Benefits of Supersets For Strength Training

While we all have own own favourite workout, it's usually accepted that the key to long term training improvement lies in variation. Whatever workout you do, your body will eventually, adapt to it and your improvement will become slow, or even stop. A great variation on standard workouts is to do supersets. Supersets are basically just a method allowing you to pair up different exercises in order to save time, add intensity, and help build muscle. When supersetting, you do the two exercises of your choice one right after the other, with little or no rest in between. Supersets can be used on opposing muscle groups or on the same muscle groups, this will depend on your goal. When you superset opposing muscle groups you're really able to save on rest time, since one muscle gets to rest while the other works. Examples of opposing muscles groups are the back and the chest, biceps and triceps, hamstrings and quadricep muscles, etc. When you workout and superset the same muscle groups you're really able to increase the intensity of the session as you're working the same muscle, but with different exercises.

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Here are some of the main benefits of supersets;

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o Supersets are a great way of pushing through a training plateau, and for renewing your motivation to keep training. Frequently, when you force yourself to perform the same workouts over and over, you end up no longer have the desire to make it to every planned training session. By changing your routine, you will find yourself focused again and actually looking forward to pushing your body to its limits.

o Additionally, supersets are a great technique for increasing muscle mass and size, as they boost the release of anabolic hormones such as testosterone, which is responsible for muscle growth. As well as this, you will reduce the amount of time you spend in the gym, as you will be working two muscle groups within the same set.

o Another great benefit for people who train at home or on the road is that you don't need very heavy weights; you can work your muscles to their limits with smaller weights, meaning you can still have a great workout with minimal equipment.

Benefits of Supersets For Strength Training

I am the editor of InsideOut Health magazine (IOH). After studying a degree in Sports Science and Nutrition in London I set up a health and fitness magazine in Southern Spain and we have now launched our online magazine IOH is a professional health and fitness online magazine. Covering all aspects of health including nutrition, fitness, alternative health, medical issues and weight loss, IOH has a team of world class expert contributors. Based in Marbella, Spain IOH reviews many health businesses on the Costa del Sol including health spas, retreats, spa hotels and yoga holidays.

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Supersets & Drop Sets for Fat Loss & Muscle Gain

For our purposes here, a superset is the completion of consecutive sets without a rest. The sets can be for exercises of the same, opposite or completely unrelated muscle groups. When performing supersets for opposing or unrelated muscle groups, there is an opportunity for one muscle to recover while another is worked, therefore allowing a heavy weight to be used for both exercises.

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Because minimal rest is prescribed, try to arrange for exercises that can be performed within a close proximity of one another (i.e. a flat DB press and a One-arm DB row). Training opposing muscle groups in this manner ensures the development of balanced muscular strength. You can design an entire workout using multiple supersets OR you can add a superset at any point in the workout (i.e. such as the transition from chest to back).

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An example of opposing muscle groups is the chest & back. Pick a back exercise that pulls the arms into the torso (a row) and balance that with an exercise that pushes away from the torso (flat DB press). You can also use supersets for the anterior and posterior heads of the deltoids (shoulders) which somewhat oppose one another.

An example exercise combination would be a front DB raise followed by a bent-over DB raise. Muscles of shoulder extension (lats) can be super-setted with the antagonistic shoulder flexors (deltoids) using a pulldown-shoulder press combination. And finally, for the ultimate arm superset, choose one triceps exercise and follow it with an exercise for biceps.

Supersets can also be performed using 2 successive exercises for the same bodypart. This has been referred to as "pre-exhaustion", where an isolation exercise is performed for a muscle group (i.e. a DB fly for the chest) followed by a compound exercise for the same muscle group (i.e. a bench press). The second exercise will be performed using a lighter weight than is normally used because the muscle group will have been previously fatigued.

A second superset method for the same muscle group is referred to as "drop-setting". In this technique, a set of an exercise is performed to failure at which time the trainee reduces the weight and performs subsequent repetitions with the lighter weight.

****A note on "drop-sets" and "muscle pumps"...

If the development of maximal strength OR size is your goal, these techniques are not mandatory for success. Let me explain:

First, a muscle "pump" is simply the result of blood and tissue fluid being forced into the muscle from the surrounding vessels and then accumulating within the muscle. While an increased blood flow to the area is beneficial, the pump lasts only for a short time (30-60 minutes). Unfortunately, this is too short of a time period to result in any significant physiological changes to the muscle, as growth and repair occur over a 24 to 48 hour (or more) time period following exercise.

Therefore, we should not focus our training time on achieving this "pump", although with training of the proper intensity, it will occur regardless. Most individuals desire the pump and if they do not achieve it, they feel as if the workout has been poor, however this is not the case. It is much more important to train at a proper intensity and with proper technique.

The "drop-set" method will not be effective if the training goal is maximal size and strength. While decreasing the weight to allow for more repetitions may provide a "burning" sensation within the muscle, the actual stimulus on the muscle fibers will be much less in comparison to a "regular" set (performed after a sufficient recovery interval).

