Over the past few years, I’ve grown very fond of supersets, which should be obvious to anyone who frequents this site. One of the less talked about styles of supersets, of course, is the agonist superset, where we’re working to exhaust a muscle by using the same muscle group(s) for both exercises in the superset.
Dips and push-ups superset well together when the goal is to completely exhaust the triceps and chest, such as when the lifter’s goal is to maximize hypertrophy.
Advantage of push-up and dip supersets
The benefit, to me, of supersetting dips and push-ups together is that we can get an insane stimulus on the target musculature in a very short amount of time. Rather than relying on multiple sets of a single exercise, or moving from one exercise to the next in succession like we would in normal workouts, we can perform a single set, close to failure, and then follow it immediately by a “finisher” for the muscle.
How to perform dip and push-up supersets
First, I believe that the intention of the workout should be established from the get-go. This is not the kind of workout where we’re going to try and get “as many reps as possible.” Pumping out quick rep after quick rep is the reason (I believe) that basic calisthenics get a bad rap for muscle building.
So, understand that in order to reap the hypertrophic rewards of such a plan, we’ll need to:
- Understand and utilize proper form on both exercises,
- Control the negative (eccentric) portion of the rep,
- Feel the stretch on the target musculature in the bottom of the rep, and
- Explode back to the top
Using this protocol should cut down on the number of reps we can complete dramatically, but it will dramatically increase the hypertrophic stimulus to the target musculature.
Rest periods
Also note that you’ll need to rest between sets; this isn’t a “back-to-back” style workout like an antagonistic superset would be. Since you’re going to be smashing the muscle repeatedly, I would advise you to rest at least 60 seconds between rounds of the superset, but perhaps up to 2-3 minutes.
How many sets to do
As with all things in the fitness world, the answer to “how many sets” is “it depends.”
If you’re utilizing the evidence-based best practice of completing 10-20 sets per week for a given muscle group to induce growth, then I would count one of these supersets as two sets in your given workout plan. This is because we’re essentially performing a bodyweight drop set; one of these supersets will provide dramatically more fatigue to the target musculature than a single set will.
So, for instance, if you’re in the beginning of a mesocycle and planning to hit, say, 12 sets for triceps and chest this week, you could complete:
- Monday: 2 sets of dips, 2-3 reps from failure, supersetted with 2 sets of push-ups, 1-2 reps from failure. (4 total “sets”)
- Wednesday: 2 sets of diamond push-ups, 2-3 reps from failure, supersetted with 2 sets of dips, 1-2 reps from failure. (4 total “sets”)
- Friday: 2 sets of “chest” dips (leaning forward), 2-3 reps from failure, supersetted with 2 sets of decline push-ups, 1-2 reps from failure. (4 total “sets”)
Add one superset to one of the days per week until you’re completing 3-4 supersets per day, per week, then deload, and start over.
How to program dip and push-up supersets
This simple superset is extremely powerful and can be completed in very little time, as long as you’ve got access to a place to do dips.
I would generally advise fitting a superset like this into an existing program in place of a traditional “chest and triceps” compound exercise.
Programming considerations
- Start on the low end of the volume curve – I would advise 9-10 sets per week max until you know how your body will respond
- Split the total weekly volume over 2-3 days during the week.
- Add a set per week until you reach around 20 sets per week.
- Deload, then start over
Which exercise should come first?
In the examples above, I mixed the dips (heavier exercise) in first on certain days, and the push-ups (lighter exercise) in first on other days.
This is, of course, individual preference, and will provide a slightly different stimulus depending on which option you choose.
- Placing the dips first (a post-exhaustion superset) will provide an excellent “burn-out” effect during the secondary, easier, exercise.
- Placing the push-ups first (a pre-exhaustion superset) will provide an excellent pre-fatigue for the chest and triceps and then really provide a strengthening stimulus during the second, heavier exercise.
There’s no one right answer to this question. For more information, read my full articles on pre-exhaustion and post-exhaustion supersets (linked above).
When not to use dip and push-up supersets
One final note – agonistic supersets are typically regarded as an advanced bodybuilding technique. Therefore, they would be useful for people who:
- Feel they have hit a plateau in a particular muscle’s growth, and therefore need to employ “special methods” to force continue growth.
- Have proper proficiency in the basic exercises, and can do them safely. In the context of dips and push-ups together, I would first make sure that dips are OK for your shoulders and elbows by utilizing dips in a normal fashion during your regular workouts.
Therefore, I would not advise you to employ dip and push-up supersets if those categories don’t describe you.
It can be tempting to employ special methods in regular routines before we’ve truly “maxed out” our initial potential on a basic beginner program.
If you’re new to basic calisthenics, I would advise simply doing a push-up, pull-up, and squat program for at least a little while before you start adding intensity techniques.
Final thoughts
I’ve experimented with this method quite a bit at different points over the years, and I’ve found that it generally works, providing you program the exercises correctly, don’t go nuts out of the gate, and allow the progress to happen while eating adequate protein and getting enough sleep.
If this is the case for you, you’ll almost certainly see new growth from this method.
Happy lifting!
