • How to Burn Fat
      • Spot Fat Reduction
      • How to Train on a Cut
      • Body Conditioning
      • Workouts
        • Kettlebell Circuits
        • Dumbbell Complexes
        • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Muscle Gain
      • Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
      • How to Build Muscle
      • How to Maintain Muscle
      • What Researchers Say About Muscle Gain
        • Workouts
          • 20-Minute Workouts
          • Kettlebell Circuits
          • CrossFit Workouts for Muscle
          • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator
  • Community Forum
Home » Training Guides » Want to Build a Resilient and Strong Body? Try Using Bulletproof Trisets

Want to Build a Resilient and Strong Body? Try Using Bulletproof Trisets

Save time in the gym by implementing trisets!

Written by James Alt
Last updated on July 25th, 2023

If you are a strength training junkie, then you eat, sleep, and live for a heavy barbell in your hands. There is no doubt about it, locking out a heavy deadlift makes you feel like the strongest person on the planet.

Unfortunately, heavy lifting can lead to nagging aches and pains. This is something that most strength athletes have experienced at some point in their lifting career. The biggest reason for this is that strength athletes spend most of their time chasing more reps and more weight. That’s the nature of it.

You’d probably laugh at me if I said you should be putting in the same amount of time and effort into your prehab routine as your lifting. Well, you’re probably also the person that needs to continue reading this article.

How to Use Trisets
Photo to By Jasminko Ibrakovic / Shutterstock

Editor’s note: This article is an op-ed. The views expressed herein and in the video are the author’s and don’t necessarily reflect the views of BarBend. Claims, assertions, opinions, and quotes have been sourced exclusively by the author.

Playing the Long Game

The ability to lift heavy and stay healthy during your strength career is the ultimate goal. Avoiding injury means that you won’t have any major setbacks, hence more opportunities to continue getting stronger.

Bottom line is that the person who can lift for the longest period of time and sustain limited to no injuries will be the strongest.

So how exactly do you go about staying healthy over the long run? Bulletproof yourself.

What Does it Mean to Be Bulletproof?

Bulletproofing your body is exactly what it sounds like. Your body needs to act like a bulletproof vest and be prepared to take a hit at any moment!

Think about it. We put our shoulders, elbows, wrists, back, hips, knees, ankles, etc. through a ton of stress while lifting. In order to keep all of those areas intact and ready to ‘take a hit’ we need to think about how we can bulletproof them.

The Bulletproof Formula

When I think about being bulletproof, there is a definition of strength that I live by; and it has nothing to do with how much you squat.

For me, the definition of bulletproof strength is:

Strength = Mobility + Stability

This means that the body parts and joints we mentioned above will require adequate attention in both mobility and stability EVERY training session.

https://youtu.be/wH4e5WTkJRE

The Injury Cycle

Many people will only begin to introduce mobility and stability training after they have become injured. They will end up spending 30 minutes performing crazy yoga poses, then knock out hundreds of banded pull aparts in an attempt to improve their injury. After 2 weeks of becoming a so-called rehab guru, they are back under a heavy barbell.

Now that they are back to their regularly scheduled programming, the mobility and stability training gets thrown out the window. A few weeks or months later, they get re-injured and start the cycle over again.

The key to not falling victim to the injury cycle is never bringing your mobility and stability training to a halt.

Bulletproof Trisets

If you’re interested in building a bulletproof body while lifting heavy, then you should try implementing trisets.

The concept behind a triset is simple. Pair three exercises with little rest periods between them. The magic is in how we use the triset to keep your training efficient and healthy.

Who Should Perform Back Squats
Who Should Perform Back Squats

I like to call it a ‘Bulletproof Triset’ (I know, not very creative). The idea is that you will have a main compound lift for the day and during your rest period you will perform one mobility exercise and one stability exercise. Here is a template of how it would look:

  • 1A) Main Lift
  • 1B) Stability (specific to the main lift)
  • 1C) Mobility (specific to the main lift)

Benefits of Trisets

1. Saves You Warmup Time 

I’m sure we all know that one person that warms up for a half hour. In my opinion, this is a waste of time. Using a Bulletproof Triset, you can perform a 5-10 minute dynamic warm up and then jump right into your lifting. The stability and mobility work that will be performed throughout the triset act as your warm up.

I’m sure you also know that person who walks into the gym and starts lifting cold. A Bulletproof Triset would be perfect for this individual because they can still walk into the gym and start to lift… but they would actually be adding a warm up to their routine without even knowing it. They are bound to feel amazing once they introduce some stability and mobility work.

https://youtu.be/U4YQjqBERvk

2. Automates Rest Periods

Most people rest anywhere from 2-5 minutes between lifts. What do they do during that rest period? They are on their phones.

Instead of staring at your phone, you’re better off doing something useful between your sets. Stability and mobility are perfect to use here!

It is actually useful to automate your rest period. For example, you perform a set of squats and plan to rest 3 minutes before your next set. After performing the remainder of your triset (stability and mobility), you don’t even need to think about how much time is remaining in your rest. Just walk over to the bar and start lifting!

Public Service Announcement: THIS WILL NOT RUIN YOUR GAINZ! Don’t worry, adding in these movements during your rest will not impact how much weight you are lifting. The main lift will always be the focus, whereas the stability and mobility are meant to be performed at a very submaximal effort.

3. Volume

As mentioned earlier, most lifters don’t spend enough time on the small things such as stability and mobility. Using a Bulletproof Triset ensures that you are putting in an equal amount of time for lifting and prehabbing your body.

Lower Body Example

5 Sets:
1A) Main Lift: 5 back squats
1B) Stability: 8 banded terminal knee extensions (TKE) per leg
1C) Mobility: 30 second couch stretch per leg

The goal of this example would be to build strength in the squat, develop knee stability, and increase quad and hip flexor mobility.

Upper Body Example

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nuclear Strong | James Alt (@nuclearstrong)

5 Sets:

1A) Main Lift: 5 overhead press
1B) Stability: 10 cuban rotations
1C) Mobility: 30 second banded shoulder distraction per side

The goal of this example would be to build strength in the overhead press, develop rotator cuff stability, and improve overhead mobility.

Wrapping Up

Bulletproof Trisets give you the best bang for your buck when you are trying to lift heavy and stay healthy. If you are in the strength game for the long run, then this is the type of training that you should consider using. You’ll be well prepared the next time the barbell tries to take a shot at you!

About James Alt

James is a strength and conditioning enthusiast based out of Long Island, NY. He has trained clients of all kinds through his work in physical therapy offices, CrossFit gyms, and an athletic performance internship at Stony Brook University (D1). James has also launched Nuclear Strong, a strength and conditioning brand that offers online training programs with a focus on getting strong, looking good, and feeling healthy. He holds a Master’s in Applied Healthcare Informatics and is currently pursuing a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Latest Reviews

EveryPlate Review

EveryPlate Review (2025): A Tasty, Budget-Friendly Meal Kit, Tested By Our Experts

ARMRA Colostrum Review

ARMRA Colostrum Review (2025): A Certified Nutrition Coach’s Critique of this Trending Supplement

Sun Home Luminar Review

Sun Home Luminar Review (2025): Our Experts Sweat It Out With This High-Quality Outdoor Sauna

Cover image for CookUnity review of a filled reusable box of 6 CookUnity meals

CookUnity Review (2025): An Expert-Tested and Flexible Prepared Meal Service

Transparent Labs Prebiotic Greens Review

Transparent Labs Prebiotic Greens Review (2025): Our Experts Examine This Nutrient-Filled Profile

BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2025 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap