The Value of Supersets!

One of the biggest reasons you reach a plateau in your workout is that you are doing the same thing over and over again. Every time you put a new stress load on your body, your muscles get slightly damaged. Then, during the rest time after your workout, they rebuild and become even stronger, so they will be better equipped to handle that particular stress should it be encountered again.

When you perform the same routine day in and day out, your body gets used to the stress and no longer sees a reason to adapt and grow any stronger. This is when you stop noticing changes in your strength, quickness and size.

To overcome this problem, you need to constantly find new ways to shock your system and send it into a state of repair. A great way to do that is with supersets.

What are supersets?

Supersets are essentially two exercises performed back to back that target opposing muscle groups, namely one agonist and one antagonist muscle group. Examples of such muscles are the biceps and triceps, hamstrings and quads, and chest and back.

They are also different from normal sets as you don't rest between exercises, whereas you would normally take around 90 seconds rest between sets.

Why should you do them?

Supersets are a great technique for plateau busting and for sparking your motivation to keep training. Often, when you force yourself to perform the same workouts over and over, you no longer have the burning desire to make it to every planned workout session. By changing your routine, you will find yourself excited again and actually looking forward to pushing your body past its limits.

Supersets are also a great technique for increasing muscle size, as they boost the release of anabolic hormones like testosterone, which is responsible for muscle growth. In addition, you will reduce the amount of time you spend in the gym, as you will be working two muscle groups within the same set.

Another great benefit for those who train at home or on the road is that you don't need really heavy weights; you can push your muscles to their limits with lighter weights, which means that you can still have a great workout with minimal equipment.

However, supersets aren't the best technique if you are exclusively looking to increase your strength. The reasoning behind this is simple: Since it is a higher-intensity workout, you will not be able to lift as much weight as you would if you were doing regular sets with longer rest periods, translating into a lesser pure strength gain.