What’s that? Up there? It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s superma…no, it’s not that! It’s faster than your average workout, more powerful than your average strength routine, it’s…Superset! 

Ah supersets — one of the most effective and efficient ways to blast through workout plateaus and get yourself some real, noticeable results. Haven’t heard of a superset? First of all, where have you been hiding?? Second of all, that’s what we’re here for! So sit back and relax (or lean forward and get tense), because we’ve got all the info you need to put together the ultimate superset workout to hit all your muscle groups, and hit ‘em good.

What Is a Superset? 

Let’s begin at the beginning, shall we? The most common superset definition is any series of strength training exercises placed back to back, with minimal rest between sets. There are many variations within the superset category, but the most common involve working opposing muscle groups or the same muscle groups.

The Benefits of Supersets

There are a few benefits of supersets that we need to talk about, in no particular order: 

Efficiency

Want to hit the gym but don’t have time for a two-hour, slow burn, warm-up-go-hard-cool-down extravaganza? We hear you. With a superset, you can get just as much work in, in half the time. When it comes to opposing muscle group supersets, this benefit really shines through. Here’s an example: if you’re working your biceps hard, in place of your rest time, you immediately switch to triceps. While those rest, you jump back onto the biceps again. Voila, double work, fraction of the time. 

Intensity 

Many fitness and lifting experts agree that the best way to hit your muscles is to exhaust them to failure. And a superset helps you do just that. This is especially true when working one muscle group with a variety of different exercises. For the purposes of this blog, we’ll be focusing on this type of superset. 

How to Do a Same-Muscle Superset

When doing a same-muscle superset, you want to practice your normal strength training methodology. Make sure to keep proper form, warm up and cool down properly, and work until your muscles are fatigued. The major difference occurs during your rest periods in between sets: you’re gonna want to eliminate that altogether. Instead of taking your pause to rest, immediately jump to the next exercise. And seeing as how you’ll be doing slightly different movements, your muscles won’t work exactly the same way each exercise.

The Ultimate Superset Workout for Every Muscle Group

We’re going to be hitting the major muscle groups, one at a time, with our suggestions for superset exercises. You’re going to be hitting these pretty hard, and they are volume workouts, so choose a moderate weight for each.

For each muscle group, do 8-12 reps of each exercise and move down the list with little rest. When you get to the end of the list, rest for two minutes. That’s one set. Repeat two more times for a total of three sets per muscle group. 

Chest

Incline Bench Press

Dumbbell Flys

Seated Chest Press

Cable Crossover

Push Ups (as many as you can)

Back

Wide-Grip Lat Pull Downs

Bent Over Barbell Rows

Narrow-Grip Lat Pull Downs

Seated Cable Rows

Shoulders

Barbell Overhead Press

Reverse Dumbbell Flys

Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press

Cable Lateral Raises

Biceps

Barbell Curls

Dumbbell Bicep Curls

Bicep Lat Pull Downs

Preacher Curls

Triceps

Skullcrushers

Tricep Push Down

Cross Cable Tricep Extension

Hamstrings

Deadlifts

Walking Lunges

Machine Hamstring Curls

Quadriceps

Goblet Squats

Side Lunges

Leg Extensions

Well there you go! You’ve now got all the info you need to get in an amazing superset workout, like right now. Just a fair warning: these superset exercises will have you feelin’ it in the morning. But once you’ve recovered, sign up for a Free Trial with Studio SWEAT onDemand! We’ve got an entire library filled with virtual strength training classes, along with Indoor Cycling, Yoga, Barre, Kickboxing, Core, and many more online workouts. Sign up today, and get ready for super-health and super-fitness from here on in!