Several years ago, legendary strength coach Charles Poliquin popularised a version of a triset called 6/12/25. With this method, you would pick 3 exercises for the same muscle and perform a set of 6 to failure, rest 10 seconds and perform a different exercise for the same muscle at 12RM, rest 10 seconds again and then perform a final set of 25 reps on yet another different exercise for the same muscle group. Several kinds of these triset have been used with success over the last couple of decades. I have seen 6/12/20 and 8/15/20 used by other authors before I actually read about 6/12/25. What makes them unusual is the ascending rep scheme used over the 3 exercises, rather than the reps being held constant. The varying rep zones allow for different activation of muscle fibre pools to be activated and exhausted.

There are several different ways that ascending rep protocols can be used, some target muscle hypertrophy, others would be used for fat loss. Here are several ways ascending reps can be used, based 6/12/25 as the model.

Classic Triset - Hypertrophy
A1. Podium deadlifts, 4x6, 40X0, rest 10 seconds
A2. Dumbbell lunges, 4x12, 20X0, rest 10 seconds
A3. Heels elevated dumbbell squat, 4x25, 20X0, rest 3 minutes

Ascending Reps Every Set Triset - Hypertrophy
A1. Incline dumbbell press
A2. Lying dumbbell press with rotation
A3. Bench press
Set 1 performed at 6RM for all 3 exercises. Set is performed at 12RM and set 3 at 25RM.

Ascending Rep Giant Set - Fat Loss
A1. Podium sumo deadlifts, 4x6, 40X0, rest 10 seconds
A2. Incline dumbbell press, 4x6, 40X0, rest 10 seconds
A3. Back squats, 4x12, 30X0, rest 10 seconds
A4. Close grip pulldowns, 4x12, 30X0, rest 10 seconds
A5. Dumbbell deadlifts, 4x25, 20X0, rest 10 seconds
A6. Bench press, 4x25, 20X0, rest 3 minutes.

Ascending Reps Every Set Circuit - Fat Loss
A1. Back squat
A2. Bench press
A3. Romanian deadlift
A4. Underhand grip pulldowns.

B1. Leg press
B2. Standing dumbbell press
B3. Back extensions
B4. Seated row, close grip

Here we have 2 circuits of 4 exercises each. Perform the A-group at 6RM with a 40X0 tempo, resting 60 seconds between all exercises. When you perform set 2 of the A's, drop the weight and perform 12 reps on a 30X0 tempo, resting 60 seconds between lifts. Set 3 will be performed at 25 RM on a 20X0 tempo, again resting 60 seconds. Once all 3 sets are done, move on to the B-group and do the same 6/12/25 rep scheme over the 3 sets.