How To Read A Workout: Straight Sets, Supersets, Giant Sets, and Circuits

 

Reading a workout is kind of like learning to read music as a musician or reading a recipe when cooking or baking. There’s a whole language and system behind how workouts are written, which can be confusing if you’re not familiar with the jargon.

This article aims to clear things up so you can find a workout, read it, and translate that into what to do when you take that workout to the gym.

Terms you’ll need to know

First, some terminology:

• A “rep” is one single repetition of an exercise. One squat, one press, one bicep curl.
• A “set” is a grouping of reps done consecutively without resting.

Sets are broken up by rest periods, which are important for recovery before repeating the exercise.

Workout sets are written like a math equation: sets x reps. So 3×10 means “three sets of ten reps.”

Simple enough. Now let’s look at the different types of sets and how to read them in a workout.

Straight Sets

A “straight set” is when you do a single exercise, rest, then repeat that same exercise. 

Straight sets are written like this:

1) Bench press, 4×6-8, rest 2-3:00

Meaning, do 6-8 reps of bench press, rest two to three minutes, then do another set of 6-8 reps until you complete four sets.

Straight sets are best for building strength, but they usually require long rest periods so that your muscles recover in between sets. Doing exercises this way allows you to lift the heaviest weight you can each set because you get a lot of recovery time before repeating the exercise.

Supersets

A “superset” is when you pair two exercises, usually non-competing exercises that work different muscle groups so that while you work on one exercise, the muscles from the other exercise get some rest. 

Supersets are written like this:

2A) Back squat 3×10, rest 30-60 sec
2B) Single-arm row 3×10/arm, rest 2:00

Meaning, do ten squats, rest 30-60 seconds, then do 10 rows per arm and rest two minutes before repeating the exercises for three total sets.

Supersets are popular because they’re more time efficient than straight sets, allowing you to do twice the work with the same amount of total rest. You generally can’t max out both lifts in a superset because you’re working back-to-back. Picking a moderately heavy weight that leaves 1-2 reps “in the tank” at the end of each set is ideal.

Giant Sets

A “giant set” is less common, but it involves doing three exercises in sequence. Often, the first one is a “compound” exercise that works bigger muscles, and the second and third exercises are “isolation” exercises that work smaller muscles. 

For example:
3A) Dumbbell hip thrust, 3×10-12, rest 0
3B) Stability ball hamstring curl, 3×10-12, rest 0
3C) Mini-band lateral walk, 3×20/ea, rest 1-2:00

Giant sets are a good way to accumulate a lot of volume (reps) that target similar muscles so that you really “feel the burn” in those muscles. Rest periods are generally shorter because the goal is metabolic stress, aka, forcing the targeted muscles to work hard and use up all their stored energy to get close to muscular failure, which helps stimulate muscle growth.

Circuits

Finally, you might also see a type of set called a “circuit.” Circuits involve four or more exercises in sequence, usually with minimal rest between exercises. Rest happens at the end of the circuit. 

A circuit might look like this:
4a) Goblet squat, 3×12
4b) Bicep curls, 3×12-15
4c) Tricep extension, 3×12-15
4d) Decline sit up, 3×12-15
4e) Jumping rope, 3x 1:00
Rest 2:00 and repeat

Circuits are less about building pure strength because you can’t physically lift heavy weights for all the exercises in sequence like that. But circuits can be useful for more of a metabolic effect, or if you’re short on time and want to feel like you got a really good workout in a condensed manner.

Keep in mind that since you’re doing many exercises consecutively, you often need to use many pieces of equipment to do circuit training, which can be kind of obnoxious in a crowded gym at peak hours. It’s best to group exercises that allow you to use just a couple pieces of equipment so that other gym members can also use the gym’s equipment.

Putting it all together

If you put together the first three groupings of exercises that I used to illustrate straight sets, supersets, and giant sets, you actually get a pretty solid full-body workout.

Here’s everything again:
1) Bench press, 4×6-8, rest 2-3:00
2A) Back squat 3×10, rest 30-60 sec
2B) Single-arm row 3×10/arm, rest 2:00
3A) Dumbbell hip thrust, 3×10-12, rest 0
3B) Stability ball hamstring curl, 3×10-12, rest 0
3C) Mini-band lateral walk, 3×20/ea, rest 1-2:00

That workout would take about 45 minutes including a warm up beforehand and cover all the major movement patterns (press, squat, pull, hip hinge). You could also add the circuit from above or do cardio of your choice to round out the training session.

I hope this helps you decode workouts so that you can follow along with a plan you find on this site or elsewhere online.