By Personal Trainer | Amy Golby
Supersets are a great technique to promote muscle growth, fat burning and time-efficient training method as well as promoting muscle-fibre activation which will help increase the intensity on a specific muscle group - therefore helping them develop faster.
In the most basic form, supersets are a combination of two (sometimes more) exercises with similar planes of movement to maximise the amount of work a particular muscle or muscle group performs. The idea being to go from one exercise straight into another without a rest in between.
An example can be chest press/bench press and then moving straight onto dumbbell flyes.
Types of Supersets
There are a few ways to perform supersets; the first two options are the most basic and simple way to start out when adding in supersets to your workouts!
Antagonist Supersets
This type of superset consists of performing two exercises back to back that work opposing muscle groups - for example, working your biceps and then moving straight onto working your tri-ceps. By working opposing muscles it allows you to use heavier weights or increase rep range.
Agonist Supersets
This type of superset is when you perform two exercises back to back working the same muscle groups. With this type of superset it best to stick to a compound exercise followed by an isolated exercise. For example: squats then leg extensions.
Supersize your workouts with these further 4 types of supersets
Compound supersets
These are exactly what they say on the tin; two exercises both of which are compound movements performed one after another with a small variety – eg back squats followed by front squats.
Isolated Supersets
As with the compound supersets these are two exercises both of which are isolated movements performed one after another to really push the muscle group to push your muscles to the limit – eg triceps extensions followed by triceps dips.
Pre-exhausted Supersets
These are Agonist supersets but you work the isolated exercise first and follow it up with the compound. This allows to really exhausting the muscle through isolation making the compound exercise harder work.
Post-Exhausted Supersets
These are Agonist supersets too but are a flip on the above method, working on a compound exercise and then choosing an isolated exercise that really focuses on a muscle to completely burn it out.
Superset Exercise Examples
| Chest Superset | Exercises |
| Superset #1 | Cable Crossovers |
| Flat Bench Dumbbell press | |
| Superset #2 | Inclined bench press |
| Flat bench Dumbbells flyes | |
| Superset #3 | Decline Chest press |
| Decline Press up |
| Back Superset | Exercises |
| Superset #1 | Reverse Cable Flyes |
| Wide Grip Lateral pulldown | |
| Superset #2 | Decline Pull –over |
| Standing Cable Row | |
| Superset #3 | Pull ups |
| Bent over t row |
| Legs Superset | Exercises |
| Superset #1 | Leg Extensions |
| Barbell Squats | |
| Superset #2 | Bulgarian Split Squats |
| Glute Thursts | |
| Superset #3 | Barbell Deadlifts |
| Back extensions |
| Shoulders Superset | Exercises |
| Superset #1 | Dumbbell shoulder Press |
| Lateral Raises | |
| Superset #2 | Front Raise |
| Arnold Press | |
| Superset #3 | Dumbbell Shrugs |
| Upright row |
| Arms Superset | Exercises |
| Superset #1 | Barbell Curl |
| Triceps pull downs (rope) | |
| Superset #2 | Overhead Tri-cep extension |
| Hammer Curls | |
| Superset #3 | Bench Dips |
| Bicep Cable Curls |
Take Home Message
Supersets are a good way to build quality muscle but also a way to keep a gym session short but keep the intensity high to ensure results!
