Supersets for Super Results

by John Paul Catanzaro05/29/12

Some lifters seek size at any cost. They couldn't care less if their joints take a beating in
the process. To them it's bodybuilding "carpe diem" seize the day and screw
tomorrow!
Guys with a few more grey hairs in their beards tend to take a different approach. Years
of balls-out training have taken their toll, forcing them, kicking and screaming, to make
joint health a priority. For these guys, a day without aches is as fulfilling as a new PR.
Fortunately, there's a way to accomplish both objectives with one training method. It's
calledsupersets.
Supersets involve pairing two exercises and moving from one to the next with little to no
rest in between. This training method can be very effective because short rest intervals
increase lactate production and decrease blood pH, which triggers the anterior pituitary
to secrete growth hormone.

Lactate can also stimulate Testosterone release from testicular Leydig cells. By
increasing anabolic hormone production in this manner, supersets (and the subsequent
"burn" they induce) can promote some serious muscle growth and keep you lean in the
process.
Supersets also increase the density of training, another variable that can significantly
boost muscle hypertrophy and improve body composition. In his book Arnold: The
Education of a Bodybuilder, Schwarzenegger explains how many advanced
bodybuilders in Germany would use supersets to save time (i.e., do the same amount of
work in less time). "What you'll be doing [with supersets] is building your body to its
ultimate size and training it for maximum definition," says the Oak. While I wouldn't ask
Arnold how to land a hot mistress, I would definitely take his training advice!
It gets better. Play your cards right and supersets can even increase strength, improve
joint health and integrity, and promote left-right symmetry. Oh yeah, and build muscle!
Now I'll show you how.

The Look-Better-In-A-Shirt Superset Routine

The elbow flexors (biceps brachii, brachioradialis and brachialis) are innervated by the
musculocutaneous nerve (C5 and C6), and the elbow extensors (triceps brachii and
anconeus) are innervated predominantly by the radial nerve (C6, C7 and C8). If these
vertebrae are out of alignment, strength will be affected.
In the book Optimal Muscle Training, Dr. Ken Kinakin reveals that nerve compression of
merely 10-50 mmHg (about the weight of a dime on the back of your hand) from the
spine to the muscles can potentially decrease action potentials by up to 40%. Activating
the long cervical extensors and upper traps with neck bridges and shoulder shrugs,
respectively, can help reposition these often-misaligned vertebrae and increase
strength, instantly. I talk about this in greater detail in my article Get Ready For The
Workout Of Your Life!
With that in mind, here's a superset routine that will fill out your sleeves and neckline in
no time:
Exercises

Sets

Reps

Tempo

Rest

A1 Neck Bridge

30-60
sec
isometric
hold

A2 Close-Grip Bench Press

8-10

4010

2 min

B1 Seated Dumbbell Shrug

10-12

1012

10 se

B2 Seated Zottman Curl

8-10

4010

2 min

C Standing Twisting Rope Curl

1

10-12

3010

10 se

C Flat Twisting Dumbbell Triceps Extension

2

10-12

3010

90 se

D Seated Dumbbell Concentration Curl

1
On the final pair of exercises, start with the weak side first. Let's
assume your left side is weaker. Perform concentration curls
with your left arm. Ten seconds after you finish, perform triceps
kickbacks with your left arm. Ten seconds after you finish,
perform concentration curls with your right arm. Ten seconds
after you finish, perform triceps kickbacks with your right arm.
Rest 90 seconds and repeat the process two more times.

10-12

3010

10 se

D One-Arm Dumbbell Triceps Kickback

2

12-15

2010

90 se

Use an appropriate level of resistance. Most trainees can

perform this exercise on a Swiss ball using body weight only;
some advanced lifters can use additional weight held on their
chest, while many beginners will have to start with the back of
their head leaning against a wall.
You must hold a static position for 30-60 seconds before
reaching muscular failure. If you can't maintain the isometric
contraction for a minimum of 30 seconds, then the level of
resistance is too high. Conversely, if 60 seconds is easy, then
the level of resistance is too low.
Proceed immediately to the close-grip bench press after the
neck bridge. It should take you roughly 10 seconds to get in
position and begin.

