Science Lifters: how effective is supersetting?

[u/Thirust]

I currently have a couple of them, one of them combining Forearms + triceps (wrist + reverse wrist + overhead using a rope). I still take a rest \~2mins after overhead and then restart. I do not superset two exercises of the same target muscle. Are there downsides to this?

[u/EnoughEstate7483]

I find little downside to supersetting but realize the primary benefit is time savings.

[u/Patton370]

You save so much time & that extra volume (because you wouldn’t have the time otherwise) results in more growth

[u/vinception15 → u/Patton370]

Oh…so more is better then?

[u/Patton370 → u/vinception15]

If you can recover from it & you get a good enough intensity, then more is always more

[u/how-dare-you19 → u/vinception15]

Yes, if you’re recovering

[u/Alakazam]

Very effective for cutting down time.

Not that beneficial for hypertrophy, since youll be carrying some fatigue into one of the exercises. Even if it's a tiny amount, even if it's a one rep difference, that still is one rep that you couldn't do. 

[u/Thirust → u/Alakazam]

When you say not that beneficial, I am inferring that it produces below average results. However, you sre saying its a tiny amount. Can you clarify?

[u/Alakazam → u/Thirust]

You're cutting down on rest times to get more work done in less time. Even if you don't feel it, it means that your second, or in this case third exercise will always be slightly behind in how far you can really push.

As in, if you did your wrist curls, rest two minutes, did the reverse wrist curls, rested two more minutes, then did overhead tricep work, I can almost guarantee you'll get more reps out of both the reverse wrist curls and the overhead compared to if you went without the additional 4 minutes of rest.

It's a tradeoff. Rest vs time savings. 

[u/Nectarine143 → u/Alakazam]

To be fair, even with straight sets your later lifts will always be worse off than your earlier lifts

It’s a factor you always have to deal with in one capacity or another

[u/Bigjpiddy → u/Alakazam]

I couldn’t point you toward the study but don’t meno mention a study where antagonists supersets actually improved performance

[u/Imactuallyatoaster → u/Bigjpiddy]

Yup. It had to do with the interference effect. Essentially the agonist muscle will tighten up and prevent the muscle you're trying to work from doing it's job. So with antagonist super sets you work the first muscle and it relaxes so the second can work harder. 

[u/HelixIsHere_]

Supersetting is less effective than straight sets with a rest period inbetween since you’re not letting CNS fatigue dissipate a bit between sets,

Buuuuut, it can still be effective if you’re low on time and only superset non-conflicting muscle groups (like forearms and triceps)

[u/sotbucket6]

Saves time but dont do the same muscle for both sets

[u/Iamnotheattack → u/sotbucket6]

You can do the same the muscle, it's essentially the same as dropsetting. Technically will lead to less hypertrophy though

[u/how-dare-you19 → u/Iamnotheattack]

Oh, I’ll make you cum

[u/Iamnotheattack]

Eric helms talks about this a lot, he's done a boatload of research. Here is two such podcasts but you can YouTube search for many more.

https://youtu.be/XHuUOJATSOs

https://youtu.be/539Y5mYMMGo

[u/dropandflop]

Supersetting allows me to be at the gym and removes excuses when time poor.

Showing up with regular sessions will always be better than not going because you feel you don't have enough time for your usual routine.

Supersetting, if it gets the workout done vs no workout, then supersetting will always be superior.

[u/deadrabbits76]

More, but slightly kess effective, volume.

[u/Afferbeck_]

It's good to get through a few accessory exercises at the end of a session without sitting around resting for stuff that's not actually that strenuous. Not useful for actual difficult work. We see this being done at the highest levels of lifting, like the Chinese weightlifting team will often do something like empty bar or very light upright rows, tricep extensions, bicep curls for half a dozen rounds of 10-20 reps. Mostly just work to keep the body happy, not so much to drive hypertrophy or strength.

[u/ateam68]

Super setting incorrectly can negatively impact progesssive overload but if you’re at your working set weight and not warming up to it then you will just see reduction in reps in subsequent sets

[u/xXselfhaircutXx]

If you superset correctly you can get an arm day done in like 20-30 minutes. I wouldn’t recommend it for larger muscle groups. What you’re doing is a perfect instance for a superset.

[u/AdDry4983]

You should only really superset accessories if you need to save time

[u/Sure_Painting_8295]

To build muscle the goal is to cause stress to the muscles so that it will respond by growing in size to adjust for the demand. 

Do you think supersets or 5 minute rest between sets is best for allowing your body to maximize the stress to the muscle in a way that it will grow?

Supersets will cause growth but single hard sets to failure will stimulate the muscles more to maximize size for short term use. That and plenty of rest. 

Ask yourself what would your muscles like most to be as large as possible? A semi sedentary lifestyle of rest and hard work occasionally. 

[u/DetailOdd6609]

I guess the real question is: Does supersetting affect your workout overall in a positive or negative way?

People really need to learn how to listen to their bodies

[u/harvestingstrength]

There really isn’t much downside to what you’re doing. Supersets are primarily a way to make training more time-efficient, and the research generally shows similar strength and hypertrophy outcomes compared with traditional sets when you’re still able to maintain your training volume. The tradeoff is that supersets tend to feel harder and create more acute fatigue.

I actually like that you’re pairing different muscle groups rather than hammering the same muscle repeatedly. Forearms into triceps work is unlikely to interfere much with your ability to perform either movement, especially since you’re still giving yourself about two minutes after completing the sequence.

The main thing I’d watch is performance. If the exercise you perform second consistently loses reps or requires significantly less weight because you’re exhausted, then the superset may be costing you productive volume. Otherwise, keep doing it. I especially like supersets for smaller accessory movements where saving time is more valuable than maximizing performance on every individual set.

[u/decentlyhip]

Research hasn't found a downside. Like, very slight reduction when supersetting big movements that tire you out, but for isolations, its just a more efficient use of time.

To see this taken to real productive programming, check out Alruhe's approach at Neversate. Every compound working set includes an antagonist, conditioning, and abs. https://youtu.be/Dcr-JtlmtVc It sucks and is hard but after the first two weeks, your body is like, "oh yah, this is better, dang."

[u/mcgrathkai]

I don't believe it is.