THE SUPER SET ADVANTAGE BY ERIC BUTTERMAN Supersetting can be a crucial part of bodybuilding, but only if you do it right and know when not to do it at all We’ve all been there. It doesn’t matter how much sugar you’ve just downed, or what hard rocking song you have in your Walkman. No, you just can’t seem to find the enthusiasm for weight training. All those punishing sets for each bodypart leaves you feeling stagnant. Well, why don’t you switch off? Who says you should concentrate on only one thing at a time? Nobody who’s ever seen the best results possible. * Enter supersets, a terrific way to achieve greater muscle definition and get you through the weight room blahs. Simply stated, a superset is doing two or more exercises back-to-back without stopping. But as simple as it sounds, everyone seems to have complex ideas on the best way to go about it. FRONT TO BACK Jamo Nezzar, 1999 EFBB English Grand Prix amateur winner, says supersets helped make him a more disciplined and successful bodybuilder. “When I started out, I only wanted to lift as heavy as possible and wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. By supersetting, it helped me concentrate more on form because I didn’t have heavy weights getting in the way of perfect execution.” Jamo usually does 4 to 5 sets of supersets without stopping, and his favourite muscle groups to work together are chest and back. He likes to do incline presses and lat pulldowns for four reps of 8 to 12 reps. “You always want to have an opposing style of movements,” he says. “Chest consists mostly of push exercises while back is pull. Training in this fashion adds variety and also avoids muscles from getting fatigued too quickly. Some people like to go with low reps for supersets, but I think anything less than eight really isn’t going to give you the best of what supersets have to offer — classic definition.” Richard Baldwin, two-time NPC National middleweight champion, believes the biggest mistakes people make with supersets are overtraining or saving too much energy for later sets, instead of going all out on every set. Baldwin says constant maximum effort is the only way to take full advantage. “I don’t see supersets as just ways to pump a little blood in the muscles,” he says, “but rather a way to increase the intensity level by eliminating rest periods and, in so doing, burn fat and swell veins.” Baldwin has seen the most success supersetting biceps and triceps. He likes to do barbell curls for 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps, increasing his poundages from 95 to 145 pounds. He works curls in non-stop with close-grip bench presses for the same sets but a slightly higher rep scheme of 8 to 10, moving his poundages from 135 to 185 pounds as he progresses. A second pairing that works for him are dumbbell curls and lying barbell tricep extensions, both for three sets of six reps. And if you think the third one is the charm, Baldwin says try dumbbell concentration curls and dumbbell French curls (aka skull crushers). Do the concentration curls for 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps, depending on how ambitious you feel, and then hit the French curls for three sets of six reps. And while supersets are a great intensity booster, Baldwin doesn’t recommend them for beginners. He believes it’s first necessary to get used to weight training before getting too fancy. “Supersets are an advanced tactic and should be treated that way,” Baldwin says. COMPOUND MOVEMENTS Rich Gaspari, three-time Mr. Olympia runner-up, has a different approach. He actually likes to superset the same bodypart exercises, also known as compound sets. Gaspari does leg extensions with sissy squats, because that way you do a contraction movement and stretching movement together. But what he really liked to take to the extreme during his competition days were hamstrings. “I would do leg curls of 110-120 pounds and then immediately jump to stiff-legged deadlifts with 135. You do four sets of those two exercises with good form and you’re going to see the kind of hamstrings that can compete with your quads.” Eddie Robinson, who finished as high as tenth at the Olympia, also believes supersets can turn legs into legendary limbs and get you out of the gym fast. “I used to kick out a leg workout in twenty minutes by picking three exercises to do light, moderate and heavy.” Robinson recommends starting with leg extensions for eight reps, then hitting hack squats for 12 reps, and finishing with leg extensions for 30 reps. “Try doing that non-stop for five sets,” he says, “and then try walking out of the gym on your own power. Good luck!” But Robinson was known for his upper body more than anything and says that occasionally supersetting two chest exercises can add that extra bit of striation that can turn heads. “Try doing half your max on barbell bench press for eight reps,” he says, “then do incline dumbbell presses for 12 reps and finish with flat bench dumbbell flyes for 30 reps. Do all of those exercises five times without stopping. Then wipe away the tears from your eyes.” Frank Zane won the Mr. Olympia three times in the late seventies. Even more unusual was the physique that got him there. Rather than go for bulk, he was part of a rare window in bodybuilding history where definition shared centre stage. Zane says he never would have seen that kind of success without supersets: “It’s the kind of strategy that can actually have cardiovascular benefits if done intensely enough.” Zane particularly liked to use it for biceps, doing four sets of cable preacher curls for 10 reps, then following it with 10 reps on an incline curl machine with 55 pounds. Zane says that supersets are undermined today because of bodybuilders’ tendency to go for huge mass. “Unfortunately,” says Frank, “they don’t spread the benefits of supersets to amateurs because they don’t know much about it themselves. For someone who wants to look healthy, supersets are extremely beneficial.” KEEPING SUPER SUPERIOR Like so many parts of life, overindulgence is the surest road to underachieving. Supersets are no exception, says Gaspari. “Cycle your supersetting for every other workout at most,” he says. “The whole idea of supersets is to hit the body in a different way than what you’re used to. If you’re always doing it, there goes the very effect that makes it unique.” Nezzar also points out that your mind can’t always be in the mood for supersets. “You have to be willing to go non-stop, and there are some days when you just can’t do it,” he says. “Wait till you’re most willing to be intense or you’ll starting hating the gym.” Another risk is injury, says Michael Mellman, team doctor for baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers and hockey’s LA Kings. “Supersets run a risk when you’re switching between one heavy weight and another,” he says. “It’s better to switch between two light weights for high reps. You’ll see better results and put less stress on your joints.” Phil Goglia, founder of performance centre Fitness Concepts and a former Mr. North America, believes it’s important to avoid putting two pushing or pulling exercises together. “Because of the intensity of the superset strategy, you want to give your pushing or pulling muscles a rest, even when you’re constantly working. If you were to, say, do a bench press and a shoulder press together, you would be putting too much constant pressure on your pushing muscles, which often results in injury.” Remember, switching off keeps variety in your life. While many say you should always concentrate on one thing at a time, sometimes working on a few projects at once actually keeps each one fresh when you put your energies towards them. Gaspari says that supersets aren’t just good for his legs, but for his life. “I have my own nutritional business, but I always need other things to keep me motivated,” he says. “Like weight training, for example.” M&F