Superset Your Way to Fat Loss

Supersets are two exercises performed back to back without stopping. It takes a while to build up the endurance necessary to do a lot of supersets, but this kind of conditioning develops in time if you keep working on it.  There are two ways you can perform supersets.  You can do the same muscle group such as incline barbell press with flat db fly (Chest) or you can do 2 different muscle groups such as a standing bicep curl with a tricep pushdown (Bicep and Triceps).   I suggest when doing supersets that you pick the more demanding exercise to perform first and the less demanding second.  In a study from Syracuse University, researchers looked at two types of strength training to see which style burned more calories.  The researchers compared superset training to traditional strength workouts.  Study participants completed two strength-training workouts, separated by at least seven days.  Their workout consisted of 4 sets of six exercises, and they performed 10 reps of each exercise.  During one week they trained using supersets.  One week later they did traditional resistance training.  Subjects in the above study who used supersets had a faster workout as+- the superset sessions took less time to complete, but more importantly, researchers found that markers of energy metabolism such as excess post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC; A MEASURE OF RESTING ENERGY EXPENDITURE AFTER EXERCISE) were higher, blood lactate measures were higher, and total energy expenditure for the workout was highter.  This means supersets lead to a super metabolic rate for burning fat! Also I find that doing supersets pumps more blood into the muscle at a faster rate which means a quicker and fuller pump.   More blood to the muscle equals more nutrients to the muscle which leads to new growth and progression. So next time you hit the gym make sure to give supersetting a try and  enjoy the benefits!

References: Muscular Development Volume 3 Number 48 March 2011
Arnold Encyclopedia