Supersets, Circuits & Advanced Techniques

Assistant Coach doesn't have a rigid "superset" data type — and that's by design. Training techniques vary wildly between coaches, and a free-text approach gives you full flexibility to communicate exactly what you mean.

The key tools are exercise notes, weight notes, and session notes — all of which are visible to your client in the workout logger, on their portal, and in the PDF export.

The approach

1. Order exercises intentionally — Place paired or grouped exercises next to each other in the session
2. Use exercise notes to explain the grouping and rest structure
3. Use session notes for overall instructions that apply to the whole workout

Your client sees all of this in the workout logger (right next to the exercise while they're training), on their portal, and in the exported PDF — so what you write is what they follow.

Supersets

A superset pairs two exercises performed back-to-back with no rest between them.

How to set it up:

1. Add both exercises to the session, one after the other
2. On the first exercise, set the exercise notes to something like:

   Superset with Lateral Raises — go straight into the next exercise, no rest

3. On the second exercise, set the exercise notes to:

   Part 2 of superset — rest 90s after completing both exercises

4. Set the rest period on the first exercise to 0 (no rest between the pair) and the full rest on the second exercise

Example session layout:

#	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest	Exercise Notes
1	Bench Press	4	8-10	0s	Superset with Face Pulls — go straight into next exercise
2	Face Pulls	4	15-20	90s	Part 2 of superset — rest 90s after completing both
3	Incline DB Press	3	10-12	90s	Straight sets

tip

Using a consistent naming pattern like "Superset with [Exercise Name]" across all your plans helps clients recognise the format quickly.

Tri-sets and giant sets

Same principle as supersets, but with three or more exercises.

Example — Shoulder tri-set:

#	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest	Exercise Notes
1	DB Shoulder Press	3	8-10	0s	Tri-set: exercise 1 of 3 — go straight to Lateral Raises
2	Lateral Raises	3	12-15	0s	Tri-set: exercise 2 of 3 — go straight to Rear Delt Flyes
3	Rear Delt Flyes	3	15-20	120s	Tri-set: exercise 3 of 3 — rest 2 mins after all three

Drop sets

For drop sets, use the exercise notes and weight notes fields together.

Example:

• Weight notes: Start at RPE 9
• Exercise notes: Drop set on final set — reduce weight by ~20% and immediately rep to failure, repeat one more drop
• Rep range: 10-12 + drops

AMRAP and timed sets

Use the rep range field creatively — it accepts any text, not just numbers.

• AMRAP — As many reps as possible
• 30 seconds — Timed set
• Max hold — Isometric hold
• AMRAP in 60s — Timed AMRAP

Combine with exercise notes for more detail:

AMRAP with good form — stop 1-2 reps before technical breakdown

Circuit training

For circuits, use session notes to describe the overall structure, then list the exercises in circuit order.

Session notes example:

Circuit format: perform all 5 exercises back-to-back, rest 2 minutes between rounds. Complete 4 rounds total.

Then list each exercise with 0s rest (except the last one with the full rest), and add exercise notes like:

Circuit exercise 1 of 5 — move straight to next exercise

Rest-pause sets

Exercise notes example:

Rest-pause: hit failure, rack the weight, rest 15 seconds, then rep to failure again. Repeat for 3 mini-sets total.

Rep range: 6-8 + rest-pause

Tempo prescriptions

Use exercise notes to prescribe tempo when it matters.

Exercise notes example:

Tempo 3-1-2-0 (3s eccentric, 1s pause at bottom, 2s concentric, no pause at top)

tip

Only prescribe tempo when it's intentional — like slow eccentrics for hypertrophy or paused reps for strength. Adding tempo to every exercise creates noise.

Mechanical drop sets

Exercise notes example on the first variation:

Mechanical drop set: start with Incline DB Press for 8-10 reps, then immediately switch to Flat DB Press (same weight) for max reps, then Decline DB Press for max reps. Count as 1 set.

Since each variation is a different exercise, you have two options:

1. List each as a separate exercise with notes linking them (same as supersets)
2. List only the starting exercise and describe the full sequence in exercise notes

Option 2 is often cleaner since the client just needs to follow one set of instructions.

Putting it all together

Here's how a complete session might look with mixed techniques:

Session: Upper Body — Push Focus Session notes: Warm up with 5 mins light cardio and arm circles. Supersets are marked — perform paired exercises back-to-back.

#	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest	Weight Notes	Exercise Notes
1	Bench Press	4	6-8	180s	RPE 8	Straight sets — full rest between sets
2	Incline DB Press	3	10-12	0s	RPE 7	Superset with Cable Flyes
3	Cable Flyes	3	12-15	90s		Part 2 of superset — rest 90s after both
4	OHP	3	8-10	0s	60% 1RM	Superset with Lateral Raises
5	Lateral Raises	3	15-20 + drops	90s	Start moderate	Part 2 of superset — drop set on last set
6	Tricep Pushdowns	3	AMRAP in 45s	60s	Light	Timed sets — maintain form throughout

Tips

• Be consistent with your naming. If you use "Superset with X" on one plan, use the same pattern everywhere.
• Set rest to 0s on exercises where the client shouldn't rest (first exercise in a superset). Put the real rest on the last exercise of the group.
• Keep exercise notes concise. Clients read these between sets on their phone. "Superset with Rows — no rest" beats a paragraph.
• Use session notes for instructions that apply to the whole workout (warm-up, circuit structure, overall pacing).
• Preview the PDF after building a plan with advanced techniques to make sure the layout reads well for the client.