10 se

Hold the top (contracted) position for 2 seconds

Notes
For tempo, the first and third numbers indicate the amount of time it should take to
perform the eccentric and concentric portions of the exercise, respectively. The second
and fourth are the number of seconds you should pause after.

Perform the routine once every 5 days.

Do 6 cycles of the above routine and after 30 days, you should notice considerable neck
and arm hypertrophy and your shirts should fit better, too!

The Unconventional Upper-Body Superset Scheme

Most conventional supersets pair agonists (same body parts) or antagonists (opposite
body parts) for hypertrophy, or non-competing body parts (e.g., pairing an upper body
with a lower body movement) for body composition purposes. However, you can also
pair gross with specific movements, multi-joint (compound) with single-joint (isolation)
movements, or prime movers with stabilizers.
The following superset routine will not only improve upper body size, strength, and
performance, it will also promote shoulder health and integrity. Often, upper body
supersets can create a muscular imbalance in the shoulder joint with excessive internal
rotation and insufficient external rotation of the humerus, but not with this scheme.

Perform the following routine once every 5 days:

Exercises
A1 Wide-Grip Sternum Pull-up

Sets Reps Tempo

Rest

4-6

50X0

10 se

A2 Seated Dumbbell Muscle Snatch

8-10

10X0

2 min

B1 Incline Bench Press

6-8

40X0

10 se

B2 ShoulderHorn Cable External Rotation

10-12

3010

2 min

C Standing Cable Crossover

1

10-12

3010

10 se

C Standing EZ-Bar Upright Row

2
Use a mid-grip (shoulder-width) hand position. If you're concerned
with long-term shoulder health, I suggest avoiding a close-grip
position on this exercise.

10-12

3010

90 se

D Flat Dumbbell Flye

1
Use a pronated grip (thumbs facing each other).

10-12

3010

10 se

D Bent-over Dumbbell Lateral Raise

2
Use a supinated grip (thumbs facing away from each other).

12-15

2010

90 se

If you're unable to perform the prescribed number, do as many as

you can in good form and then continue with regular wide-grip pullups until all reps are completed.

The ShoulderHorn is great to use during the cable external rotation

movement. However, if one isn't available, you can simulate the
device by resting your upper arms on a preacher bench.

The One-Side-At-A-Time Lower-Body Superset Plan

The beauty of supersets is that you can get more work done in a given period of time.
By resting only 10 seconds instead of a minute or more between two exercises, you can
squeeze another set in, thus supersetting is a great method to use for unilateral training.
Many people shy away from unilateral work because it takes twice as long, especially
personal trainers who generally have 60 minutes or less to work with a client. You can
overcome that problem with supersets they allow you to perform exercises that don't
pop up often in the rotation, and more importantly, they allow you to restore left-right
symmetry that may have strayed with constant bilateral work.
There are two ways to do this:
1.Perform both sides of the first exercise followed by both sides of the second exercise
with only 10 seconds between each movement (basically, just enough time to get set for
the next exercise) and then rest, or...

2.Perform one side of the first exercise, followed by one side of the second exercise,
followed by the other side of the first exercise, followed by the other side of the second
exercise, with only 10 seconds between each movement and then rest.
Did you get that? If not, read it over again s-l-o-w-l-y!
Perform the following routine once every 5 days:
Exercises

Sets Reps Tempo

Rest

A1 Front Split Squat

6-8

3010

10 se

A2 Single-Leg Hip Extension

6-8

1012

2 min

B1 Back Step-Up

10-12

1111

10 se

B2 Seated Single-Leg Press

15-20

1010

2 min

C Standing Leg Curl

1

6-8

4010

10 se

C Seated Single-Leg Extension

2

12-15

2010

90 se

D One-Leg Calf Raise

1
May be performed on a step with a dumbbell held on the same side
as the working leg, or it may be performed on a dedicated standing
calf raise machine if available.