Most physiologists agree that muscle appears to grow in response to a stress of sufficient intensity and duration. Therefore, by sticking to heavier weights and adequate rest intervals, the trainee can apply a greater stress in comparison to the "drop-sets" technique. The lighter weights used in a superset probably do not optimally stimulate the muscle at the level necessary to produce growth and strength adaptations in the muscle fibers.

Finally, the use of "drop-sets" may be detrimental in the effects that this technique has on energy reserves. The "drop-set" technique may rob the trainee of valuable energy that would be better spent in the performance of a regular set (a set at a higher intensity). Secondly, the "drop-set" technique may require additional calories to fuel the contractions, and this may then require a greater caloric intake on the part of the trainee in order to gain muscle mass, although this may not be significant. One thing in the favor of drop-sets is time efficiency because you can get a lot done in a very short time.

Therefore, the drop-set method does not appear optimal for acquiring both strength and size. You are best off to keep your training techniques plain and simple (heavy weights, moderate repetitions), unless a plateau in performance suggests otherwise. Overcoming a plateau may require more advanced techniques and program design that should be based solely on the individual, not through general recommendations.

Supersets & Drop Sets for Fat Loss & Muscle Gain

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

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Weight Loss Wars- Circuit Training vs. Supersets

I've always believed supersets are best for fat burning, but strength coach John Barban is telling me I'm wrong! John recommends "6 Minute Circuits" for women for weight loss, so I grilled him about the methods and why his way is supposedly better than mine.

Like me, John is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and a varsity strength and conditioning coach (like I used to be).

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John specializes in training female varsity athletes, specifically women's ice hockey players, and has his masters in nutritional science and human physiology from the University of Guelph.

CB: John, why circuits instead of supersets or straight sets

JB:
We found multiple benefits using the the mini circuits with this workout.

For starters they target the whole body within each circuit. I designed each mini circuit to hit all of the major muscle groups in the body.

This has two effects:

1) it gets your heart rate up for the entire mini circuit which will rev up your metabolism and start burning lots of calories and fat. This style of workout eliminates the need to do long slow traditional cardio, and believe or not burns more calories than a typical cardio workout could!

2) It works all of the major muscle groups in your body so you get a whole body conditioning and toning effect in each mini circuit.

Those are just the actual physical and metabolic benefits which are fantastic.

The other major benefit is variety. The mini circuits we use are constantly changing and incorporating different exercises and variations. They are fun to do and keep the workout fresh.

This is a benefit that I was not anticipating but all the women who do this exercise always mention how much fun it is and how different it is from anything else they've ever done.

CB: What kind of results do your clients get?

JB:
My clients are losing weight, and more specifically fat faster than they ever have before.

I'd say that everyone who has started this program has easily accelerated their progress by weeks if not months. the pounds are coming off of my non athlete clients in record time and our athletes are going to be ready for their season way ahead of schedule.

Its doing exactly what I designed it to do; its getting everyone lean and in great cardiovascular and overall condition all at once!

CB: What type of clients do you use this with?

JB:
The 6 Minute Circuits Workout was designed from the principles I use to train all of my elite level athletes.

We started using it with the girls on the team as well as other individual athletes (I train fitness competitors, figure models, as well as individual sport players of all kinds)

It was getting them all in peak mid season shape faster than any other program we had ever used, which made me happy and the girls were excstatic.

And thats when some of my non athlete clients who saw what I was doing with the team in the gym asked what they were doing and wanted to try it...

And then it hit me, what not just train all of my clients like elite level athletes...after all the girls on the team and my other athlete clients had the type of figure that my non athlete clients were dying to get. So they naturally wanted to train just like those girls trained.

I immediately put all of my clients on this workout and the results are speaking for themselves.

All of my clients athletes, non athletes, busy working mom's, young professionals, women who workout at home, beginners, and seasoned gym goers have all switched with great results.

CB: Where can these workouts be done?

JB:
The entire workout can be done at home.

I designed it this way on purpose. And the types of exercises that we found work best don't require fancy gym equipment anyway, so it really doesn't matter where you like to workout you can do this workout anywhere with minimal equipment.

A set of dumbbells (and if you don't have dumbbells at home you could even use a couple cans of soup to start with) and a stability ball is all you really need.

A bench is nice to have, but if you workout at home and don't have a bench you can substituite a stability ball, and if you don't have that you can use the furniture around your house for almost every exercise that we use a bench for.

I've trained clients in their homes with this workout and its easy to get it done just about anywhere with almost no equipment.

http://www.6minutecircuits.com

Judge for yourself: Is circuit training better than supersets and intervals for weight loss?

Weight Loss Wars- Circuit Training vs. Supersets

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Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat burning workouts have helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning in less than 45 minutes three times per week. Supersets and interval workouts help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment. Join the women's exercise forum for more help.

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