Barbell/Kettlebell Supersets
Some of my favorite workouts include super setting barbells and kettlebells together. If you’re not familiar with the term “superset”, it’s basically when you perform reps for two different exercises back to back without rest. Many people perform supersets for a variety of reasons in the modern era, so in this blog I’m going to discuss my own personal experience supersetting specifically with barbell and kettlebell exercises together. I’ve found that combining barbell and kettlebell exercises can be quite enjoyable and also offer some advantages over a traditional sets/reps scheme.
Intro to Supersets
When it comes to a topic as nebulous as “supersets” there can be so many options, strategies, opinion, etc… So as I typically disclose in my blogs this is not advice, but it is what I’ve found works for me and I enjoy. These supersets are informed by some of my favorite experts in the field combined with my own personal experience to come up with some workouts that work best for me. (Disclaimer: This is what I do and what works for me, not advice. I’m not your trainer or your doctor, so ask them for help for what will work for you. Exercise at your own risk!)
One can perform any superset of exercises they so choose, however the supersets I stick to are exercise combinations that do not over tax one muscle group. This is what Marty Gallagher and Chris Hardy refer to as “non-conflicting” exercises (Strong Medicine, pg 438). In addition, I usually have to drop down in weight for both exercises, even though I’m not directly taxing one muscle group, since performing exercises back to back is hard for lack of a better term.
Advantages of Supersets
Saves Time - I’m a busy parent with a career and dad responsibilities, so I very often don’t have enough time to perform all the exercises I want to get to in a workout if I rest between each set. Additionally, there is some evidence that supersetting your exercises doesn’t compromise your gains (StongerbyScience).
Fun! - Supersetting is fun. It drives up the intensity a little bit and creates more of a challenge. I’ve become so used to supersetting many of my exercises that when I go back to standard rest periods between individual exercises I often get bored.
Health - I definitely get a cardio hit when performing supersets. I’m a little shorter of breath and I can feel my heart rate going up. In addition, I usually track my heart rate on my Garmin watch while I’m working out as well, so I can see my heart rate is definitely higher while supersetting.
So why combine barbell and kettlebell exercises? Well, that’s what I have in my garage gym and I enjoy it. I’ve also found I can create some nice balance between exercises with these two implements used in this way. So, for me it just works. That said there are probably an infinite number of superset combinations with these two implements and I’ve tried many more that I’ve not listed here. However, I tend to come back to these supersets in the list below since they have good balance between muscle groups. For example, something like an Overhead Press combined with a Goblet Squat is fine, but it’s really going to tax the shoulders and either burn out my shoulders prematurely or severely limit the weight I can perform on either exercise. So through trial and error and reading what knowledgeable coaches such as Marty Gallagher recommend I’ve found these supersets to be the best for me.
Favorite Barbell/Kettlebell Supersets
Barbell Bench Press/Kettlebell Swing - I’ve been doing this one for several years and it is probably my favorite combo. About 20 swings between sets bench press of anywhere from 3-8 reps is about right for me. I’ve become so acclimated to this workout that the 20 kettlebell swings gives my chest enough time to recover to hop back on the bench without resting for a giant set, which really ratchets up the intensity and gets my heart pumping. It also allows me to power through a workout really fast.
Barbell Front Squat/Kettlebell Overhead Press - I discovered this one from the book Strong Medicine. This superset is really difficult and taxes my upper back pretty hard in addition to my legs and shoulders. I usually take a one minute rest between supersets for this one. I’ve done it without rest before, but it usually results in me having to drop weight pretty substantially on both exercises, so I’ve found it better to incorporate the rest. I’ve also done it with Kettlebell Front Squats and Barbell Overhead Press just for variety, but I like the former version better.
Barbell Overhead Press/Kettlebell Swing - This superset is similar to the Bench Press/Kettlebell Swing in a lot of ways. I don’t perform this one as often since in my experience my shoulders get a little worn out during the swings between sets. So I tend to go slightly lighter on the OverHead Press than I otherwise would’ve had I not been supersetting. In addition, since the shoulders get a little tired during swings I usually take a 60 second rest between supersets.
Bench Press/Kettlebell Snatch - This is obviously very similar to the Bench Press and Swing superset, however with much more intensity. I take a break between supersets of about 60 seconds for this one and also drop the weight on my Bench Press since the snatches work the shoulders, back, and just about everything. I still go for about 20 reps for the snatches, 10 per arm, which is a good number to keep my heartrate up.
So those are my favorite Barbell/Kettlebell supersets. As I’ve stated this is what I do and what works for me. I really enjoy writing about my workouts so, I hope you found this interesting, and thanks for reading.
