Superset Strategies
Deadlift, squat, hinge, push, pull, crawl, roll over, jump, sprint, bound, shuffle, skip. The endless possibilities of human movement. With so many options it’s easy for a training program to become a jumble of exercises that seemingly have no rhyme or reason to them. This is where we can use supersets to create organized and effective training strategies.
We worked as a group to determine simple and concise ways that we have superset exercises that make sense both in practicality and effectiveness. The following are seven superset strategies that we’ve used to create our programming.
Upper / Lower
This superset is found in total body programs, pairing an upper body exercise with a lower body exercise. In many cases it’s wise to program the lower body exercise first if it creates the most general fatigue, as in the case of a deadlift or squat. We can use this superset to elevate the heart rate quickly. Beware! As this can cause undue stress to a training athlete. Adhering to rest protocols and ensuring that grip gets a break are two ways to ensure an athlete can train effectively without becoming overly fatigued.
An example of this superset would be the squat and the TRX row. The fact that the squat does not challenge grip can lead to better training performance on the TRX row. A full training day can be seen below using this superset method.
Front Squat
TRX Row
Goblet Lateral Lunge
Yoga Push Up
Yoga Ball Hamstring Curl
Single Arm DB Press
This is a quick way to elevate heart rate while also ensuring that training musculature does not fatigue as quickly, enabling peak performance in each lift.
Pre-Exhaustion
Proceed with caution when it comes to pre-exhaustion, as it can place problematic stress on vulnerable joint structures if done poorly without attention to detail. Pre-exhaustion is the use of a single-joint exercise directly before a compound exercise that targets specific muscles. Such as in the case of doing bicep curls directly before a dumbbell row. What this causes is reliance on other, less fatigued musculature to take up the slack. It can lead to promising hypertrophic training effects in both the targeted musculature in the single-joint exercise along with the synergistic muscles used in the compound lift. This superset often runs into problems by using too much grip in both exercises, fatiguing muscles that create joint stability, such as fatiguing rotator cuff musculature before an overhead press or simply causing irritation of joint structures due to excess volume, commonly the shoulder or knee joints. Still, it’s a useful superset when looking for a muscle-building training effect! A sample training day can be seen below.
Yoga Ball Hamstring Curl
Front Squat
DB Pec Fly
DB Chest Press
Bicep Curl
Dumbbell Row
It’s important to appreciate the fatigue that is being introduced. If done correctly, this can be a fantastic way to capture training results in a shorter training period.
Opposing Musculature
Push up to row, leg extensions to leg curls. Opposing musculature is a classic superset that has stood the test of time. These are commonly found in split-training programs where workouts are divided into upper and lower body training days. The benefits of this superset include limiting fatigue between sets, allowing for better performance of each training set while also serving as a time-saver. We can move quickly through pushing, pulling, squatting and hinging in shortened time as we aren’t wasting time waiting for musculature to recover. We can simply complete the other exercise and allow opposing muscles to “rest”. Granted, this is another superset that can lead to a ton of training volume quickly, so proceed with caution. A sample training day is below.
Push Up
DB Row
Pull Up
Standing Landmine Overhead Press
Bicep Curl
Banded Tricep Extension
This superset is great for chasing hypertrophy or training endurance. The creation of local fatigue can lead to this superset affecting maximal strength output as it’s difficult to go from a loaded rowing exercise to a strength-directed press, or going from a loaded pull up to a heavy overhead press. As always, using common sense when determining rest periods can go far in program success. Generally mid-range repetitions (6-12) is where this superset can be best utilized.
Inhibition / Facilitation
We use this superset commonly to produce improved joint range of motion and proper muscle activation during primary exercises. The inhibition method can be seen as a soft-tissue strategy, like foam rolling or trigger point release while the facilitation is generally an exercise that targets specific musculature that is often underutilized like the gluteals or anterior core muscles.
This superset is commonly seen in warm ups but really can be used anywhere in a training program to produce results. We used it commonly at the hip and the shoulder as in the case of a banded hip flexor stretch combined with a same-side single leg glute bridge. Another great way to incorporate this at the hip would be using ½ kneeling exercises combined with hip extension. This creates positional inhibition within the hip flexors and transfers well to the paired exercise in having quality pelvic positioning during hip extension. A sample training day is below.
Banded Hip Flexor Stretch
Single Leg Glute Bridge
½ Kneeling Cable Chop
DB RDL
½ Kneeling Cable Row
Alternating Deadbug
Be creative with this one as it can lead to some great results due to improved positioning and muscle activation during exercise.
Patterning
We commonly use patterning with some of our rehabbing clientele along with athletes with more specific training goals. Patterning involves using an unloaded movement directly before loading to “groove” the pattern.
This technique works well with beginner athletes as it helps them to feel an unfamiliar movement before challenging them to handle resistance. For time reasoning, we use this with split training days specifically lower body targeted as it tends to work best with large global movements. A sample lower body training day is below.
Dowel Hip Hinge
KB Deadlift
Bodyweight Split Squat
DB Split Squat
Glute Bridge
BB Hip Thrust
This technique also works well to restore motion by reversing the pattern:load relationship. By doing loaded exercise first, we can challenge or even potentiate musculature prior to searching for improved range of motion during the unloaded variation.
Potentiation
This shows up regularly on the training floor in the form of contrast training where we combine a small set of loaded exercise followed by a plyometric or explosive exercise challenging the same musculature. This can result in improved performance during the power exercise so we generally use this with our athletic population or conversely our elderly demographic. As power is of such importance during the aging process, we’ve found success using potentiation to create a better training environment for exercises demanding improved power or balance.
A sample of our athlete population contrast training can be seen below.
Deadlift
Vertical Jump
DB Bench Press
MB Push Press
Lateral Lunge
Lateral Bound
Pull Up
MB Slam
For our aging population, we can use loaded or even bodyweight exercises to potentiate leg musculature prior to challenging them with single leg balance or landing drills. For both of these, it’s important to recognize the difference between potentating and fatiguing as it’s easy for athletes to get caught up in the loaded exercise and see negative effects during the power exercise.
Layering
Commonly in coaching we hear the relationship between art and science. Layering is an example of this relationship. We use supersets of three exercises in an effort to create a successful global movement pattern, generally challenging in either multiplanar strength or power. The progression can be boiled down as follows.
First exercise sets the position
Second exercise introduces speed or momentum
Third exercise adds speed or reactivity
In motor learning, athletes need to learn the kinesthetics and biofeedback of a pattern before being able to automate it or use it generally in a complex environment. This can be the difference between a pitcher throwing a great curveball during catch play and being unable to transfer it to the mound. The changed environment showed the athlete does not own that skill yet. By using layering we try to enhance an athlete’s proprioceptive environment to enable them to be reactive and natural in the final exercise. A sample can be seen below.
Lateral Run
Back and Forth Lateral Run
Coach-Directed Lateral Run
This superset strategy works really well with athletes of higher training ages as it allows them to automate and generalize movement patterns in a reactionary environment.
These are a few superset strategies that we’ve used over the years to drive performance enhancement. Becoming better coaches and trainers relies on reviewing fundamental concepts and improving upon them at their most basic level.