How to Workout More Efficiently with Supersets

Want to be efficient with your workouts? Try Supersetting!

When it comes to maximizing fitness gains from your workout routine, you have many programming options to get the most out of your time in the gym. As a busy, working mom, I like to be as efficient as possible. Hello supersets!

Supersets involve performing a set of one exercise, immediately followed by a set of a second exercise.

The biggest benefit of supersets is decreased overall training time, and increased aerobic demand. However, supersets are not appropriate when training for maximal strength and power in most circumstances, which is not a concern for most women, including myself.

My favourite style of supersetting is Upper-Lower Body Supersetting. This is a workout technique where you alternate between exercises that target the lower body (e.g., legs, glutes) and upper body (e.g., chest, back, shoulders, arms) without taking a rest in between. For example, you might do a set of squats, followed immediately by bench presses, then rest before repeating the sequence. This method can increase overall workout intensity and efficiency, by allowing one muscle group to rest while the other is working.

Supersetting offers several benefits:

1. Time efficiency: By performing exercises back-to-back with minimal rest, you can complete your workout in less time, compared to traditional methods.

2. Increased intensity: Supersets can elevate your heart rate and keep it elevated throughout the workout, providing cardiovascular benefits, along with strength training.

3. Muscle endurance: Supersets help improve muscular endurance by subjecting muscles to prolonged periods of stress, without complete rest.

4. Target multiple muscle groups: Alternating between upper and lower body exercises, or opposing muscle groups, allows you to work different areas of the body in a single session.

5. Plateau busting: Changing up your workout routine with supersetting can help break through plateaus and stimulate muscle growth, by introducing new challenges to the muscles.

The biggest benefit of supersets lies in the overall reduced workout time for a given number of exercises, compared with a traditional resistance program in which you complete all sets of a single exercise before moving on. Additionally, if you’re looking to combine your resistance training with aerobic training, you may benefit from utilizing supersets.

The biggest risk of supersets is that fatigue may make maintaining proper technique more difficult. The more technically demanding an exercise, the more fatigue may hinder your ability to maintain proper form. After performing an extremely challenging exercise like heavy barbell deadlifts, you want to pair that with an easier superset exercise that doesn’t require grip strength, like a body weight push up, or something for active recovery like body weight calf raises. Supersets are safe, provided the fatigue does not result in diminished technique. This style of training is intense, but still allows me to lift heavy, and I feel good, as long as I have eaten a bit before and I am hydrated.

If your goal is to exert maximal or near-maximal strength and power, you want to avoid fatigue. Longer rest periods will allow you to maximize output on each repetition, ultimately leading to greater gains in these specific elements of performance. Therefore, you should avoid supersets when training for max strength and power.

Supersets should use opposing muscle groups or entirely different muscle groups for each respective exercise.

My favourite is full body upper-lower super sets.

You can also do opposing muscle groups such as biceps, triceps (i.e. bicep curls and triceps extensions), quads, hamstrings (i.e. leg extensions and leg curls). This becomes tricky when doing compound movements with multiple muscle groups.

If you want to do total body strength training workouts for muscular endurance and/or hypertrophy, give upper-lower body supersets a try!

If you need help creating a custom program to you, reach out and I can set you up with my Fitness App and create custom workouts for you (video showing each exercise) with the method that works for me!

We get to do this together!

Megan