Supersets are a great way to save time during workouts. They help to get more work done in almost half the time. A superset consists of two different exercises performed with no rest in between. One set of push-ups plus one set of pull-ups with no rest in between is a superset. Here the agonist and antagonist muscles are paired together. Another example of superset is one set of dips plus one set of pushups. Here the same muscles are trained but one exercise is a lot harder than the other.

A normal upper body training plan may be something simple as this. Five sets of dips and five sets of pull-ups with two minutes of rest in between. One set is of 10 reps and takes 10 to 20 secs to complete and yes the reps performed will decrease near the 5^th set. The total time of the workout will be around 23 minutes of which 20 minutes are just resting time. Supersets can help to change that for the better. The dips and pull-ups are performed one after another without any rest in between. Both are combined into a superset. So there are five supersets and two minutes of rest in between. The total time of performing one superset is 30 to 40 secs. So, after adding all supersets and rest periods, the workout gets over in less than 15 minutes.

Why do supersets work in this case? Here the exercises being performed are dips and pull-ups which target the chest and back muscles which are two different muscle groups.

After a set of dips, even though the chest muscles are fatigued, the person is still able to perform pull-ups as they require different muscles. Also, there are two minutes of rest for both the chest and back muscles to recover. The limiting factor here is respiratory fatigue as both sets are performed back to back without much time to breathe. The heart rate is going to be elevated. High rep endurance exercises that exhaust the oxygen cannot be effectively incorporated in a superset. Performing 50 to 100 reps of pushups and squats is not a good idea. But exercises with lower reps can easily be incorporated. The key is to do exercises that target different muscle groups.

Also, keep in mind that exercises like squats which target bigger muscles like the quads will fatigue the respiratory muscles even if lower reps are performed. Respiratory fatigue will rise during supersets of squats and hip thrusts but a few supersets can still be performed.

Now, let us take an example where the same muscles are targeted. If it was a superset of weighted dips and bench press then the bench press would be a lot harder due to fatigued chest muscles. But two exercises that target the same muscles can still be done in a superset. Instead of the bench press, pushups can be performed which are a lot easier compared to dips.

The number of pushups performed will drop significantly, but it will help to push the muscles to their limits. Cause even if the dips are performed till failure, the muscles still can do work at a lighter weight. Also, after push-ups, incline pushups can be performed which are even easier.

It is not just hard plus easy exercise, but a superset of compound plus isolation exercise can also be done. Chin-ups plus dumbbell bicep curls can be done to push the biceps to their limits. This is known as the post exhaustion superset.

Now, there is an opposite of that which is known as the pre-exhaustion superset. Here a single joint isolation exercise is performed before a multi-joint compound exercise. So, it is dumbbell bicep curls and then the chin-ups. This method was introduced by Robert Kennedy in 1968 in Iron Magazine. Beginners do not need to do pre and post-exhaustion supersets and they will get excellent results from normal sets.

Let us understand the drawbacks of supersets. For advanced athletes who need to do more than 10 sets for a muscle, doing supersets will cause respiratory fatigue that will affect the performance of the movement. Athletes will tend to lose out on their mind-muscle connection and the number of reps performed will drop. However, these athletes will benefit from pre and post exhaustion supersets. One the other hand, beginners do not have to perform a lot of sets. For them, supersets are excellent to get more done in less time.

Try this technique for yourself and find out if it is beneficial in your case.

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