What are supersets and will they help you build muscle faster?

What are supersets

The Agonist-Antagonist Paired Set Resistance Training: A Brief Review superset assumes that two sets of different strength exercises are performed one after the other with little or no rest.

In traditional strength training, each exercise is done in several sets with rest in between. You only move on to the next one when you finish the previous one. In supersets, you do two different exercises in a row, then stop for a few minutes and repeat this combination again. As a result, the volume of training is maintained, but much less time is spent on it.

What are supersets

Depending on the method of selection of exercises, supersets can be divided into three types.

The antagonists. Such supersets combine exercises for muscles that perform opposite functions. For example, biceps and triceps: the first flexes the elbow, the second unbends.
One muscle group. These supersets include exercises in which the target muscle group is the same. For example, after a bench press to pump the chest and triceps, the arms are immediately extended to the triceps.
To the top and bottom. In such approaches, one after another, movements are performed to pump the upper and lower parts of the body. For example, after squatting with a barbell (quadriceps), a pull-up approach (latissimus dorsi and biceps) is set.

Why do supersets

Regardless of the type, supersets have several advantages over conventional strength training approaches.

Save time

If a busy schedule does not allow you to study for more than 30-40 minutes, supersets will be your salvation. Paired approaches can reduce the training time by 1, 5-2 times and at the same time maintain its volume (though not all types, but more on that later).

As a result, not a single area of the body will be left unattended, and you will load the muscles enough for fatigue and subsequent growth.

Increase endurance

Two or more strength exercises performed without rest develops HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING VS. SUPERSET TRAINING: A COMPARISON OF ENERGY EXPENDITURE Both aerobic and anaerobic endurance - the body's ability to work longer at any intensity.

These qualities can be useful, for example, in team sports, functional all-around, as well as in everyday life, so as not to suffocate during everyday physical exertion.

While high-intensity interval training (HIIT) builds endurance better than supersets, supersets outperform conventional strength training. So if you're not going to do interval complexes and hate cardio, supersets are your everything.

Increase testosterone levels

Less rest between sets and more workout volume increases testosterone levels. It is a male sex hormone that is essential for muscle building.

Compared to separate approaches, supersets provide higher testosterone levels both immediately after exercise and after 24 hours. In the long term, this can have a positive effect on muscle growth.

Allows you to burn more calories per workout

Supersets increase the intensity of the workout and make it more energy intensive. Therefore, this method is sometimes used when drying the body in order to quickly get rid of excess fat.

This can really work if you don't have time for a long session. In this case, supersets will help you burn more calories than rest sets. If you are not limited in time, after completing the same volume of workout, you will spend the same number of calories.

Overall, it's hard to say if supersets are actually more effective than conventional weight loss approaches. So, in one experiment, people burned The metabolic costs of reciprocal supersets vs.traditional resistance exercise in young recreationally active adults more calories during and after exercising with supersets, otherwise the difference in supersets do not change energy expenditure during strength training sessions in physically active individuals equaled within 60 minutes after exercise.

Who shouldn't do supersets

If maximum strength is important to you, and not muscle size or strength endurance, training with supersets is not the best idea.

For the development of maximum strength, short sets of 2-5 reps with heavy weights at 85-90% of the one-rep maximum (1RM) are most effective. Such exercises place a heavy load on not only the muscles, but also the central nervous system (CNS). So if you combine two movements with extreme weights in a superset, then you risk overloading the body. As a result, you will not be able to complete all sets with the correct weight, and the risk of injury will greatly increase.

Also, do not perform supersets if you are just starting to exercise, have problems with the cardiovascular system or any diseases for which high intensity of exercise is not recommended. In this case, supersets will not only not increase your performance, but also prevent you from performing the volume that you are capable of.

Why antagonist supersets are good and how to compose them

What are the features

By supersetting antagonist muscles, you will be able to do more reps than with regular sets. In other words, increase your training volume.

This effect was discovered by several studies at once. The effect of an upper-body agonist-antagonist resistance training protocol on volume load and efficiency, Effects of different rest intervals between antagonist paired sets on repetition performance and muscle activation In one of the most recent, a 2017 Brazilian experiment, participants performed three sets of bench presses and seated deadlifts to muscle failure. They worked either with conventional approaches or supersets. Despite the short session (8.5 minutes versus 16), the superset people did more reps and had higher muscle activation rates than those who rested after each set.

Scientists do not know exactly what is the reason for this effect of supersets on antagonists. It is believed that the work of the nervous system is involved in this - the connection of additional motor units and their improved synchronization.

Be that as it may, the increased volume will have a positive effect on muscle growth - it will help to better load them and provide a good stimulus for growth.

How to compose

Combine exercises for pairs of antagonistic muscles.

Biceps Triceps: biceps flexion / triceps extension.
Pectorals - latissimus dorsi: bench press / barbell row to the chest in an incline, press standing / deadlift on the block to the chest, push-ups on the uneven bars / pull-ups.
Quadriceps - muscles of the back of the thigh: leg flexion / extension on the simulator, leg press on the simulator / hip extension on the simulator.

You should not use multi-joint exercises in supersets like squats or deadlifts with large weights, as well as explosive movements from weightlifting: snatch, jerk, and take on the chest. Your nervous system has a limited capacity, so even the benefits of antagonists do not save you from a decline in performance.

This is confirmed by research: even with a short rest between superset exercises, people cannot Effects of traditional vs. alternating whole-body strength training on squat performance Perform as many heavy barbell squats (80% of 1RM) as you would in a regular workout.

