To superset or to workout regularly?

[revexrevex]

Is there any legitimate scientific evidence (research) which shows that supersets are more effective than lifting for a set, resting and lifting again. Do supersets just cause fatigue or are they really effective for new muscle growth?

The reason i ask is I always try to beat previous weight lifted by 5 lbs every workout (progression). Obviously this happens maybe once per month on small exercises and more often on bigger exercises. Just few days ago I tried supersetting Incline bench and flyes, and I can't go as heavy on Incline bench, because flyes fatigue me too much. Should I just ditch the flyes and keep using traditional progression method, or should I use supersets, dropsets and stripsets. Whats your opinion?

 

[needsize]

I only use those techinques at the very end of my workout, usually for my last set, that way for the rest of the workout I can still concentrate on progresssion

 

[Doktor Bollix]

I have no clue about research on supersets.

However pre-exhaustion is well recognized as an effective technique for hitting muscles that don't get optimally stressed because another muscle in the chain is failing first. So if your chest is never sore after benching because your triceps fail first you can selectively fatigue the chest with flies and superset with a compound chest exercise. It's a good way to hit a lagging bodypart from a bodybuilding perspective.

You seem to be more worried about your poundage progression though. These techniques won't help you there and will just get in your way.

 

[revexrevex]

I train for size not strength... but I always have in mind that the more weight you lift, the bigger you get. This one sentence describes my whole training, and I've only worked out for a year

 

[Vortexx]

- gains in strength are equally important part of this game as increasing time under tensions with a certain workload.

Therefore it makes sense to do the strength related work first and the triple drop sets later in the workout.

Or, if you hit a bodypart twice a week, you can consider having a "heavy" 5 * 5 day and a "light" superset and or drop set day...

For me, I found that triple drop sets work best if you keep the reps low:

7 reps for exercises like flyes and pushdown
5 reps for compound exercises like dumbell press and dips

after that you just slightly drop the weight to allow another barely 4 reps....

this way you will total a 5+4+4+4=17 OR 7+4+4+4=19 reps and have stressed both the cns and the several types of muscle fibre with decent weight...

i feel that dropsets where you start with 10-12 reps and or do more than 4 reps for the consequtive drops defeat the purpose.

Supersets seems more appropiate for 10-12 reps, you know, scott csble curl and triceps pushdown with the straight bar, to name a famous one to deliver a nice pump...

Scientific evidence, nope,just building upon the experiences of others and myself.....