Fast-track upper body muscle with this superset dumbbell workout

When you don’t have a lot of time to work out, training smarter is the key. That’s where this science-backed antagonistic superset workout comes in. In just 30 minutes, it’ll work your entire upper body, including your back, chest, arms, and shoulders, so you can fast-track building muscle without sacrificing your schedule. All you need is a pair of dumbbells and a ‘let's go’ attitude.

This workout is built around antagonistic supersets – pairing opposing muscle groups back-to-back with minimal rest. A recent preprint study put this method to the test, comparing it to traditional resistance training over 8 weeks in 43 well-trained men and women. Both groups followed the same program; the only difference was that one used supersets while the other didn’t. The outcome? Similar muscle growth across the board, but the superset group spent 36% less time in the gym, meaning you can still get results in less time.

For this workout, you’ll have three supersets to work through, including a tri-set (which is where you simply perform three exercises back to back). Complete three rounds of each superset, resting for 30 seconds between sets and then a minute before moving onto the next set of exercises. If you’re completely new to superset training and you need to rest longer, please do. Supersets are high intensity due to their reduced recovery time, so take it easy if you need to. Here’s the workout:

Superset 1

• Chest press - 8 reps
• Shoulder press - 8 reps

Superset 2

• Single-arm row - 16 reps (8 per side)
• Arnold press - 8 reps

Superset 3

• Lateral raise - 8 reps
• Bicep curl - 8 reps

Triset

• Alternative renegade row - 30 sec
• Side plank - 30 sec (15 per side)
• Ab bikes - 30 sec

Make sure you prioritise getting enough rest after this workout, as you may very well experience delayed onset muscle soreness. Once you have fully recovered (we’d give it at least two days), here’s a 20-minute leg and glute workout, as we all know you can’t skip lower body day! Alternatively, if you only have time to do one more workout this week, we’d make it this full-body one, so that you can hit lots of muscle groups at the same time.