Super Setting Hardware

You can speed up your time in the gym by utilising "super sets". The idea is that if you've 2 or more movements that are antagonistic to each other (push vs pull), then they can be performed one after the other with a shared rest period.Movement A and movement B have a 3 min (180s) rest period each, that can be combined into a super set in 2 ways:

1. A, B, rest 180s, repeat
2. A, rest 90s,  B, rest 90s, repeat

I prefer option 2, as it minimizes oxygen-debt from the 1st movement impacting the 2nd.

Some common super set groupings:

• Squat: w/ Bench Press, Overhead Press, Row, or Chin Ups
• Bench Press: w/ Squat, Deadlift, Row, or Chin Ups
• Deadlift: w/ Bench Press, or Overhead Press
• Overhead Press: w/ Squat, Deadlift, Row, or Chin Ups
• Row: w/ Squat, Bench Press, or Overhead Press
• Chin Ups: w/ Squat, Bench Press, or Overhead Press

Things is, it requires twice the hardware. When super setting Deadlifts with Bench Press, I now have 180+kg on one bar, and 100+kg on another, so I was running out of 20kg plates, so decided to go shopping for a pair and then went down a rabbit hole...

Mirafit have a sale on for "calibrated" bumper plates, and temptation got the better of me. These plates have a +/-10g tolerance, whereas the ones I've bought in the past could be +/-5%, so a 20kg plate could be 1kg out. A 180kg deadlift with four 20kg plates either side could effectively be 8kg out either way.

So, having committed to getting a single pair of calibrated plates, I realised it was a bit of if nonsense combining them with non-calibrated plates, so I cashed in a couple years worth of birthday, Fathers Day and Christmas presents to get a whole set - in pairs; 25kgx3, 20kg, 15kg, 10kg, 5kg, 2.5kg, 1.25kg, 0.5kg and 0.25kg. Grand total of 279.8kg (617lbs/44st) when combined with the collars to keep them on the bar - will be a few years before I can lift all of it in a single go!

Buyers remorse hasn't set in just yet - colour coding looks kinda pretty though!