What Are Supersets And How to Use Them

Supersets are a popular and effective intensity technique that is universally praised and recommended for people to save time in their training.

Let’s look at how supersets work, what common types exist, their benefits and drawbacks, how to program them into your routine, and what mistakes to avoid.

Key Takeaways

1. Supersetting is when you do two back-to-back exercises with little or no rest.
   
   
2. Common superset types include agonist/antagonist, compound/compound, upper/lower body, pre-exhaustion, and post-exhaustion.
   
   
3. Supersets are time-efficient, offer cardio benefits, and introduce workout variety to help keep your training plan more engaging.
   
   
4. Common mistakes include pairing the wrong exercises, not resting long enough, ignoring proper form, and rushing through your repetitions to save extra time.
   
   
5. Hevy allows you to create supersets with just a couple of taps when creating reusable templates or logging live workouts.

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What Are Supersets?

Supersets are a workout technique where you pair two exercises that typically target different muscles and do them back-to-back with little to no rest in between. For example, a set of tricep pushdowns followed by a set of dumbbell bicep curls would count as one superset. Training that way helps save time.

5 Types of Supersets

1. Opposing Muscles Supersets (Agonist/Antagonist)

This is where you do two exercises that target opposing muscle groups, including the biceps and triceps, hamstrings and quadriceps, chest and back, and glutes and hip flexors.

Example include:

• Barbell curl with rope cable pushdown (biceps and triceps)
• Leg extension with lying leg curl (quadriceps and hamstrings)
• Barbell bench press with seated cable row (chest and back)
• Barbell hip thrust with hanging knee raise (glutes and hip flexors)

These are perhaps the most popular type of superset and what comes to mind for most people.

You can easily create these and other supersets when building workout templates or logging live gym sessions through Hevy. Learn about the feature here.

2. Compound Supersets

This is an advanced superset option where you do two multi-joint exercises back-to-back. You should plan the exercises carefully because compound lifts involve more muscles, and too much overlap can lead to secondary muscles becoming the limiting factor.

Let’s take dumbbell Romanian deadlifts and goblet squats as an example. You have two compound lifts that target opposing muscles: the hamstrings and quadriceps. However, there is an overlap in the secondary muscles involved in both movements: the glutes, lower and upper back, and forearms.

For instance, if your back gets fatigued from Romanian deadlifts, you’ll struggle to maintain the proper position for goblet squats and might need to stop the set before you train your quads close to failure.

To clarify, compound supersets don’t have to work opposing muscle groups. The above was simply an example. You should always consider the secondary muscles involved in each multi-joint exercise and how the pair would work together.

In most cases, pairing a compound and isolation lift would allow you to perform better on both and reap the time-saving benefits of supersets.

Related: 12 of the Best Lower Body Pull Exercises for Strength

3. Upper/Lower Body Supersets

Upper/lower body supersets can also be a time-efficient way to train and keep muscle overlap relatively low, especially if you pair isolation exercises or a compound and isolation lift. 

These can also be particularly useful when doing full-body training since you’re doing lower and upper-body movements.

Examples of upper/lower body exercises (compound and isolation) for supersets include:

• Barbell bench press with lying leg curl
• Bent over barbell row with leg extensions
• Upright barbell row with calf raises
• Shoulder press with hip adduction (machine)

As discussed above, you can pair compound exercises, but consider the secondary muscles. Good examples with minimal overlap include:

• Split squat with lat pulldowns
• Glute ham raise with barbell bench press
• Leg press with shoulder press

Here is a full-body workout taken straight from one of the 25+ complete training programs you can access in the Hevy app’s library:

Here is the same workout modified with supersets to take less time:

4. Pre-Exhaustion Supersets

Pre-exhaustion supersets are those where you do two exercises for one muscle group. You start with an isolation lift to create some fatigue in the muscle and proceed to a compound exercise for your primary set.

The advantages of pre-exhaustion include:

• Activating the primary muscle and helping you feel it better during compound lifts
• Being able to exhaust the muscle with a lighter weight
• Possibly experiencing less wear and tear over time by keeping the loads lighter

This means pre-exhaustion is suitable for people who only care about muscle mass but would not be a good option for strength gains.

