Superset workouts involve two successive exercises targeting opposing muscle groups, increasing blood flow and muscle fiber recruitment. They can break through training plateaus and increase growth hormone production and resting metabolic rate. Supersets can build more muscle and burn more fat than a straightforward routine.
Supersets are the use of two successive exercises, targeting opposite parts of the body, performed alternately. Typically, the muscles that supersets target are agonist-antagonist pairs, or muscles that work in opposition to each other, such as the biceps and triceps. Superset workouts are often used to break through training plateaus or to boost psychological momentum. Physiologically, superset training provides increased blood flow to the target area, and has been shown to increase both muscle fiber recruitment and natural growth hormone production.
In general, a superset workout will focus on a specific area while maintaining the normal routine for the rest of the body. In this way, the risk of overtraining is reduced and energy is reserved for the target body parts. For a biceps and triceps split, for example, a typical superset workout might include alternating biceps curls and triceps extensions for three to five sets, followed by a short rest, before moving on to another body part. This fast-paced approach typically continues for two to four weeks, at which time the superset routine can be switched to a different target area, such as the hamstrings and quads.
One benefit of supersets is that they allow the body to channel increased blood flow to the target area in an efficient manner. If the biceps and triceps are being worked together, a little routing of blood flow is required for both muscles to remain adequately oxygenated. Despite this, however, the intensity of superset training is such that there will still be an oxygen deficit within the muscle. Typically, oxygen deficit during exercise leads to lactic acid buildup.
Lactic acid is the byproduct of anaerobic metabolism, a process by which muscle tissue can release energy in low-oxygen conditions. The burning or stinging sensation experienced during intense training is caused by lactic acid buildup. In addition to causing soreness in the muscle, lactic acid has been shown to have another important action within the exercising body: growth hormone stimulation.
As a bonus, superset training has been shown to increase resting metabolic rate and also change substrate oxidation for hours after the workout ends. This means that not only is the body burning more energy, but a higher percentage of that energy is coming from the body’s fat stores. In general, it can be inferred that carefully implemented supersets have the potential to build more muscle and burn more fat than the same exercises performed in a straightforward routine.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
