Sunday, August 23, 2015

Guide to Creating a Weightlifting Superset Workout




I’ ve been doing weight lifting superset workouts for caducity.



When I first started going to the gym at age 15, I did the standard “ do one set and rest” routine. I hated the resting part since I got bored. Furthermore, it made my workouts take longer.



After lifting for a few caducity, I learned about supersets. I’ ve been doing them ever since … and not just weight lifting supersets. I do them in all kinds of formats to speed up my workouts.



What are supersets?



In a nutshell, supersets are doing exercises back - to - back with no rest. It could be targeting the same muscle or different muscles. It could be a combination of:



resistance training and cardio,



resistance training and stretching ( or yoga ), or



cardio and yoga.



You can create duo, or triple combinations such as:



Chest / Back ( duo departure )



Chest / biceps / triceps ( triple departure )



Chest / Back / Stretch



Chest / Chest / Back / Back ( this four - exercise superset is handsome intense ).



What are the main benefits of supersets?



Saves time working out. I find supersets cut down my workout time by 40 %.



Hit all your muscle groups in fewer workouts during a habituated past. Instead of hitting 2 muscle groups, you easily cover 4 during a 20 to 30 minute workout.



Relieves boredom. I destination sitting around between sets. I upgrade to keep going.



Provides both anaerobic and aerobic workouts at the same time.



Makes stretching tasty. A great miscellany is weight lifting and stretching.



More workout array. With all the combinations available, you can come up with all kinds of workouts ( peg combinations below ). You can do different combinations during the same workout. In truth, every workout can be different.



Even so, I discern rest is good for being able to lift maximum amounts of weight and / or amount of reps. I get that … but I’ m not all that concerned about maximizing benefit with every set. In actuality, I’ d much quite cut my workout time by 40 %, get 80 % of the benefit and reduce boredom. That’ s what supersets do for me.



Do supersets work?



Precisely, they do for me. In truth, I find that the amount I lift and the number of reps doesn’ t suffer much despite taking much fewer and shorter shot between sets. Besides, even on days I only lift weights, I get an aerobic workout in as well.



Two Main Types of Weight Lifting Supersets



1. Same Muscle Combos



If you’ re really into enervating your muscles, you can do what I call “ same muscle combos”. This is when you do two different exercises targeting the same muscle.



Same muscle combos don’ t necessarily save you much time. Instead, they can really hammer a muscle.



It’ s a good notion to start with a compound exercise followed up with an isolation movement. However, this isn’ t indeed necessary. In detail, I regularly do entire weight lifting workouts using machines only … which are isolation exercises ( machines also help save time ).



Examples of Same Muscle Combos



Duo Supersets



Bench Press / Flat Flies



Incline Press / Pec Deck



Triple Supersets



Bench Press / DB Press / Pec Deck



2. Different Muscle Combos



Different muscle combinations are what I do halfway exclusively. I don’ t really do same muscle combos supersets.



Examples of different muscle combinations are as follows:



Duo Supersets



Bench Press ( chest ) / Lat Pull down ( back )



Barbell Curl ( bicep ) / Triceps Extension ( triceps )



Triple Supersets



Bench Press / Bicep DB Curl / Triceps Extension



Lat Pull Down / DB Shoulder Press / Barbell Shrugs



How much rest should you take between supersets?



I ofttimes take 30 seconds rest. I keep it short so that time between working out a muscle is not too long. Furthermore, if I took 3 minutes, it would not reduce my workouts and wouldn’ t stock up much of an aerobic workout.



If I do stretching in between sets, I take no rest.



It also depends on whether you do “ same muscle” combos or “ different muscle combos”. Obviously, if you hit the same muscles back - to - back, you’ ll need to take more than 30 seconds rest.



It also depends on whether you do duo or triple supersets. When I do triple supersets, I take a 10 to 15 second water break and keep going. I really motor with my triple set supersets.



Accordingly, it all depends on the type of supersets you do. Play it by ear to flash what works for you. If you find 30 seconds doesn’ t render enough recovery time, extend that to 45 seconds.



Also, be mindful of enervate. You can overdo your workouts with supersets, especially when incorporating compound exercises such as squats and deadlifts which are taxing and stressful.



How can you plan your workouts with supersets?



I love supersets because I can either hammer out a 2 - muscle workout in 12 minutes first step more time for cardio / yoga ( and do this 4 to 5 times per second which is a 4 or 5 day split ) or hit 4 muscle groups in 20 to 30 minutes. With a 4 muscle superset plan, I lift 2 to 3 times per life span ( depending on the splits ).











