Superset Workouts
If you read my post about Staying Fit During Pregancy, you'll know I always try and have one workout a week be groups of exercises that I superset, followed by a bit of cardio because usually my heart rate doesn't get that high during the exercises. Jason first introduced me to this type of exercise (and really most exercises I do come from him - I mean he does this for a living basically). Supersetting exercises is beneficial for a few reasons: 1) It saves times because you don't take a break between every set, 2) it helps you balance your muscle groups so that you don't become imbalanced and cause injury and 3) they increase intensity as you overload a muscle group.
I like to do superset workouts on days when I want to lift heavier weights, because the other days I am usually doing a class or a circuit, which are more cardio and lower weight. Basically on days where I am feeling strong and want to build muscle I'll head to the dumbbell and barbell racks, which is where I do most of these exercises. Like I mentioned in my post on Circuit Workouts, I don't like using machines. I don't like having to wait for machines, and it would be so hard to do supersetting exercises because you would need two machines on the go at once and it's hard to "reserve" the ones you need next. Using dumbbells and barbells work the best for me and are always available at my gym (or even at your house!).
Before I get to the gym I will pick 3 (or 4 if I'm feeling ambitious) groups of 2 exercises to superset. I have included a list of example exercises below that I have superset together. Sometimes I like to work two opposing muscle groups (ex/ chest and back), and other times it's just two random exercises. The list isn't very long because I like to keep it simple and focus on upping my weight instead of changing up the exercises too much (while I'm pregnant I don't try to up my weight or lift too heavy, I just stay where I am comfortable and at a safe weight for me and the baby). Before I start a superset I'll make sure I have the weights for both exercises beside my bench or wherever I am going to do them so that I don't have to rest between. I use either a barbell or dumbbells depending on the exercise.
Examples of Exercises to Superset
I'll do each exercise for 12-20 reps (depending on what it is) and then each superset 3 times before moving on to the next one.
Dumbbell chest press
Bent over rows
Squats
Barbell straight leg dead lifts
Bicep curls
Tricep dips or extension
Walking or static lunges
Skater jumps
Sumo squats
Side lunges
Dumbbell shoulder raises
Bent over reverse flies
Step-up with knee raise
Plie Lunge
If you have any questions on any of the exercises feel free to send me a message!
Best,
Stacey