Favorite Supersets
by Eric Cressey
05/03/10

Supersets can help you gain more muscle in less time, but only if you know how to pair the perfect exercises.

Eric, it's good to see you back on this site writing an article. I am a huge fan of you're work, and read and follow anything you write or put out. I haven't bought assess and correct yet though, its just a little to steep for my budget right now, but it'll eventually happen.
Anyways I thought this was a great article and will implement somethings into my routine when I finish the Neanderthol Nomore program you laid out a while back. I was wondering, as I know others on this site are too, if there is going to be a new NNM program coming out?

Hi Eric, were you referring to CT as the trainer who supersetted Squats and Stiff leg deadlifts?

i always hit flat bench with pull ups, they work great together. I don't notice any performance loss on either exercise when i do them together.

How would you feel about:

A1. Front Squat

A2. Stiff Legged Deadlift

With all due respect to CT (and there is a lot; I enjoy his stuff), I am not really a fan of either set-up. He may have a rationale or specific parameters in place for it, though.

My perspective is based on the fact that we know most people have significant structural deficits in their spines even if they are completely asymptomatic:

http://content.nejm.org/...stract/331/2/69

To me, regardless of population, the risk-reward is out of whack. Pairing up two movements - both of which can become repeated flexion-extension of the spine with poor technique - for high reps with minimal rest is just a recipe for something to go wrong.

Eric, have you noticed any benefit of super-setting the Farmers Walk with the Bench Press over and above just doing Bench or even a supper-set with a rowing movement?


Thanks

Hi Eric, love your work â?? always happy to see a new article from you!
FWIW, I really like supersetting deadlifts and ring dips; to me they just seem to complement each other really well. (In your experience, there arenâ??t any issues with this pairing I should be aware of? Not that Ive had any problems so far) Thanks!

Maybe I shouldn't answer for CT, but I think he may have changed his mind on this topic. In IBB squats are always paired with smaller hamstring exercises, and vice versa. I think he explained the rationale behind that in the coaching forum, and if I remember correctly the arguments were essentially the same as Cressey's, but in addition he's not comfortable with the load it places on the CNS.

This is off the top of my head, so please feel free to correct me.

Great article Cress!
Once again you enlighten and motivate!
Thanks!

Obviously, super-setting has been around for decades, but it's good to see you writing about not wasting time. I really appreciated that. I see way too many guys standing around at the gym, absolutely wasting their time between sets. I've seen a lot of stuff on tri- or quad-setting exercises, especially on www.ultimatechallengetraining.com or from talking to other strength coaches. What do you think of combining 3-4 exercises? It's usually a push-pull-lower intensity exercise kind of thing. I've also really enjoyed the push-pull-lower body movement tri-set such as bench-chins-lunges.

It totally changes things, but adding the leg exercise in with the upper body movements adds a metabolic effect that is incredible. Of course, that's when I'm doing total-body lifts instead of bodybuilding-type splits. It seems like a lot of strength coaches do three total body workouts in a week at some point in the year, and I like it because I just don't have time to get to the gym 4-6 days a week. Love your thoughts on that stuff.