Which example can be used

Here's an example of strength training with supersets for antagonists:

Bench press (6-8 reps) + chest pull on the block (10-12 reps) - 3 sets.
Press standing (6-8 reps) + pull-ups on the horizontal bar (as much as you can with good technique) - 3 sets.
Standing EZ-bar curls (10-12 times) + standing EZ-bar triceps extensions (10-12 times) - 3 sets.
Crunches on the press (50 times) + hyperextension on the GHD trainer (20 times) - 3 sets.

Pick the working weight in such a way that the last repetitions in the approach are difficult, but you can perform them without mistakes in technique. Rest no more than 30 seconds between exercises in a superset, between supersets - 3 minutes.

Why supersets for one muscle group are good and how to make them

What are the features

It is believed that pre-fatigue helps to finish off the muscles and provide them with a good stimulus to grow without using limiting weights.

It makes sense. In one experiment, Muscle Damage and Muscle Activity Induced by Strength Training Super-Sets in Physically Active Men, scientists compared the effects of different supersets using electromyography (EMG), a measurement of the electrical potential of working muscles. It turned out that paired sets for one muscle group actually activate more fibers in the target muscle than supersets for antagonists.

But tiring muscles and building them is not the same thing. For muscles to increase in volume, they also need recovery. But with this, supersets for one muscle group have big problems.

In the same study, Muscle Damage and Muscle Activity Induced by Strength Training Super-Sets in Physically Active Men, after a superset on antagonists, the muscles fully recovered on the fourth day after training, and the soreness was released on the second day. The same volume, performed by a superset for the same muscle groups, caused much more damage: the range of motion was restored only by the fourth day, and the markers of inflammation remained on the fifth day.

If there is no recovery, there will be no growth. Perhaps this is why constant work with such supersets does not provide the effects of pre-exhaustion, exercise order, and rest intervals in a full-body resistance training interventions in building muscle and strength compared to conventional resting approaches.

But if you work on one muscle group only once a week, and even have little time to properly load it, such supersets will be a real salvation. They will help you quickly build muscle and provide Effects of Pre-exhaustion Versus Traditional Resistance Training on Training Volume, Maximal Strength, and Quadriceps Hypertrophy to stimulate them to grow.

How to compose

In bodybuilding, supersets are used with a sequence from simple to complex: first, they perform a single-joint movement, and then a multi-joint movement. For example, after extending the triceps, do a bench press. This, in fact, is the method of preliminary fatigue.

However, there is a study on Comparison Between Pre-Exhaustion and Traditional Exercise Order on Muscle Activation and Performance in Trained Men, in which such a sequence did not increase volume and did not provide more fatigue and metabolic changes compared to the reverse, when the polyjoint movement was performed first.

Scientists agree on one thing: which exercise you do first, in which your performance will be better. Therefore, when drawing up a program, it is important to focus on your goals.

Start your superset with the exercise that is more important to you Influence of exercise order on maximum strength and muscle volume in nonlinear periodized resistance training.

As for the exercises themselves, combine multi-joint and single-joint or two single-joint. For example, weighted pull-ups with biceps curls or dumbbell extensions to the sides with a forward lift.

Don't superset two heavy, multi-joint movements like the bench press and the standing press. This will overload the nervous system and increase the risk of injury.

What examples can be used

Since this type of work is very tiring for both the muscles and the nervous system, it makes no sense to use several supersets at once in one workout. Choose one paired approach for the muscle group you want to fully load, and do the rest of the exercises in the traditional way.

Here's an example of supersets for different muscle groups.

Back and biceps: Bent over barbell row (6–8 reps) + wide grip pull of the upper block to the chest (10–12 reps).
Chest and Triceps: Bench press (6-8 reps) + Triceps extension on the block machine (12-15 reps).
Front of the thigh (quadriceps): machine leg press (6-8 reps) + machine leg extension (8-10 reps).
Back of the thigh: barbell rows on straight legs (6-8 reps) + leg curl on the simulator lying (12-15 reps).
Shoulders: army press with dumbbells standing (10-12 times) + spreading dumbbells standing (12 times).

Who are top and bottom supersets suitable for and how to compose them

What are the features

Unlike the previous two sets, paired top and bottom sets do not provide additional muscle-building benefits. General body fatigue will lower your performance in both exercises, and your overall training volume will also decrease. Since different parts of the body work in such supersets, there will be no additional activation, as in approaches for one muscle group.

Thus, the main goal of such training is the development of general and strength endurance. The body learns to work longer when tired, use oxygen more efficiently and produce energy anaerobically.

How to compose

You can superset almost any top and bottom exercise:

bench press and deadlift;
pull-ups and squats with a barbell on the back;
lifting dumbbells for biceps and lifting toes with dumbbells in hand.

Work with small weights - no more than 60-70% of 1RM: at the end of the set, there should be 3-4 more repetitions until the muscles fail. And watch the technique: if errors appear, finish.

Which example can be used

Here's an example of training with supersets up and down:

Squats with a barbell on the chest (8 times) + press the barbell standing (6 times) - 3 sets.
Raising the pelvis with support on a bench with a barbell on the hips (10 times) + pulling the bar to the chest in an incline (8 times) - 3 sets.
Standing / sitting on toes with a barbell on the shoulders (20 times) + biceps flexion / triceps extension with dumbbells (10 times, change the exercise each approach) - 4 sets.
Romanian kettlebell or dumbbell deadlift (20 reps) + dumbbell set (12 reps) - 3 sets.