SUPERSETS: WHEN ONE EXERCISE JUST ISN'T ENOUGH
Still, walking around with puny arms?
Tired of doing the same old boring workout routine?
Want to spice things up and add some variety to your gym sessions?
Supersets could be the answer!
Supersets are when you pair two exercises together and perform them back-to-back without rest in between. It's like a workout version of a two-for-one deal. Who doesn't love a good deal?
They are so easy to slot into your workouts and they'll leave you feeling like a superhero 🦸♂️
Supersets have always used two exercises with the original concept utilising the exercises for the same muscle group or opposites.
The benefits of each type:
Same muscle superset
Same muscle group supersets are great at blasting one specific muscle group. You’re getting a good amount of volume and intensity to fatigue the muscle. Great for muscles that are lagging behind.
Here are 3 of my favourite examples 👇
A1 — Bench press
A2 — Press-ups
A1 — Lat pulldown
A2 — Bent over row
A1 — Squat
A2 — Lunge
Opposite muscle superset
This type is fantastic if you want to hit more than one muscle group at a time without burning out too early in the workout. Alternating each side of the body is a great way to add many more exercises into your workouts saving you time.
You’ll also find you may not need to rest as long as the opposite muscle is resting already when you’re performing one exercise. It’ll tax your cardiovascular system to meaning you burn more calories and get some aerobic fitness benefits.
What’s not to love about this type? As you can tell this is my favourite 🤩 of the two for my own training and clients.
Here are 3 of my favourite examples 👇
A1 — Bench press
A2 — Bent over row
A1 — Lat pulldown
A2 — Shoulder press
A1 — Squat
A2 — Romanian deadlift
Supersets with a twist of lemon 🍋
Here’s a third type of superset which trumps the other two in my opinion. I love these even more than the other two.
Instead of being specific with your combinations my type of supersets just combine two exercises together from any area of the body. This means they are the easiest thing you programme.
Literally, just pick two of your favourite exercises and perform them back to back. Zero rules for these.
If you want even more benefits try them this way.
Choose an upper-body exercise and a lower-body exercise in the superset. This really gets the heart rate going as your body is having to work even harder to push blood around the body.
Talk about efficiency 👌
Perform the upper body excise like a press-up then follow it with a lower body one like a deadlift and you’ll be blowing out of your bottom 🍑 in no time. Perfect for burning calories, increasing your heart rate (improving your aerobic fitness) and reducing the time you need to spend in the gym to get results.
Here are some of my client’s favourite combinations 👇
A1 – Squat
A2 – Bent over row
A1 – Shoulder press
A2 – Deadlift
A1 – Single-leg Romanian deadlift
A2 – DB single arm row
My clients love these types of supersets but as I said you can just combine any two exercises from any part of the body. You can’t get any simpler than that!
Although supersets are great ways to offer variety, increase in intensity and volume they are not for the weak-willed. They’ll test your determination and resolve, but if you stick with them, you’ll see some serious gains.
So go forth, brave ⚔️ gym-goers, and conquer those supersets!🙌
Disclaimer: supersetting can be a powerful tool to increase workout intensity and efficiency, but one should always be aware of his own limits and use proper form and weight selection.