The term gets thrown around a lot at the gym and generally supersetting refers to back to back movements with little or no rest in between. More specifically it describes back to back complementary movements, working opposite sides of the same joint (ie a bicep curl followed by a tricep extension). This is important because when one side of the joint is active, your body automatically has to send signals to the opposing muscle to relax (or else no movement would occur). It is good to stretch a muscle after working it hard and with a superset, its almost as if the opposite muscle is getting a mini stretch (when the tricep is fully contracted the bicep is stretched out). Doing this will help you maintain strength set to set and help prevent injuries.
About the author: Ricky Buoncore is a personal trainer at WRRFC as well as an instructor in WRRFC’s Strength & Conditioning and FIT 360 Small Group Training programs.