Supersets: What They Are & How to Use Them
A superset is when you pair two exercises together and perform them one after the other, usually with little or no rest between exercises.
Once you've completed both exercises, you rest before repeating the pair.
For example:
A1. Dumbbell Bench Press — 10 reps
Straight into:
A2. Dumbbell Row — 10 reps
Rest 90 seconds
Then repeat.
The exercises don't have to train the same muscles, and there's no single correct way to construct a superset.
WHY USE SUPERSETS?
The biggest advantage is time efficiency.
Instead of performing an exercise, resting, repeating it several times and then moving onto something else, you can perform another useful exercise during what would otherwise have been part of your rest period.
This can allow you to fit more training into the same amount of time.
Depending on how they're programmed, supersets can also increase local muscular fatigue and make a session more demanding from a conditioning perspective.
OPPOSING MUSCLE SUPERSETS
One of my favourite ways to use supersets is to pair exercises that train broadly opposing muscle groups.
For example:
Bench Press + Row
Biceps Curl + Triceps Extension
Leg Extension + Hamstring Curl
While one muscle group is working, the other gets some recovery.
This can make supersets particularly useful when you want to save time without completely destroying your performance on the second exercise.
SAME MUSCLE SUPERSETS
You can also pair two exercises that train the same muscle group.
For example:
Dumbbell Bench Press + Press-Ups
or:
Leg Press + Leg Extension
Because the same muscles are being challenged repeatedly with very little recovery, fatigue accumulates quickly.
These can be useful when building muscle, but don't expect your performance on the second exercise to be particularly impressive.
That's rather the point.
UNRELATED EXERCISES
Exercises don't even need to train opposing or identical muscles.
You might pair:
Squats + Pull-Ups
or:
Romanian Deadlifts + Shoulder Press
This can be an efficient way of organising a full-body session because one movement doesn't substantially interfere with the other.
The important thing is considering how much fatigue Exercise A creates and whether that compromises what you're trying to achieve with Exercise B.
SUPERSETS AND STRENGTH
Supersets can absolutely be used within strength training, but they aren't always the best choice for your most important heavy lifts.
If maximal performance is the priority, adequate recovery between sets matters.
Doing 20 burpees immediately before your heaviest deadlift probably isn't an ingenious exercise pairing.
It's just going to make you tired.
For major strength exercises, I often prefer either traditional rest periods or pairing them with something that creates very little interference.
For accessory work, supersets can be brilliant.
YOU DON'T NEED ZERO REST
Going directly from one exercise into another is common, but you don't need to panic if it takes 20 seconds to change equipment.
The important distinction is that you're pairing the exercises together rather than taking a complete rest period between them.
Your programme might even deliberately prescribe a short rest between A1 and A2.
As always, the structure should serve the training—not the other way around.
HOW WE WRITE SUPERSETS
You'll often see supersets written as:
A1 — Exercise One
A2 — Exercise Two
Perform A1 followed by A2.
Then take the prescribed rest.
For example:
A1. Bench Press — 3 × 8
A2. Row — 3 × 10
Rest — 90 seconds
You would perform:
Bench Press → Row → Rest
Bench Press → Row → Rest
Bench Press → Row → Finished.
If you see B1/B2 later in the programme, that's simply your next superset.
IN CLOSING
Supersets are a simple way of pairing exercises together.
They can:
Save time.
Allow you to accumulate more training in a session.
Increase muscular fatigue when that's desirable.
Make accessory work considerably more efficient.
But don't superset exercises simply for the sake of making your workout harder.
Pair movements that make sense for what you're trying to achieve.
The goal isn't to remove rest. It's to use your training time effectively.