4 Rewarding Upper-Body Supersets!

December 14, 2012 - By Christophe Alarie

Temps de lecture 3 minutes

Supersets are an excellent training method to optimize your time when exercising and to enhance muscular gains. To achieve a good understanding of the supersets concept, I invite you to read the article Advantages of Supersets for Muscular Gain.

Reminder: supersets are a combination of two exercises one after the other, without rest. Take a 45 to 90 seconds pause between supersets.

Use this chart to determine how many supersets you have to do per muscular group for mass gain. It will allow you to choose the number of sets and repetitions you will have to do. This chart takes into account the experience you have in weight gain:

Training experience	Number of sets	Number of repetitions
Less than 3 months	2 to 3	10 to 15
3 months to a year	3 to 4	8 to 12
More than a year	4 to 6	6 to 12

Here are four upper-body supersets using the agonist-antagonist method.

1. Bench press

and Seated row (on Hammer Strenght or with cables).

2. Decline barbell or dumbbell press

and one arm row.

These two supersets are the combination of the upper body’s biggest muscular groups, which allows for the secretion of more weight-gain promoting hormones. For a simpler, guided movement, this exercise can also be performed on Hammer Strength machines!

3. Dumbbell fly

and bent-over reverse fly (with tubing or dumbells).

4. Standing biceps curl

and lying triceps extension (on a ball or bench).

These two supersets are the combination of smaller muscle groups, for a more isolated stimulation that completes the stress stimulus for the upper-body.

Repetitions max (RM)

The most important element in this type of training is the resistance you are lifting, pushing, or pulling. Regardless of the number of sets or repetitions, you have to find a resistance that prevents you from doing more than planned. Using a resistance that is very close to your maximum capacities creates the stress necessary for optimal muscular development. This is the principle of maximum sets. For example:

If I decide to perform 3 sets of 8 repetitions using a weight with which I can do 3 sets of 15 repetitions, it would be important to increase the weight, because the stress put on the muscle will be insufficient. Results: a waste of time!

Performed with the right resistance, these supersets will help you reach your objectives. Using the right resistance for your exercises is a major issue if you want to reach your objectives. To determine the resistance you should be using, consult a personal trainer.

By Christophe Alarie

4 Rewarding Upper-Body Supersets! is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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