Super setting is a new technique being used by gym rats to get more gains. Most people just work out haphazardly within the stipulated time their membership holds, or whatever duration a class would last. In fact, for most fitness fanatics, we are basically at the mercy of the instructors. Of course we hardly get the results, or it takes forever.

Typically, when working out, after say 15 minutes of so, you need a short break to be able to catch your breath or grasp a drink of water in between the sets of an exercise.  These breaks last as long as our fatigue reduces and we catch our breath, we are never military in the rules guarding the rests between. This also provides ample time for the recovery of the muscles. Super setting was therefore introduced as a technique. You must be living in mass if you haven’t heard of this latest phenomenon. A superset is explained as a type of strength training involving quick movement from one exercise to another different set of exercise without necessarily taking a break for rest in between the two exercises. It sounds impossible but many people believe supersets are better for building muscle than traditional training method where you work out, take a rest in between and complete your work out, mostly within an hour. The average gym goers may think that any two moves performed in succession are dubbed a superset, but that’s not really the case. The two sets of workouts target two opposite muscle groups, such as the chest/back muscles, biceps/triceps, or quadriceps/hamstrings makes an exercise pairing a superset, it’s that simple.

  1. Supersets Pair Opposing Muscles

So we have two opposites, the agonist and the antagonist. The pairing of the opposing muscles are in accordance to the agonist (performing the movement) and the antagonist (taking the movement on the opposite side). Observe and feel your movements and where the resistance is, for instance, you may perform a chest press then a back row as explained by Pete McCall, an exercise physiologist. Several exercises are grouped into push and pull movements. For instance, an overhead press is known to push the weight up in an estimate of shoulder height and a lat has an effect of pulling down the weight within the given shoulder height. An arm curl pushes up the weight. On the other side, an arm extension acting in the opposite pulls down the weight. There are six body parts that have clear antagonists: chest against the upper back, quadriceps and hamstrings, biceps against the triceps.

Supersets are particularly great for building strength because you’re going to be using different muscle groups in that one muscle group is resting while the other is resting.

2. Compound sets work the same muscles.

The next category is the compound sets. They are successive exercises executed without allowing the same muscles or the non-opposing sets of muscles to take rest. We cannot confuse them with super sets because they work the same muscles, for instance, dead lift and bicep lifts work the biceps. They tire, have you tried them. Straining one point for a long period of time will build, but you may tire too quickly way before your intended workout schedule. An example of such a superset is having the same part of the body experiencing pairing compound movements like bar dips and barbell bench presses.

Both the exercises target the chest areas, with the triceps providing stable support. When you tire early in your workout because of focusing on one area, you may not proceed with the other with the required intensity. For instance, wearing out your triceps in the first ten minutes will affect your chest workout. One part may gain at the expense of the other. Super setting seems to be a good idea in this case.  You will require a handle to the overall capacity of the muscle sets to get maximum benefits from the superset.

3. Then we have the circuit work out. Picture this; eating spinach and tea, no relationship at all, that’s circuit work out for you. Circuit workout is when you’re working two totally different muscle groups that aren’t opposing, it is considered a circuit For example:

They are holistic in increasing muscle all over the body and not a specific part hence recommended for three times per week. Because it’s a full body work out, metabolism is very high hence increased heartbeat and sweating which leads to fat burn and eventually weight loss. I am not sure about this, it sounds too haphazard for me, what’s your take?

Guidelines for Super setting, Compound training and circuit training for building strength.

  1. Before you start doing your sets things to consider include: the weight capacity under use, the sets of muscle in operation, and the level of your fitness. For instance a beginner has to start small. Choose the right weight for you, beginners should start with the smaller ones and add as they progress. If have never practiced supersets earlier, begin by pairing opposing sets of muscle, circuit training if you may. This provides you a good platform to determine the intensity you have to deal with and makes you understand how your reacts to stimulus. Additionally, it gives you a hint of what you can do, at the start. Eventually, you are also likely to kick-start new gains and improve muscle balance by combing muscles that have opposite actions on the joint.
  2. Next, ask yourself what your goals exactly are. What are you looking to achieve at the gym? Supersets are good for pure strength. Compound sets are the best bet for improved muscle definition. Circuit training can be effective for getting rid of the extra body fat and the buildup of muscle mass. For some reason many people get stuck at circuit training for a lifetime. It’s good to graduate once your body adapts. An instance in which supersets may influence objectives include: you aim at saving time in an exercise, enhancing more energy usage, influencing the neural capacity, and enhancing the endurance by the muscles.
  3. What is the order of your workout? First, perform the multi-joint or compound movements, at least traditionally, but your instructor can advise more on this. It will avoid any mental or physical fatigue when you perform a lift as the second exercise.
  4. How intense is your workout? Be careful with the intensity of every movement made. The more strength you are using the lesser time you will work out, think of the paces of long distance and short distance runners. Short distance has more adrenaline but ends faster, long distance seems to last forever but they are never sprinting the whole race. The wonderful consideration in scaling your intensity is giving room to reps to control your weight. The quantity of reps you are in a position to perform for your weight will determine the set. It becomes counter intuitive when reps in a superset are missed out.
  5. How long will you work out? It is essential to ensure that your workout is quickened. Supersets will give you the freedom of performing your workout at a faster rate without necessarily skipping any exercise. Generally, you need to be careful about pre-fatiguing the vital accessory muscles before the larger groups, albeit being performed as a superset.

None of these are superior to the other; it all boils down to what you are looking for.