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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1536747
This article is part of the Research Topic Towards a Psychophysiological Approach in Physical Activity, Exercise, and Sports-Volume IV View all 8 articles

A comparison of acute affective responses, physiological measures and training volume between superset and traditional resistance training in untrained adults

Provisionally accepted
Per Aslak Myraunet Per Aslak Myraunet Atle Hole Saeterbakken Atle Hole Saeterbakken Vidar Andersen Vidar Andersen *
  • Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The aim of this study was to compare the perceptive responses, physiological measures, training volume and training duration comparing a superset vs. a traditional resistance training session in untrained adults. Thirty adults (29±7 years, 1.72±0.1 m, 77±16 kg) performed one superset resistance training session and one traditional resistance training session in a randomized-crossover design. Both sessions consisted of eight exercises with two sets and a load of ~10-repetition maximum. The outcomes included number of repetitions, training duration, blood lactate and heart rate in addition to rate of perceived exertion (RPE), rate of perceived discomfort (RPD), session displeasure/pleasure (sPDF) and exercise enjoyment (EES) which were recorded in the middle and post-exercise. Fortyeight hours after the last session the participants reported which session they would prefer as their regular routine if they had to choose. The main findings were that the superset session led to greater RPE compared to the traditional session (p=0.012-0.16, d=0.53-0.54). Further, there was a trend towards greater RPD after the superset session, although not reaching statistical significance (p=0.092, d=0.41). There were no differences for sPDF (p=0.404) or EES (p=0.829). Furthermore, the superset session demonstrated higher levels of blood lactate levels (18.3%. p<0.001, d=0.81) and average heart rate (7.8%, p<0.001, d=1.53) compared to the traditional session. The traditional session took 60% longer time (p<0.001, d=6.62), and had 4.6% more repetitions (p=0.006, d=0.54) compared to the superset session. Two out of three participants reported the superset session as their preferred regular training routine. In conclusion, the superset session led to a higher perceived effort and discomfort, higher metabolic stress, took less time, had a lower training volume and was more preferred compared to the traditional session in untrained adults.

    Keywords: strength training, Time-efficient, RPE, RPD, SPDF, ees, feelings

    Received: 29 Nov 2024; Accepted: 07 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Myraunet, Saeterbakken and Andersen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Vidar Andersen, Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.