Superset
Two exercises performed back to back with little or no rest between them.
A superset is a pairing of two exercises done one after the other with minimal rest. Pairing opposing muscles (like a push and a pull) is an antagonist superset; stacking two exercises for the same muscle is a common intensity technique.
It matters mainly for efficiency: supersets pack more work into less time, which is useful when time is tight. Pairing non-competing movements lets each recover while the other works, with little performance cost.
In practice, antagonist and unrelated pairings (for example calves with a core exercise) superset well; pairing two heavy compounds that fatigue the same muscles usually just reduces the load you can handle.
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Written and reviewed by Mathew Beale — MSc Biotechnology, University of Reading.
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