A superset is two exercises done back to back — a set of the first, immediately a set of the second — followed by one rest. In Zyra Workouts a superset is two adjacent exercises that share a group id, the logging flow alternates between them, and the rest timer starts only after the second exercise's set. This page gives the rules the app enforces, the pairings that make the time saving real, and how rest and set counts behave inside a pair.
Zyra Workouts is in development and not yet on the App Store; the screens described here may change before release.
What counts as a superset
The app's definition is structural. In a program or in a live session, an exercise can be grouped with the exercise next to it; the two then carry the same supersetGroupId and are displayed as one block. That is the whole data model — a pair marker on adjacent entries.
Three rules follow from it:
| Rule | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Adjacent only | you can pair an exercise with its next neighbour; to pair two exercises that are apart, reorder first |
| Pairs move together | in the session the block reorders as a unit, so adjacency holds by construction |
| Moving apart dissolves the pair | in a program, if an edit leaves the two members non-adjacent, the group is removed rather than left dangling |
Ungrouping is the same toggle again. A program superset carries into the session started from it, with a fresh group id for that session, so the pairing you planned is the pairing you log.
In plain terms: a superset is a marked pair of neighbours. Nothing more exotic is stored, which is why it survives reordering and syncing without surprises.
Pairings that work
The point of a superset is that the second exercise uses time that would otherwise be rest — without the first exercise having already tired the muscles the second one needs. The catalog's primary and secondary muscles make the check mechanical: a good pair shares no primary muscle, and ideally the first exercise's secondaries do not include the second's primary.
| Pairing | Primary muscles | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell bench press + seated cable row | chest + back | push then pull; the row's biceps and forearms were not used by the press |
| Leg extension + lying leg curl | quads + hamstrings | front of thigh then back of thigh; both isolation, both on a 60 s default |
| Barbell curl + tricep pushdown | biceps + triceps | opposite sides of the arm; a classic that fits the end of an upper session |
Pairs to think twice about:
- Two heavy barbell compounds (squat with deadlift, bench with overhead press). Both carry a 180 s default because they cost the whole body, and the second set will be done with that cost unpaid. The time saving exists; the second set is not the set you programmed.
- Same-muscle pairs (a pressing movement with a fly). This is a legitimate technique — a "compound set" in older gym language — but the second exercise's sets are done fatigued, and the weekly-set count will not show that. Log the RIR honestly and the effort measure will.
- Pairs that share equipment across a busy gym. A superset only saves time if both stations are free.
The app does not stop you making any of these pairs; it only requires adjacency.
Rest after both
Rest is where the superset changes the app's behaviour. Normally, ticking a set starts the rest timer for that exercise. Inside a superset the rule is:
auto-rest fires only after the last member of the group
Tick a set of exercise A: no timer. Tick the matching set of exercise B: the timer starts, for B's rest duration (its catalog default or the program's override). Then a set of A, a set of B, rest again — that is one round.
Two consequences:
- The pair's rest is the second exercise's rest. Put the exercise whose rest you want to govern the pair second. For the leg extension + leg curl pair above, that is 60 s either way; for a compound + isolation pair, ordering the compound second gives the pair the longer rest.
- The first exercise's rest is the second exercise. For a 60 s pair, a round of two sets and one rest takes roughly the time of one set plus 60 s, against two sets plus 120 s done separately. Across three rounds the saving is about three minutes — arithmetic, not a measurement, and it assumes the transition itself takes no time.
If you want rest between A and B as well, the superset is the wrong tool; log them as ordinary neighbouring exercises and the timer runs after each.
What a superset does not change
Counting. Each exercise's sets are logged under that exercise and credited to its own primary muscle at 1 and its secondaries at 0.5, exactly as if the two were done apart. A superset of 3 rounds is 3 sets of A and 3 sets of B in the weekly landmarks, the records, and the progression engine's last-time look-up. Set types inside a pair work as usual too — a warm-up typed W on either member counts for nothing, as the set-types page explains.
The short version
In Zyra Workouts a superset is a pair of adjacent exercises sharing a group; alternate a set of each; the rest timer runs only after the second one, for the second one's duration. Pair exercises whose primary muscles differ — press with row, extension with curl, curl with pushdown — and expect each exercise's sets to count in full. For the rest values behind each pairing, see how long to rest.
Educational overview only — training guidance, not medical advice.