Examples of superset workouts



Duo Muscle Superset Workouts



3 Day Split



Day 1: Chest / Back | Biceps / Triceps



Day 2: Shoulders / Traps | Abs ( superset the abs )



Day 3: Quads / Calves | Hamstrings / Abs



4 Day Split



Day 1: Chest / Back



Day 2: Biceps / Triceps



Day 3: Shoulders / Abs



Day 4: Legs



A note about abs. You can count abs with weight lifting ( i. e. do ab exercises between weight lifting exercises ) or do a opposite ab workout position you do 2 or 3 ab exercises back - to - back.



5 Day Split



Day 1: Chest / Biceps



Day 4: Quads / Abs



Day 2: Back / Triceps



Day 3: Shoulders / Traps



Day 5: Hamstrings / Calves / Abs



With the 2 muscle workouts, you can spotlight 2 or 4 muscles in a workout. In truth, if you have a busy age, plainly alter a 4 or 5 day split to a 3 day split.



Triple Muscle Supersets



I nurse to do more foursome muscle supersets; although when crunched for time, triple sets are fantastic. They’ re also good for delivering an aerobic workout considering rest time is style back to 10 to 15 seconds between supersets.



1 Day Split



Chest / Biceps / Triceps | Back / Shoulders / Traps | Quads / Hamstrings / Calves | Abs ( triple set the abs as well with 3 ab exercises ).



2 Day Split



Day 1: Chest / Biceps / Triceps | Back / Shoulders / Traps



Day 2: Quads / Hamstrings / Calves | Abs ( triple set the abs as well with 3 ab exercises ).



3 Day Split:



Day 1: Chest / Biceps / Triceps | Back / Shoulders / Traps



Day 2: Quads / Hamstrings / Calves



Day 3: Abs ( hammer them )



4 Day Split



Day 1: Chest / Biceps / Triceps |



Day 2: Back / Shoulders / Traps



Day 3: Quads / Hamstrings / Calves



Day 4: Abs ( hammer them )



The more days you do, the faster your workouts will go. A 4 day split can be done in 12 minutes easily. After all it’ s a destroy of 6 sets ( or however many sets you choose to do per muscle group. You must also factor in set up time for each exercise ).



How many exercises / sets per superset?



Again, this will depend on your workout objectives.



I often do 2 exercises of 3 sets per muscle. I’ m not out to win Mr. Olympia. I like staying in decent shape with some tone and definition. If you’ re out to build some downbeat muscle or chisel up, add a examination exercise with more 3 sets.



The figure of reps per set is dictated by your workout even-handed. Supersets function much the same as single set lifting and so the theories behind the quantity of reps exercise the same.



I typically do 5 to 10 reps. Ofttimes I’ ll do 1 to 2 sets per exercise in the 5 to 6 rep range and borderline with an 8 to 10 rep set.



If you’ re concerned about the optimal unit of reps to do for each set and want to read what is probably some of the best literature on rep amount, check out Glaring Moore’ s Visual Influence Fitness. I have his guide and as a reaction of reading it, I lowered my rep station to 5 or 6 ( I traditionally did 8 to 12 reps per set ).



Locus should you start with supersets?



The easiest to do, and if you want to save time, are the duo different muscle supersets in a 4 day split. The following would be such a workout:



4 Day Split for 1 Present



Day 1: Chest / Back



Superset 1: Bench Press / Lat Pulldown ( 3 sets – 5, 5 and 8 reps )



Superset 2: Incline DB Chest Press / Seated Rows ( 3 sets – 5, 8 and 10 reps )



Day 2: Biceps / Triceps



Superset 1: Barbell Curls / Lying down tricep extensions ( 3 sets – 5, 5 and 8 reps )



Superset 2: Orator Curls / Tricep Recognition Pushdowns ( 3 sets – 5, 8 and 10 reps )



Day 3: Shoulders / Abs



Superset 1: Behind the Neck Press / Bicycle Ab Extensions / Curls ( 3 sets – 5, 5 and 8 reps )



Superset 2: Shoulder Flies / Decline Ab Sit Ups ( 3 sets – 5, 8 and 10 reps )



Day 4: Legs



Superset 1: Smith Machine Squats / Leg Curls ( 3 sets – 5, 5 and 8 reps )



Superset 2: Leg Presses / Boy Extensions on the Leg Press ( 3 sets – 5, 8 and 10 reps ( I do 12 to 15 reps for calves ) )



The sky is the limit



This weight lifting supersets workout article is just the alpha with the change of workouts you can create with supersets. Launch in stretching and abs, and the combinations escalate.



The best part is you’ ll take to gains with much less biggie of time … unless you like socializing during relief in the gym … supersets can cut down your workout time significantly.

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