A time-saving tip for busy bodybuilders: use “agonist-antagonist supersets” to shorten your workouts without sacrificing gains.

Research shows that pairing exercises targeting opposing muscle groups—like chest and back or biceps and triceps—lets you get more work done in less time, with no drop-off in performance. 

In fact, it might even improve performance compared to regular straight sets, making it one of the quickest and most efficient workouts you can do.

A recent study highlighted another perk—supersets produce the same muscle growth as traditional sets.

In this study, researchers split experienced weightlifters into two groups. One group performed straight sets, doing one set of an exercise, resting, and repeating until all sets were complete before moving on to the next exercise.

The other group used supersets. They paired exercises like lat pulldowns with bench presses, leg curls with leg extensions, and biceps curls with triceps pushdowns, and only rested after completing one set of both exercises in each pairing.

The results?

The superset group shaved 36% off their workout time. Overall, the traditional training group took around 70 minutes to finish their sets, whereas the superset group wrapped things up in just under 45 minutes—a quick, efficient workout by anyone’s standards.

Most importantly, muscle growth and strength gains were identical in both groups.

In other words, supersetting is one of the fastest strength training techniques you can use to get a quick and effective workout done.

That said, efficient training like this comes with a couple of caveats.

First, supersets can be tough on your cardiovascular system, so if your cardio isn’t great, ease into them. Start by adding one superset per workout, then build up as your conditioning improves.

Second, supersets work best for the upper body and smaller muscle groups. Trying to superset big lower body exercises like squats, deadlifts, and lunges can be overkill, as they’re so taxing that pairing them with other exercises can hurt performance and, thus, long-term muscle growth.

For this reason, it’s best to stick with straight sets for big lower body lifts and save supersets for everything else. This way, you get the best of both worlds—great gains without spending hours in the gym.