I F**KING LOVE SUPERSETS AND GIANT SETS

Holy shit I LOVE supersets and giant sets as hypertrophy tools for non-bodybuilding athletes!!

Athletes who compete in non-bodybuilding sports like a field sport, weightlifting, martial arts etc, need to gain muscle mass in a shorter time frame so they can dedicate more resources to either training for their actual sport or recovering. The best, and most simple, way to do this is with supersets and giant sets.

Supersets

What is a superset? Get two exercises, and do them alternating with shorter rest periods between each set. For example, you do one set of exercise 1, rest 1 minute, then 1 set of exercise 2, rest for another minute, and repeat for 3-4 rounds. The best type of supersets (and the only ones I recommend) are antagonist supersets. For the purposes of simplicity, and 'antagonist' muscle is one that stretches whilst another contracts. For example, the antagonist muscle for the biceps is the triceps, since when you curl (or flex) the biceps, the triceps muscles are extended/lengthening. Here are all of the superset variations I use:

Upper body:

1. Horizontal Press + Horizontal Pull: ie. bench press + barbell row
2. Vertical Press + Vertical Pull: ie. strict press + pullups
3. Biceps + Triceps: ie. barbell curl + skullcrushers
4. Upper back + Side Delts: ie. Rear delt fly + Lu Raise

Lower body:

1. Quads + Hamstrings: ie. split squats + RDLs
2. Core + Hips: ie. weighted situp + hip adduction
3. Calves + Tibialis: ie. standing calf raise + tibialis raise

With only a handful of supersets, you are able to get a total body workout! Why are antagonist supersets the best? Because each exercise does not greatly fatigue the other. Since horizontal presses use completely different muscles to horizontal pulls, we can do these 2 exercises back to back without massively reducing performance in either. 

Giant Sets

Giant sets are similar to supersets, but are usually 3 exercises done back-to-back. Also, giant sets usually target a single limb, whereas supersets train 2 opposing limbs. Some of the giant sets I use are:

1. Shoulder giant set: front raise + lateral raise + rear delt fly
2. Calf giant set: Standing calf raise + seated calf raise + tibialis raise
3. Core giant set: Russian twists + V ups + Side Planks

Giant sets are good since they target the multiple functions of a single muscle group/limb. For example, when people talk of 'core' training, they always think of some spine flexion exercises like situps or leg raises. However, the 'core' is also responsible for isometric trunk stability and trunk rotations. By doing the giant set mentioned above, we can target all of these functions in a short amount of time. With giant sets, the rest between each individual exercise should also be short (just like in supersets), usually 1-2 minutes.