Supersets and Why to Use Them

When I first learned about supersets, I thought it was a cool-sounding name. Then I learned it was simply a fancy word for pairing exercises together.

What is a superset?

A Supersets is a pairing of 2 or more exercises together.

This allows you to save time, and add more intensity to your workouts. For rest time, resting during the last movement is most common, but you can also rest between exercises.

Superset pairs (2 Exercises)

These are the most common because you can keep the intensity of both movements high while still getting the benefits of the pairing.

A1: Goblet Squats
3x8

A2: Situps
3x15
Rest: 90 Secs

Tri-Sets (3 Exercises)

More common towards introductory programs. This allows you to get more exposure to different exercises in less time.

A1: Goblet Squats
3x10

A2: Push-ups
3x10

A3: Situps
3x15
Rest: 90 Secs

Benefits of Supersets

1. Supersets can save you time

Let's use the above example of Goblet Squats + Situps. If you did them separately, you'd perform 8 Goblet Squats, then rest, repeated 3 times. Then you'd do the same with situps.

Without a superset, it would look like this.

8 Goblet Squats + Rest 60 Secs
8 Goblet Squats + Rest 60 Secs
8 Goblet Squats + Rest 60 Secs
15 Situps + Rest 90 Secs
15 Situps + Rest 90 Secs
15 Situps + Rest 90 Secs

It's kind of long, and there's a lot of rest time.

If you did them as a superset, it would look like this.

8 Goblet Squats + 15 Situps + Rest 90 Secs
8 Goblet Squats + 15 Situps + Rest 90 Secs
8 Goblet Squats + 15 Situps + Rest 90 Secs

2. Supersets can add resistance to your workout

By using movements that use the same body parts or movement pattern, you can make the second movement a little more challenging

For example:
Pushups into Bench Press Variations.
Split Squats into Dual Rack Squats.

3. Supersets can add intensity to your workout

By pairing movements that use different muscle groups, you add more overall intensity to a workout. This is because reduce muscle fatigue, allowing you to get more total reps in.

This can make a superset give you a more intense "metabolic" effect. Think cardio but without doing cardio.

A great time to use this type of superset is during an "accumulation" phase of your program where you generally do higher reps.

For example:
Kettlebell Swings into Pushups or
Squats into Press Variations

Overview

With that said, supersets are a great addition to your workouts. You get exposed to more exercises in less time. That can save you time and add extra intensity to a movement pairing.