Thread: superseting

Never been a fan.

Personally, most advanced training techniques get in the way of what the lifter should be trying to accomplish. When lifters try to incorporate all sorts of techniques they read about their workouts are more likely to become sloppy -- especially if your forearms/grip aren't able to handle the constant tension (this would be me). When I've tried to superset upper body work in the past my forearms fill with so much lactic acid I can't even do half the weight I normally would, and I don't feel like I'm properly training the target muscle(s). It becomes more of a hybrid grip training, cardio, strength endurance session.

Me no likey.

i only used to do it for arms now i do giant sets. but i have a thunderous grip. i never use straps unless its for deads at a heavy weight , but i really dont need them.

I've adapted. My favorite are pre-exhaustion type supersets like... pullovers then weighted pullups then pullovers then weighted pullups....or quad extensions and deep squats etc.

I love the usual curls/triceps, bench/rows etc as well. It took months before I could last an hour doing the back and forth of it. It can be hard to do at busy times at the gym. I do the full hour of it every week at 1pm on a weekday. This would be considered to be to much volume or overtraining here, BTW. I do what I want. They work for me as my goals are to be stronger without compromising endurance in as short of time as possible. Moreover, it makes me high to tax myself.

My other days are pretty conventional with a pre-exhaustion superset finally at the end on whatever I decide need emphasis.

I do training routines with supersets. My goal of the routine is similar to high volume training and that is to strengthen the secondary muscles in my lifts while maintaining my strength in the primary muscles. I use this to break plateaus, of course you have to be correct in your assuption that the secondary muscles are the problem. Your primary and secondary muscle involment vary though the lift, so I determine if it's a secondary muscle by the point of which i'm getting stuck in a max lift or by which muscle is failing in a set. Anyways, i'm getting sidetracked I would never do a superset that was basically using the same muscles. I would much rather do strip sets. Some superset combos that I like: Pull-ups&Dips, Bench&Rows, Curls&French press, Squats&Good Mornings.

I think supersetting can be useful. The only current superset I do as a regular part of my current routine is lying tricep extensions followed by close-grip presses. I like the close-grip as a kind of burn out after exhausting my triceps. This primary exercise followed by another related set to completely exhaust the muscle seems to work well for me, but probably isn't as popular as supersetting opposing muscle groups. Like so much of this, it's really about what works for you.

In some programs supersetting to pre-exhaust the main muscle groups is a good idea, so that your smaller muscles don't fail first and prematurely end the set before your stronger muscles get enough stimulation.

For example, preexhausting the bench press with flys will fatigue the chest, so that when you immediately go to the bench press your weaker triceps and fatigued chest will give out at about the same time.

Now, don't misconstrue this as an advocation of training to failure, it isn't. But the set will end when levels of fatigue/pain reach a certain level - this is the point in the set i'm talking about.

Other than this type of superset, i see no reason to superset exercises targetting the same muscles because theres no basis or logic behind it. At least none that wins me over, lol.

Supersetting opposing or different muscle groups, however, is a fantastic way to get a lot of training done in a relatively short amount of time and improve work capacity at the same time. Squats and Pullups is my favouite, and fucks me up every single time.

All excellent points. Pre-exhaust training and supersetting different or opposing muscle groups are the generally accepted methods. If time is short especially, supersetting can be very useful. I find that sometimes I discover things in the gym that seem to be counter-intuitive but work very well for me personally. Interesting how many ways there are to go about training. I think that is one of the most enjoyable things about lifting; there are just so many variations to experiment with. After thirty years of training I still learn new and better ways to train all the time. Great discussion!

Originally Posted by MDR

All excellent points. Pre-exhaust training and supersetting different or opposing muscle groups are the generally accepted methods. If time is short especially, supersetting can be very useful. I find that sometimes I discover things in the gym that seem to be counter-intuitive but work very well for me personally. Interesting how many ways there are to go about training. I think that is one of the most enjoyable things about lifting; there are just so many variations to experiment with. After thirty years of training I still learn new and better ways to train all the time. Great discussion!

yea I am all for learning new techniques to shock my muscles into new growth.I think I will start supersetting opposing muscle groups then the same ones.You def. get a good workout by supersetting plus I get bored doing the same old routine.Sometimes after a few months of lifting really hard I drop lifting weights for 2 weeks except squats and do all body weight workouts love it.

I superset based on the polquin method - lots of push pull basically and keeping to the 6 to 8 rep range. Been at this for the last three months and it certainly seems to be working for me with strength and endurance increasing. Bench And rows by far the best combo.