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Order of weight lifting exercises
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Rich Weil, MEd, CDE posted:
Hello Everyone,

I wonder if you always work your large musle groups first, and if you always work to exhaustion on every set. Some recent studies suggest neither one may be necessary for results. Have you ever tried smaller groups first? Rich
4 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:Order of weight lifting exercisesHello Everyone,<br /> <br />I wonder if you always work your large musle groups first, and if you always work to exhaustion on every set. Some recent studies suggest neither one may be necessary for results. Have you ever tried smaller groups first? Rich
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Tomato05 responded:
I like to experiment, and I have tried all sorts of things.

I have tried working the bigger ones first, and I have tried a combination/mixture e.g. back and biceps, followed by chest and triceps, followed by legs and shoulders, etc.

I must say, I've never tried doing all the smaller ones first, followed by the bigger ones. Intuition seems to tell me that I will end up neglecting the bigger ones in that case - I just won't put in as much effort into them towards the end of the workout. The bigger ones require a lot of effort, as one lifts heavier weights with them.

I think I prefer the mixed approach described above, to the one where I do the bigger ones first. It works better for me (feels more balanced).

I work to exhaustion, not on all the sets, but on about 75% of them, which seems like a good compromise to me. My body needs a challenge but it needs to be "punctuated" with smaller challenges. A variety of challenges is better for me! Otherwise my body(and spirit) may feel like it is being punished, which it won't like.
Report This| Share this:Order of weight lifting exercisesI like to experiment, and I have tried all sorts of things. <br /><br />I have tried working the bigger ones first, and I have tried a combination/mixture e.g. back and biceps, followed by chest and triceps, followed by legs and shoulders, etc.<br /><br />I must say, I've never tried doing all the smaller ones first, followed by the bigger ones. Intuition seems to tell me that I will end up neglecting the bigger ones in that case - I just won't put in as much effort into them towards the end of the workout. The bigger ones require a lot of effort, as one lifts heavier weights with them.<br /><br />I think I prefer the mixed approach described above, to the one where I do the bigger ones first. It works better for me (feels more balanced).<br /> <br />I work to exhaustion, not on all the sets, but on about 75% of them, which seems like a good compromise to me. My body needs a challenge but it needs to be "punctuated" with smaller challenges. A variety of challenges is better for me! Otherwise my body(and spirit) may feel like it is being punished, which it won't like.
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Tomato05 replied to Tomato05's response:
Correction - I have thought about it again: I work to exhaustion probably 65 - 70% of the time.
Report This| Share this:Order of weight lifting exercisesCorrection - I have thought about it again: I work to exhaustion probably 65 - 70% of the time.
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Rich Weil, MEd, CDE replied to Tomato05's response:
Ok, interesting. Recently I've only been doing large groups and I feel stronger as a result.
Report This| Share this:Order of weight lifting exercisesOk, interesting. Recently I've only been doing large groups and I feel stronger as a result.
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1nt3rnalC0mbu5t1on responded:
I used to do the back/bi, chest/tri routine, but lately i started to break it up a bit more. I do tri/legs so i dont think there is a conflict of interest there, the only day i really double up is when i do back and shoulders. Since i started to seperate the body parts more, i have been able to lift a bit heavier and harder and have seem some good results. I wont do all exercies for that day heavy, i will do a heavy set, followed by a moderate set and repeat. With the exception being legs, i tend to try and lift heavier with legs, just given the size of the muscle in general.

What i learned was my biggest draw back of the back/bi etc work out was id wear out my arms doing biceps or back and then be gassed when i was getting ready to work the other muscle group, seemed counter productive. I was also lifting for strength and to put on some size as well, if your just trying to maintain and stay fit, that could work for you. and reduce the amount of time spent in the gym
Report This| Share this:Order of weight lifting exercisesI used to do the back/bi, chest/tri routine, but lately i started to break it up a bit more. I do tri/legs so i dont think there is a conflict of interest there, the only day i really double up is when i do back and shoulders. Since i started to seperate the body parts more, i have been able to lift a bit heavier and harder and have seem some good results. I wont do all exercies for that day heavy, i will do a heavy set, followed by a moderate set and repeat. With the exception being legs, i tend to try and lift heavier with legs, just given the size of the muscle in general. <br /> <br />What i learned was my biggest draw back of the back/bi etc work out was id wear out my arms doing biceps or back and then be gassed when i was getting ready to work the other muscle group, seemed counter productive. I was also lifting for strength and to put on some size as well, if your just trying to maintain and stay fit, that could work for you. and reduce the amount of time spent in the gym
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