Examples of pre-exhaustion supersets include:

• Cable chest fly before flat barbell bench press
• Leg extensions before leg press or barbell squat
• Lying leg curl before Romanian deadlift
• Cable pullover before bent over barbell row

Remember that this is a more advanced tactic that carries some risk. Start with a light weight on the compound lift to see how it feels, and ask someone to spot you in case you fail to do the last rep.

5. Post-Exhaustion Supersets

Post-exhaustion supersets are the opposite approach that carries less because you start with the compound lift and conclude with an isolation exercise for the primary muscle. 

For example:

• Flat barbell bench press ⇒ cable chest fly
• Barbell back squat ⇒ leg extension
• Romanian deadlift ⇒ lying leg curl
• Bent over barbell row ⇒ cable pullover

Training that way allows you to maximally stimulate the target muscle and train it with heavy and light weights, which is ideal for generating mechanical tension and metabolic stress, both essential for muscle growth.

This is a good muscle-building tactic similar to the pre-exhaustion method but would not be ideal for strength gains. To understand why, read our strength vs. hypertrophy training guide, where we outline eight key differences.

3 Benefits of Supersets

1. Time-Efficient

The biggest benefit of supersets is that they allow you to condense more training in less time and complete your workouts more quickly. While one muscle is recovering, you can train another and use your time more intelligently.

2. Cardio Benefits

By forcing you to do more work in less time, supersets raise your heart rate higher and for longer than traditional sets. This is supported by research, including Realzola et al. (2022) and Zhang et al. (2025).

The advantage over traditional sets is that this doesn’t come at the expense of excessive local fatigue that affects your set-to-set performance.

For instance, you could shorten your rest periods between regular sets to reap similar cardio benefits. The problem is that doing so would limit muscle recovery, causing your performance and total training volume to be lower.

3. Greater Workout Variety

Workout enjoyability is not discussed commonly because prevailing wisdom suggests that we should suck it up and just do the work, regardless of how we feel about it. 

But the truth is that it’s okay to enjoy your training and look for ways to make it more fun, especially when you’re bored and not looking forward to any of your workouts.

Adding supersets to your training can be a neat way to spice up your workouts, even if you keep most training variables the same.

Drawbacks of Supersets

1. Harder to Do

Even when programmed intelligently, supersets are more challenging to do. Your cardiovascular system works harder, and you need to push yourself more to continue training once you’ve done a set close to failure. 

Here’s what the authors of this paper wrote:

“…it should be noted that supersets generally induce higher internal loads, more severe muscle damage, and increased perceived exertion, potentially necessitating extended recovery times between sessions.”

This is particularly true when doing compound, pre-exhaustion, or post-exhaustion supersets. 

One way to work around this is to take slightly longer rest breaks between supersets. For example, if you typically rest for two minutes between regular sets, consider resting for 2.5 minutes between supersets. 

You can set automatic rest timers for supersets, and the timer will trigger when you mark a set as completed in Hevy.

2. More Difficult to Program

Adding an agonist/antagonist superset here and there is no big deal, but things become more complicated when you want to add multiple supersets or program more advanced options like:

• Compound with compound lift 
• Pre-exhaustion
• Post-exhaustion

This is why it’s great to log your workouts and regularly review your numbers. Doing so helps you see how changes to your training plan affect your recovery and performance and when you should scale things back.

3. Higher Risk of Technique Breakdown

As inherently more fatiguing, supersets carry a higher risk of technique breakdown, which affects muscle activation and can put you at a slightly higher injury risk.

Ways to maintain better technique include:

• Be mindful of the risk and consider filming some of your sets to see how you look from the side
  
  
• Take longer rest breaks between sets to feel recovered; as a rule, your breathing should be somewhat normalized when you start each superset
  
  
• Keep your RPE slightly lower, at least initially; if you typically aim for an RPE 8-9 for most sets, train to an RPE 7 (leaving three reps in the tank) during your initial supersets

How to Incorporate Supersets Into Your Workout Routine

Step 1: See What Exercises You Can Pair

Look at your current program and see what exercises you can pair. For example, here is an intermediate upper/lower split taken from the Hevy app’s free program library:

Here’s how it might look when you create some supersets:

This can be a good way to get some experience with supersets without making too many changes to your training plan. 

You can also add an exercise here and there to work opposing muscle groups and do extra volume without spending too much extra time at the gym. For example:

Don’t start with too many supersets because a) they are harder to do, b) they can be harder to recover from, and c) they may affect your technique as you get tired.

