Supersets – effective for muscle growth and training time

Supersets – the most effective training tool 

Supersets might just be the most effective tool in your training arsenal, regardless of your goals. They are certainly a staple in most fitness programs in our app. 

What Are Supersets? 

Supersets involve doing two exercises for different muscle groups consecutively per set. A classic example is pairing bench presses with a rowing exercise, like bent-over rows. This might look something like: 

• 3 sets of 10 reps bench press and 10 reps bent over rows. After bench pressing, you take a 30-second break, and after rowing, a 90-second break. Then, you start set 2 again with bench pressing. 

While bench pressing primarily trains your chest, front shoulder muscles, and triceps, the bent-over rows mainly target your back muscles, shoulder girdle muscles, and biceps. 

Another well-known antagonistic superset is a bicep curl alternated with a tricep exercise. "Antagonist" is just a fancy term for muscles that perform opposite actions. For example, the biceps bend the arm while the triceps straighten it. Antagonistic supersets are very common, but a superset combining deadlifts with a shoulder press exercise also beautifully demonstrates how completely different muscle groups can be worked in tandem. 

Time Savings with Supersets 

The biggest advantage of a superset is the time saved, provided the rest period between the two exercises is shorter than your usual rest period between sets. Plus, the effectiveness of your exercises doesn't diminish. This means you achieve as much from 2 exercises in a superset combination as you would doing the exercises separately (traditional training). Example: 

• With traditional training, you perform exercises and sets independently. Suppose you do a total of 24 sets in a session, each lasting 30 seconds, with a 120-second rest between sets. This training would take exactly 1 hour (24 x 30 seconds + 24 x 120 seconds). 

• If you do 12 supersets (12 supersets x 2 exercises = 24 sets) and rest for 30 seconds in the superset and 120 seconds after each superset (bench press, 30 seconds rest, bent-over rows, 120 seconds rest, bench press, etc.), then a training session lasts 42 minutes (12 x 30 seconds + 12 x 120 seconds + 24 x 30 seconds). 

As the example shows, you save a whopping 18 minutes of training time through supersets. You could even use these 18 minutes to add more exercises. With smaller exercises like biceps curls and triceps extensions, the rest period in the superset is often shorter, leading to even more time saved.

Supersets Effective for Muscle Growth 

You might think that supersets require more energy, leading to less strength per set, which could result in a lower growth stimulus and less muscle growth. But that's not the case, as long as you start a set fully rested. Supersets are just as effective as traditional sets for building muscle. It is true that the most time savings and muscle growth are achieved when you have better (muscle) conditioning. You can easily build this by starting with supersets with longer rest periods between exercises and gradually reducing these rest times. So, let's go supersets!

Supersets Effective for Muscle Conditioning 

Doing the same amount of work in less time definitely means your training capacity increases. In short, supersets are a super effective training tool to boost your endurance. Often, you see supersets expanded into circuits of three or more exercises. The shorter the rest and the heavier the weights, the greater your muscle endurance becomes.

350 workout programs with Supersets 

The only tricky part about supersets is that you can't always perform them at your gym. Fortunately, you can do more than 95% of all the supersets in our training programs. And if that doesn't work, there's undoubtedly an alternative recommended exercise that will. In our app, Serious Fitness Lab, you’ll find over 350 training schemes featuring supersets. From muscle growth to weight loss and from strength to conditioning. All workouts are scientifically based with the goal of training as efficiently and effectively as possible. Always test the app free for 7 days.