Regardless of what many magazine articles may tell you, super-sets are not a very efficient method for building muscle. In fact, super-sets are extremely inefficient. The best way to stimulate muscle growth is to overload it in a 4-6 rep range, and you cannot achieve this maximum overload while performing super-sets.
Super-sets are traditionally performed by doing a set of one exercise and then moving directly to another exercise for the same body part without any rest. When you think about it, this is nothing more than one extended high-rep set.
Most people mistakenly equate the feeling of exhausting their muscles with that of a successful workout. This is not the case. There is no doubt that you could do super-sets and your muscles would feel very fatigued and exhausted. You must remember, however, the goal of your workouts is not to fatigue your muscles but to create the best stimulus possible for muscle growth. Fatigue is not the best stimulus, overload is. In fact, fatigue is the enemy of overload. When you fatigue your muscles, you limit their overload capacity.
I suggest following the Max-OT principles and sticking with basic compound exercises performed in a 4-6 repetition range. Don’t try to get too creative with your workouts. This is a case where the basics are by far the best.
