Pairing upper-body and lower-body exercises in supersets allows you to train multiple muscle groups in a single session, reducing overall workout time. Research suggests that when programmed appropriately, supersets can match or even surpass traditional resistance training in stimulating hypertrophy while reducing total workout time. For instance, a lifter might use traditional sets on high-intensity days and supersets on volume-focused days to enhance metabolic stress and training variety. By replacing heavy, traditional sets with supersets, you can burn more calories, but you can’t also maximize progressive overload and thus muscle and strength gain (which is probably why you’re hitting the weights in the first place). Whereas when you use agonist-antagonist supersets, one muscle rests while the other works.Thus enabling you to cut down your workout duration without negatively affecting your rest times and performance. Mean ± SD reported time, RPE, session perceived load, and efficiency, and between condition comparison of traditional (TRAD), superset (SS), and tri-set (TRI) resistance training protocols When we get under the squat bar for this quadriceps exercise, we know that we have a bit of load directed down on our spine which creates spinal compression. In this case the purpose of the superset is what makes it so valuable. In the Iron Cross Dumbbell Pushup, I’ve got my hands on the dumbbells in contact with the ground, which makes it a closed-chain exercise. Supersets save time, increase workout intensity, enhance muscle pump, boost cardiovascular fitness, and improve recovery between sets for opposing or unrelated muscles. A study, found that, , in physically active men, strength training supersets do not influence total energy expenditure during and 60 minutes after a single session, when compared with traditional sets. Whether integrated for muscle growth, strength support, recovery, or efficiency, supersets continue to evolve as a cornerstone in the toolbox of modern resistance training. Unlike many training systems that are designed just to make your workouts harder, supersets don’t always increase exercise intensity. As well as saving time, lower body-upper body supersets will raise your heart and breathing rate, increasing the metabolic demand of your workout. First, resistance training intensity and volume between all three protocols (i.e., TRAD, SS, and TRI) were matched. Nevertheless, this inability of SS and TRI resistance training to induce substantial changes in acute testosterone responses may impede upregulation of the androgen receptor and corresponding downstream genomic responses (Hooper et al. 2017). Nevertheless, the practitioner should be aware of the effects of enhanced training efficiency on performance. Nevertheless, at 24 h, neuromuscular function of the lower body in the TRAD protocol appeared to have recovered, while the SS and TRI conditions still showed possible or likely reductions in performance. However, the current study shows that the TRAD protocol had the largest decrease in performance post-training. Accordingly, it is proposed that the practitioner and sport scientist account for training load efficiency (i.e., kg min−1) in conjunction with RPE and/or session perceived load when implementing these resistance training methods. They were able to lift heavier and/or lift more reps and thus achieved more total volume in their workout when compared to the traditional set group. This simply means that you superset two muscles that have the opposite function. My recommendation is to mainly stick with what are called agonist-antagonist supersets. If you’ve spent any time in these parts, you know that you need an energy (calorie) deficit to lose fat. Slight and temporary increases in anabolic hormones are nice, but how much can that impact muscle growth? Similar results were seen in another study conducted by scientists which compared training with weights that were 30% of the subjects’ one-rep max versus 80%. Simply put, if you’re not lifting heavy enough weights, you’re not getting as much out of the training as you could be. One of the key factors that determines the quality of the reps you do is the intensity, or the amount of weight you use relative to your one-rep max (1RM). Here’s a superset that doesn’t fit any standard labels but is still genuinely helpful, especially for athletes. If you want to stick with it for a minimal full body routine, you can alternate bench presses with overhead presses to get some horizontal pushing in as well. By the time you finish your RDL reps, your chest and triceps will be back to capacity and ready to push heavy weights again. That’s why many people assume supersets are highly effective. After completing a superset, you’ll generally rest for a minute or two before moving on to the next set, exercise, or superset in your workout. For example, you might superset the bench press with barbell rows, which target your "push" and "pull" muscles, respectively. Pairing more than two exercises in this way is usually referred to as a "circuit," a "tri-set" for three sets, a "quad-set" for four sets, and so on.
