The Acute and Chronic Effects of Superset Resistance Training Versus Traditional Resistance Training-A Narrative...

Mang, ZA, Beam, JR, and Kravitz, L. The acute and chronic effects of superset resistance training versus traditional resistance training-A narrative review. J Strength Cond Res 39(11): 1216-1234, 2025-Resistance training (RT) leads to several health and performance benefits for a variety of people, including ball-sport athletes, occupational athletes, general population lifters, and elderly adults. Despite these well-established effects, a surprisingly high percentage of adults do not participate in consistent RT (∼80%), and several cite "perceived lack of time" as their primary barrier to RT. Superset training, which involves performing 2 or more consecutive sets of different exercises separated by short rest intervals, presents a time-efficient RT modality that reduces session duration by ∼50% compared with traditional RT (TRAD). Several applications of superset training exist, but this review focuses exclusively on the acute and chronic effects of agonist-antagonist paired sets (AAPS), reciprocal supersets (RSS), and total-body supersets (TBSS). The literature is particularly heterogeneous in its definitions, dependent variables, methodologies, and results, but acute data have generally demonstrated that muscle activation and training volume do not differ between supersets and TRAD. By contrast, power production is typically greater during TRAD, while training density, hormonal responses, blood lactate, energy expenditure, heart rate, oxygen consumption, and perceived exertion are greater during supersets. Exceptions exist, but chronic data generally indicate that supersets and TRAD lead to similar adaptations for endurance, hypertrophy, power, and strength. Considering the superior training density of AAPS, RSS, and TBSS, we tentatively conclude that superset programs deliver similar adaptations as TRAD in a more time-efficient manner.