Step 2: Set Your Rest Timer

Take slightly longer rest pauses between supersets to allow your heart rate to decrease and your breathing to normalize. If you take two-minute rest pauses on average, add 30 extra seconds of rest between supersets.

Step 3: Tweak the Weight and RPE

As with any new addition to your workout plan, it’s important to start small, monitor how you feel, and adjust when necessary. Here’s a simple formula that could help:

• Feeling excessively tired? Reduce the number of supersets or lower the weight by 10-20% on one or both exercises.
  
  
• Struggling with form? Lower the weight or increase the rest times.
  
  
• Not feeling that challenged? Increase the weight, add an extra set, or push to slightly higher RPEs.

Common Superset Mistakes

1. Pairing the Wrong Exercises

You have a fair amount of freedom to pair different exercises for supersets. That said, here are some potentially bad combinations to be mindful of:

• Compound with compound – while doable, this is not the best option because it creates too much fatigue, and there are typically too many overlapping muscles that can get overly fatigued and limit your performance or affect your technique.
  
  
• Same muscle group – unless you’re trying to do pre- or post-exhaustion, avoid doing two exercises for the same primary muscle in a superset. The first exercise will fatigue the primary muscle and force you to lift a lighter weight for fewer reps on the second movement.
  
  
• Same secondary muscle groups – some exercises target different muscle groups but involve the same secondary ones. For example, bent-over rows and reverse dumbbell flyes require the spinal erectors to engage and keep you in position.
  
  If these muscles get too fatigued during rows, you might struggle to maintain a good position for the reverse fly.
  
  
• Unilateral exercises – these are exercises that train one side at a time and take longer to complete. You can do them as part of supersets (particularly if you don’t have enough equipment), but they will make supersets less time-efficient.

2. Not Resting Enough Between Supersets

Too little rest affects your performance, limits your total training volume, and may even put you at risk of technique breakdown as a means of compensating.

So, as stated above, consider resting around 30 seconds more between supersets compared to regular sets.

Also, supersetting means doing exercises back-to-back with little or no rest. However, if the first movement gets you too fatigued and winded, it might be worth it to way 30-60 seconds before doing the second part of the superset.

It won’t be as time-efficient, but you’ll be able to perform better, which should hopefully translate into better gains in the long run.

When creating supersets in the Hevy app, you can set an automatic rest timer for the second movement or both.

3. Ignoring Proper Form

This is a fairly common mistake, given that supersets generate more fatigue. It’s one thing to do an exercise in a fully recovered state and a whole other to do it after completing another movement first.

So, be mindful of the potential risk and work hard to maintain good form. This includes:

• Maintaining a steady tempo
• Training through a full range of motion
• Breathing steadily
• Avoiding jerking motions and momentum to complete reps

Conclusion

Supersets are a simple and convenient way to do more work in less time. When done correctly, they don’t compromise technique or affect total volume and could even provide cardio benefits. 

That said, it’s important to pair the correct exercises, program supersets more sparingly (unless you’re strapped for time), rest long enough between sets, and focus on proper technique. 

With Hevy, you can pair exercises into supersets with just a couple of taps and set an automatic rest timer. Plus, as soon as you mark a set as completed, Hevy will scroll to the next exercise of the superset, so long as you have Smart Superset Scrolling enabled in the settings. So, download the app and log your first workout today.

Hevy – Workout Tracker

Create and log your workouts with Hevy and track your progress.

Create my workout

Hevy – Workout Tracker

Create and log your workout with Hevy and track your progress

Create my workout

FAQ

1. What is the difference between a superset and a circuit?

A superset is when you pair two exercises, whereas a circuit is when you pair three or more movements and do them back-to-back.

2. Are supersets suitable for a beginner?

Supersets can work for beginners, but it might be best to do them under the supervision of a good personal trainer to monitor the technique, effort, and rest periods.

3. Do supersets work in traditional strength training?

You can add supersets to a strength program to do some accessory/isolation work for muscle gain. However, it’s typically best to do them during muscle-building phases.

4. Should I rest between exercises in a superset?

The exercises that are part of a superset are typically done back-to-back. However, you can add 30-60 seconds of rest between them if you feel particularly fatigued or winded. This can help you perform better and maintain good technique.