ergo-log.com

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

13.04.2010

Strength training with supersets burns an extra eighteen kcal

You've already read it in bodybuilding manuals: supersets are a way to achieve definition. And it's true, sports scientists at Syracuse University in New York discovered. A superset strength training session burns 18 kcal more than an ordinary strength training session, partly thanks to the EPOC phenomenon.

Supersets are sets combined in such a way that you train in sequence the muscle groups that you use in opposing movements. So first you do a set for your biceps, followed immediately by a set for your triceps. Only then do you rest. First you do a set for your quads, followed immediately by a set for your hamstrings – and only then do you rest. First you do a set for your pectorals and then for your lats – and only then... You've got it.

The researchers did a trial with 10 students, average age 21, all of whom had been doing weight training 2-4 times a week for at least six months. The test subjects had to do 2 training sessions. On one occasion the students did a traditional short full-body workout, and on the other occasion they did a superset workout. The figure below gives you an idea of the 2 different training sessions. A = supersets, B = traditional.

The subjects did 6 different exercises, and for each they did 4 sets of 10 reps. The load was 70 percent of the weight at which the subjects could just manage 1 rep – the 1RM. The rests lasted one minute.

During the superset training session the subjects burned more energy per minute. The figure below shows the number of kJ.

The superset training took 31 minutes and the traditional one 40 minutes. During superset training the subjects burned 13 kcal more than during the traditional workout.

Metabolic differences were also noticed after the training session. The researchers measured the amount of energy the subjects burned in the first hour after the training session had ended, and saw that the subjects burned most energy per minute after the superset training. The figure shows kJs not kcals.

After a superset training the subjects burned 5 kcal more than after a regular workout. During and after a strength training with supersets the subjects burnt 18 kcal more than during and after a traditional workout.

In an earlier version of this posting we said that supertraining burnt an extra 300 kcal. That was incorrect.

Source:
J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Apr;24(4):1043-51.