Advertisement But what exercises are best suited for supersets?
By definition, a superset refers to doing two exercises that work different, typically opposing, body parts. An easy example would be leg extensions and leg curls or biceps curls and triceps pushdowns. In contrast, a “compound set” is one in which the two exercises work the same muscle group. A chest press and chest flye or a seated row and lat pulldown are examples. In practice, both of these pairings of exercises are referred to as supersets, with the term compound sets not frequently used.
If your primary goal is strength, then supersets should mostly be avoided. The reason for this is because you will not be able to give your body the rest period it needs to maximize strength gains. So here’s your first rule of thumb: Don’t use supersets if your goal is to do heavy sets of an exercise. By heavy, I mean you are unable to do more than six repetitions with the chosen weight.
However, if your goal is to increase muscle tone or increase your endurance, then doing supersets might be perfect for you. You don’t need to superset everything in your workout, however; you can pick and choose when to use this tool.
Here’s the second rule of thumb: Begin using supersets on small muscle group exercises. Your arms are a great starting point. If you normally do biceps and triceps exercises in your workout, try doing them together. Upon completion of a set of biceps curls, immediately perform your triceps extension exercise. Then give yourself a quick rest, perhaps one minute, and then do another set of curls and extensions. After a while, you can try supersetting larger muscle groups and exercises.
Make your workout super by adding some supersets!
Travis Erickson is director of strength and conditioning concentration at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. E-mail questions to erickson.trav@uwlax.edu.
