If you haven't updated your strength training program in awhile I suggest you try this next time you're in the gym. Because unless you're working directly with a trainer, or working diligently on your own to provide the necessary variety to keep your fitness program results coming, which is rare, it's likely you've been on the same boring strength training program for too long now. Or worse, you gave it up long ago because it got stale and boring and you got sick of it.
Tonight on NBC 15 with Leigh Mills I'm talking about Super Sets. Two exercises, alternated with little or no rest in between. These exercises can either target the same muscle groups or work opposing muscle groups, or both, and this training technique can do wonders for the results you achieve from all your hard work in the gym.
Supersetting has many benefits. Here are the BIG ones…
1. Supersets make your workout more time efficient - you will accomplish more work in less time and let's face it, we can all benefit from this.
2. Supersetting allows one muscle group to rest while you work another one. Again, saving time and keeping you moving, which helps increase the intensity of your workouts too. You have the potential of getting twice the work done in half the time, and in gaining greater benefits from your work.
3. Burn More FAT - I mean, come one, that's what most of us are after right? And there are many ways that supersets help you do this.
Here are the main ones:
-You're minimizing your rest time (as described above) by working opposing muscle groups back to back. Not only does this save time, but it also allows you to work harder because when you workout your chest, for example, and then turn around and workout your back, your chest muscles are now even more relazed because they're fatigued, and your back work will be that much more intense as a result.
-Secondly, a 2010 Study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that super setting burns more calories than does traditional training where you wait around and rest just as much as you work.
Here's the last thing to keep in mind when adding the technique of super setting into your workouts. No matter what two moves you combine, you're going to benefit from the added intensity and efficiency of these workouts. However, consulting with a professional at your local gym can help you identify which combinations of moves might work best for you. And in general, which combinations of moves might be best overall.
According to Lee Boyce, a Toronto based strength coach quoted in the September Issue of Men's Fitness, certain moves compliment each other better than others.
Here's one example from page 34 in the referenced article in the September Issue of Men's Fitness:
The Moves: Leg Press and Bulgarian Split Squat
By performing the Bulgarian Split Squat first, you stretch the hip flexors. This opens your hip a little more so that when you go to do your leg press, you can move through a deeper range of motion. In addition, these are both lower body moves, and the split squat focuses more on the hamstrings and glutes while the leg press focuses more on the thighs and glutes. If you perform these two moves back to back three times with very little rest in between sets, you can complete a killer lower body workout in about 10 minutes or less - not bad.
For more of the best combinations of super set moves, become a client today.
-John
