Supersets are an advanced training technique used to get past muscle plateaus and to help reduce the time spent in the gym. Supersets can be performed using any muscle group or groups, and with two or more different exercises to increase the intensity of the workout and stimulate muscle growth.
Supersets
A superset is when you perform a set of one exercise then immediately, without rest, perform a different exercise of the same muscle group. A superset usually involves performing a compound exercise such as the bench press using a moderate to heavy weight for six to eight repetitions. Then immediately following the bench press, perform a set of an isolation exercise such as cable crossovers or dumbbell flyes for 10 to 12 repetitions. The rest period does not occur until you have completed both the bench press and the cable crossovers. After one superset, rest one to two minutes before repeating the superset again.
Antagonist Supersets
An antagonist superset is when you perform a set of one exercise, then immediately perform a different exercise for a different or opposing muscle group such as the triceps press down and cable biceps curls. Antagonist supersets challenge muscular endurance and can save time by being able to complete more exercises and train more muscle groups in less time. Antagonist supersets are usually performed with muscle groups such as chest and back, quadriceps and hamstrings, and biceps and triceps.
Pre-Exhaust Supersets
Pre-exhaust supersets are similar to the standard supersets except an isolation exercise is performed before the compound exercise. Many times when performing compound exercises, the smaller muscle will fatigue faster than the larger ones. In the bench press, the chest is usually stronger than the shoulders and triceps. To compensate for this, perform a set of dumbbell flyes and superset bench press so that your chest is already fatigued prior to the bench press, resulting in your chest being thoroughly exhausted at the end of your superset. Other pre-exhausting supersets might include leg extension/squats, leg curl/straight leg deadlifts, lat pulldown/pullups, or lateral raises and dumbbell shoulder press.
Tri--Sets and Giant Sets
Supersets performed with more than two exercises in a row are called tri-sets or giant sets. Performing three exercises back to back of the same or different muscle groups is a tri-set, and four or more exercise is a giant set. Giant sets are similar to circuit training in which you quickly move from one exercise to the next without rest. Giant sets are commonly used for total workouts or abdominal training. A sample abdominal workout might be completing 15 repetitions of the following exercises for three giant sets --- leg lifts, reverse crunches, oblique twists and basic crunches.
References
- ExRx.net; Advanced Weight Training Techniques
- "Encyclopedia Of Modern Bodybuilding"; Arnold Schwarzenegger; 1985
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