10-12

2110

10 se

D Seated Single-Leg Calf Raise

2

15-20

1010

90 se

If you don't have access to a leg press machine, substitute a oneleg (pistol) squat instead.

Whole-Body Muscle Mass Attack

Here's a superset routine that attacks the entire body! Unlike the whole-body routine
that I presented in my 21st Century Supersets article, this is a split routine where the
lower body is trained on Day 1 and the upper body on Day 2. Each day starts with
proximal pairs and progresses distally with each subsequent pair. In other words, larger
muscles are targeted first and smaller muscles toward the end of the workout.
The exercises are paired by joint in the following manner:

Day 1 - Lower Body

A1) Trunk Extension
A2) Trunk Flexion
B1) Hip Extension
B2) Hip Flexion
C1) Knee Extension
C2) Knee Flexion

D1) Ankle Extension

D2) Ankle Flexion

Day 2 - Upper Body

A1) Shoulder Extension
A2) Shoulder Flexion
B1) Shoulder Horizontal Abduction
B2) Shoulder Horizontal Adduction
C1) Elbow Extension
C2) Elbow Flexion
D1) Wrist Extension
D2) Wrist Flexion
Here's the routine now with the exercises and appropriate parameters in place:

Day 1 - Lower Body

Exercises

Sets

Reps

Tempo

Rest

A1

Bent-Knee Deadlift

6-8

31X0

10 sec.

A2

Decline Sit-up

8-10

20X0

2 min.

B1

Reverse Hypers

10-12

10X0

10 sec.

B2

Incline Two-leg Lowering

10-12

2010

90 sec.

C1

Seated Leg Extension

10-12

2010

10 sec.

C2

Lying Leg Curl

6-8

4010

90 sec.

D1

Standing Calf Raise

10-12

2010

10 sec.

D2

Seated Cable Tibialis Raise

15-20

1010

1 min.

Day 2 - Upper Body

Exercises
A1

Mid-Grip Pull-up

Sets

Reps

Tempo

Rest

6-8

40X0

10 sec.

A2

Standing Military Press

6-8

40X0

2 min.

B1

Seated Cable Row

8-10

3010

10 sec.

B2

Flat Neutral Dumbbell Press

8-10

3010

90 sec.

C1

Kneeling Rope French Press

8-10

3010

10 sec.

C2

Incline Dumbbell Curl

8-10

3010

90 sec.

D1

Cable Reverse-Grip Wrist Curl

10-12

2010

10 sec.

D2

Cable Wrist Curl

10-12

2010

1 min.

Notes
Perform each day twice a week (e.g., Day 1 on Monday and Thursday, and Day 2 on
Tuesday and Friday). After a month, switch to a new routine.
Make sure to keep the rest minimal (only 10 seconds) between the first exercise and
the second exercise of each superset pairing.
Always think of the results, not your ego! The key with supersets is to be successful
each set, not to use extremely heavy loads. Put your ego aside and pick an appropriate
load to accomplish the task for every set. It's not uncommon to lose a rep or two each
set depending on your fiber makeup, so adjust the load accordingly.
Let me put it in a way you might understand better. The chicks are checking out your
body at the beach. They don't care how much weight you lift at the gym. Get it?
This article offers several unique methods for using supersets as part of your musclebuilding and joint-restoring arsenal: three body-part schemes that you can combine to
form a super potent routine, and a whole-body attack that's lethal on its own. Either way,
get ready for some super results.
Note: John Paul has just released his new book The Elite Trainer: Strength Training for
the Serious Professional. The book features 55 programs, dozens of training methods
and cutting-edge techniques, and over 100 exercise illustrations.
http://www.t-nation.com/training/supersets-for-super-results