For quite some time now I have been using super sets during my workouts. For those that don’t know, a super set is doing one or more exercises in a row with little to no rest between them.
There are a couple good reasons to do so.
For starters, it will challenge your endurance, especially if you have never tried it before. Done right, you may not have to do traditional cardio because you will get a sufficient amount from weight training. Another benefit is getting the workout done much faster than if you simply went through each exercise alone.
There are a few different ways to incorporate supersets. I’ll share with you three ways that I fit them into my routines.
Agonist/Antagonist
I usually follow an upper/lower split meaning I train upper body and lower body each twice per week. On upper body days, I superset a pulling movement with a pushing one.
For example, here’s a video from last week showing bench press followed by dumbbell rows:
I like doing the antagonistic pulling movement for every push I do. So for a horizontal push like the bench I do a horizontal pull, a row.
For overhead press, which is in the vertical plane, I choose to do pullups, which are in the same plane.
This makes sure that I get the work done faster, my conditioning is improved, and I have a nice balance between push and pull.
I don’t use them as much on lower body days since the squat and deadlift are very taxing. On lower days I might superset a core movement if I’m up to it.
Superset a Similar Movement
Another thing you can try is doing a similar movement that works the same muscle groups as the first exercise, instead of working the opposite muscles.
This is very challenging and will definitely get you a nice pump.
Here is a video of Scooby, the godfather of youtube fitness, doing a little circuit for chest.
He does pushups, dumbbell flies, and dumbbell bench press back to back to back.
I tried this very workout before and it was extremely tough!
Giant Set at the End of a Workout
One last way I like to incorporate supersets is by making a giant set to go through at the end of my workout.
I focus on the main movements for the day- squat, overhead press, bench press, or deadlift and then the main assistance exercise. After those are done, I have been putting my accessory work together in a big circuit along with some conditioning exercises to add more cardio into the workout.
This has been my favorite way to do accessory work for awhile now. Set up the equipment and do two or three rounds and you are done. Here is an example from my squat workout last week:
Main work:
Squat – 5×5
Deadlift – 3×5
Accessory- Perform 3 rounds as fast as possible:
Box Jumps x6
Lunges x10
Farmer Carry to porch and back
Jumprope – 30 double unders
Ab wheel x10, hanging leg raise x10, bicycle crunches x20
This makes for a great finisher to any workout and is great for those with limited time to do cardio.
Here is a video of Brian Alsruhe, a gym owner and strongman competitor, doing giant sets in his workout:
That’s it for this post, hopefully this gives you some ideas about how to structure your workout and helps make your time in the gym more efficient.
Get off your phone during your rest periods and give it a shot for your next workout!
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Until next time, stay strong!