Superset Training

SUPERSETS BENEFITS

Spice up your boring old workout routine with an innovative workout style known as super setting. But what is super setting you may ask? Superset training involves combining exercises, (usually two) and performing these two exercises in a row without any rest in between sets.

There are three major reasons why Supersets are so effective for training (and there are many more specific reasons that apply only to specific Superset types):

1. Supersets increase Lactic Acid production, which helps boost Growth Hormone (GH) levels in the body. The body responds to the reduced pH (increased acidity) in the body from the production of Lactic Acid by secreting GH. GH is a powerful fat loss and muscle building hormone.
   
   
2. Supersets are time-efficient. By doing sets back-to-back, you reduce your total workout time while still doing the same amount of total work. If you’re in a hurry in your workout, Supersets can get you out of the gym faster.
   
   
3. Different Superset combinations can help increase muscle fiber activation. Essentially, this means you can use specific exercise combinations to increase the intensity of work on a specific muscle, helping to develop it faster. 

Now that you know the benefit of supersets training, there are different types of supersets training that one can follow. Keep in mind when you’re doing these, they are intensity techniques and should not be used every day. Your body needs a chance to recover and using these techniques too often can hamper recovery. It is suggested to do supersets no more than once a week for any particular bodypart.


TYPE OF SUPER SETS

1. The Single Body-part Super set
 
This is the typical type of Super-set where you use two different exercises for the same body-part. An example of this doing a pull-down for the back then immediately doing a seated cable row for the back.

The benefit of this is to hit somewhat different fibers of the muscle from different angles but without giving the bodypart time to recover from the first exercise. This forces the body-part to work that much harder to complete the second exercise.
It’s a powerful increase in intensity and one that can dramatically ramp up muscle development.

2. Antagonistic Super-sets
 
Instead of doing two sets in a row for the same muscle, you will do two sets for directly opposing (antagonistic) muscle groups. An example of this is doing a bicep exercise then a triceps exercise.

Antagonistic Super-sets are excellent for allowing you to compress workout time while maintaining high strength levels. When you work an opposing muscle group directly after the original muscle, studies have shown that the nervous system activation can actually increase strength in the second muscle group when you work it.

The shoulders don’t technically have any direct antagonist muscle groups, but you can work with the specific shoulder exercise movements to do the opposite movement. For example, you can do dumbbell shoulder press then go directly into pull-downs for the back. You can also do rear dealt lateral then dumbbell flies.


The antagonist muscle to the two major calf muscles is called the tibial anterior. It’s a small and relatively weak muscle compared to the major calf muscles (the gastronomic and the coleus) and not particularly useful for doing Supersets with.

3. Pre-Exhaust Supersets
 
This type of Superset focuses on first utilizing an isolation (single joint) movement to "pre-exhaust" the target muscle group before doing a compound (multi-joint) movement to allow the secondary mover muscles to push the target muscle harder.


In English, that means you start with an exercise that works just the target muscle, such as a dumbell flye. When you’re done, you use an exercise that works the target muscle with help from other muscles, e.g. the bench press.

The net result is that you first exhaust the pecs with the flyes. When you move to the bench press, the pecs get help from the triceps and shoulders to help keep moving the weight, pushing the pecs much harder than they would normally have to work when doing the bench press.
The result of this is much faster muscle development!

4. Post Exhaust Supersets

The opposite of pre exhaust is post exhaust. In a post exhaust superset you would again choose a basic compound movement and an isolation movement. This time, however, you would perform the compound movement first and the isolation movement second. The advantage of the post exhaust superset is that you will be fresh on the compound movement so you can use more weight.
 

Post exhaust supersets can also be used as a very effective variation on the heavy-light system (specifically, it's concurrent periodization where you use multiple rep range training in the SAME workout). 

For example, instead of just doing the regular sets of 8-12 reps, choose a heavy basic movement for the first exercise and do about 6 reps. Then, follow it with a lighter isolation movement and go for 20 reps. This gives you the best possible of both worlds: a) size and strength increase, and b) isolation with a wicked pump.

5. Compound Supersets

This type of superset is reserved for very brave people. Supersetting two compound exercises together can create amazing muscle growth in a very short period of time, but it's incredibly demanding and exhausting. It takes all the energy you can muster to get through a series of compound supersets. If you use relatively heavy weights, it is also very taxing on the nervous system and requires that special attention be paid to recovery after the session. You DO NOT need many sets when you use compound supersets.

An example would be supersetting squats with leg presses. Another is the bent over row with a romanian deadlift (absolutely KILLER!... but avoid if you have low back problems). Combination like these can easily leave you lying flat on your back gasping for air, but the results are well worth it!

Good Luck and Happy Training!