Why “Super Sets” Really Are Super!

As someone who does not thoroughly enjoy cardio, I tend to get creative about ways to incorporate it into my training regimen. More often than not, I opt to do this by super setting exercises throughout my strength training workouts. To keep my workouts interesting, and maximally effective, I try to employ different types of super sets. Sometimes I super set resistance exercises that target two different muscle groups, allowing the primary muscle group to rest while I target a secondary muscle group. An example of this would be super setting a back exercise with a chest, bicep or tricep exercise (depending on my training philosophy/goals for that particular workout). Other times I super set weightlifting exercises with a core exercise or a cardio exercise (such as burpees- my arch enemy!). Ensuring constant movement throughout a workout helps keep heart rate elevated, successfully achieving a modified cardio component.

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Another benefit of super sets is their ability to effectively train multiple muscle groups in the same workout. As mentioned above, super setting exercises that target different muscle groups allows the primary muscle group to rest while the secondary group is under attack. Popular pairings for a lot of people include Back + Biceps and Chest + Triceps. The reasoning behind this is that these pairs of muscle groups tend to work together. However, since we do recruit our biceps in a number of different back exercises, they typically grow fatigued without us even realizing it. This can make the bicep-specific exercises a bit less effective, since your biceps are no longer fresh. Since I am not trying to grow my biceps, I am fine with this. For someone who is trying to add arm muscle, I would recommend swapping these pairings by training Back + Triceps and Chest + Biceps. This prevents the arm muscle of focus from growing fatigued due to secondary recruitment in exercises intended to target either the back or chest muscles.

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