The superset involves performing an exercise; and then, without rest, perform a second exercise that works a similar or opposite muscle group. Only after performing both exercises in sequence do you rest for a couple of minutes. Then you perform your next superset. In pumping iron, Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about how good a muscle pump feels. The muscles fill up with blood and everything and they get very hard and swollen and much bigger.

“The best feeling you can get in a gym or the most satisfying feeling you can get in a gym is the pump. Let’s say you train your biceps. Blood rushes to your muscles and that’s what we call the pump. Your muscles get a very tight feeling like your skin is going to explode at any moment. It’s very tight. It’s like someone blows air into your muscle. It just explodes and it feels different. It feels fantastic…”

Layering a biceps exercise with a triceps exercise will give you, without a doubt, the most incredible pump feeling you will ever experience. Your arms will inflate like balloons. To check, look in the mirror before and after your superset of exercises and take measurements of your arms before and after the exercise. I also like to tap my arms as I go to gauge the hardness of my pump and the effectiveness of my workout.

Try these supersets. The first four I listed involve layering a biceps exercise with a triceps exercise. The latter involves the superset of two triceps exercises. But since the triceps make up 2/3 of the mass of your arm, it makes sense to do a little more for your triceps, plus it’s a great combination.

seated dumbbell curl

close grip barbell bench press

2-3 supersets of 5-10 reps

EZ Bar Preacher Curl

push the pulley down

2-3 supersets of 5-10 reps

EZ Bar Concentration Curl

parallel bar dips

2-3 supersets of 5-10 reps

Incline Bench Dumbbell Curl

lying dumbbell extension (holding one dumbbell with both hands)

2-3 supersets of 5-10 reps

triceps dips between benches

dumbbell pullover (holding a dumbbell with both hands)

2-3 supersets of 5-10 reps

Note: I’ve always done the biceps exercise first in the superset, but it might be interesting to switch it up by doing the triceps exercise first.

These super sets have worked for me over the years to put a decent size on my arms. You can design your own supersets by alternating two of your favorite biceps/triceps exercises. Just keep in mind that when you’re going back and forth between two different exercises, other lifters can show up at any time and dump your bar, steal your dumbbells, etc. Therefore, it is advisable to set the two exercises close to each other. That way, it’s easy to jump in and say, “Hey, I still have a couple more sets on that.”