Question: Should I vary the order of my exercises from time to time? If I don’t, won’t the exercises I do later in the workout progress more slowly because I can’t use as much weight? Is it better to alternate between exercises for different muscle groups so I can use more weight or do all the exercises for one muscle group before moving on to another like pre-exhaust? How long should I rest between exercises if I just want to get bigger and don’t really care about cardio?
Answer: If your primary goal is to get bigger and stronger the two most important factors are intensity of effort and tension, in that order. So, you should perform each exercise to the point of momentary muscular failure in an order and with enough rest in between to maximize the resistance you are able to use in strict form and for at least a moderate time under load (between thirty and ninety seconds). You should also use a repetition method like SuperSlow, negative emphasized reps, or rest-pause reps which make it possible to use more resistance for the same amount of time.
Every exercise you perform causes both systemic and local muscular fatigue that affects every subsequent exercise, so although it might appear that you are progressing slowly or have plateaued on exercises done later in your workout this might not be the case depending on the exercises you are doing. For example, if you are making consistent progress on the first pushing exercise in a workout but appear to be stuck on the second, consider the increases in weight and/or reps on the first make the second more difficult even if they are separated by a few exercises, and just maintaining the weight and reps on the second would indicate improvement. Although altering the order would not alter the intensity of either exercise since intensity of effort is always relative to your momentary ability, because it would allow you to use relatively more resistance on whichever exercise is performed first it may be beneficial in the long run and would also allow you to compare progress on each of those exercises when unaffected by the other. If you are going to do this, however, it is important that you always write down the order you perform the exercises in so you’re able to compare performance on exercises performed at the same point in your workouts.
Alternate pulling exercises like chin-ups with pushing or leg exercises to prevent your grip from becoming a limiting factor.
Alternating between exercises for different muscle groups also allows you to use more resistance for each exercise since local muscular fatigue would be less of a limiting factor, but without having to rest as long between exercises so that you can make more efficient use of your time in the gym. Although rushing between exercises has been shown to have a beneficial effect on anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone this effect is small, and probably not enough to offset the benefit of being able to use more resistance. Moving more quickly between exercises would be more effective for metabolic and cardiovascular conditioning, but these will still improve somewhat with slower paced workouts as long as you are training intensely enough.
When changing your exercise order there are a few general rules you should follow:
- Exercises should be performed in order from the largest and/or most muscle groups which require the most energy to the smallest and/or least muscle groups which require the least energy .
- To prevent your grip from becoming a limiting factor during compound pulling exercises, they should be alternated with exercises which do not challenge your grip as much and before any direct forearm and grip exercises.
- Direct exercises for your abs and low back should be performed after exercises which require them to work hard to maintain proper body positioning.
Although alternating between exercises for different muscle groups will reduce the effects of local muscular fatigue, if you want to reduce the effects of systemic fatigue on the resistance you are able to use for subsequent exercises you should rest just long enough that you do not feel you will be limited by it. You don’t need to wait for a few minutes between exercises, or until your breathing and heart rate return to normal (which could take more or less time depending on your current level of conditioning). Rest just long enough that you do not feel like you will run out of breath on the next exercise.
For more on exercise order read Q&A: Exercise Order And Performance, Dynamic Exercise Order for Greater Strength and Size Gains, Q&A: How To Bring Up Lagging Exercises?, and the chapter Exercise Order in High Intensity Workouts,
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Great article Drew, thanks!
Just playing devil’s advocate, but a quick question if I may:
If pulling exercises are only alternated because of potential grip limitations, would this still apply if straps where being used?
And is it fair to summarise rest times and exercise order by saying that the rest between sets of pull, push or leg movements is virtually irrelevant if size and strength gains are the priority as longer rests should equal larger loads, ie, more tension, and as you’ll be going to MMF anyway then intensity is the same as you are going all out at 100% of your then momentary ability?
Thanks again!!
Jamie.
Hey Jamie,
Although straps would reduce grip fatigue there is enough overlap between the muscle groups involved in different compound pulling exercises that local muscular fatigue would still limit the loads used, which while not as important as intensity of effort is still a factor.
If strength and size gains are the highest or only priority a longer rest between exercises and alternating between exercises targeting different muscle groups would be more effective. You’re still going to stimulate improvements in metabolic and cardiovascular efficiency, just not to the same degree as if you rush between exercises.
I have developed two workouts which seem to work perfectly for me, using free weights at home.
Workout 1. Squats 1 set after warm up around 8 to 12 reps.
rows on an angled bench 1 set
bench press as above
heel raise up to 15 reps
inclined dumbbell curls
Workout 2. Hip belt squats reps as above. I have created what I believe is a unique way to doing these, and it has become one of my best exercises. The intensity is incredible, yet it is safe.
Pull ups/chin ups using handles which move making it easy on the wrists. As many reps as possible using body weight which is around 8 reps at the moment. I was for some time using a rubber band to reduce my body weight. This also hits my abs, very intense.
Seated shoulder press.
Straight leg dead lift. This exercise done slow is not for the faint of heart.
Seated triceps extension.
The order of exercises are very deliberate to aid recovery and reduce fatigue when training. I train probably every 6 to 9 days depending on how I feel. This means that the time between individual work outs is 12 to 18 days.
I always work large muscle groups first except for workout two where I do the dead lifts second from last. I do this because the dead lifts fatigue my lats and fore arms massively which reduce my ability to do chins ups to the max.
I perform only one set for each exercise as intensely as possible, probably not quite to failure, but sometimes I do manage to get there. Rep speed around 4 seconds negative and 3 positive. Also I always pause in the stretch position which I believe reduces the chance of injury and increases intensity.
I am now 53 years old and gaining consistently.
Comments Please Drew
Tom
Hey Tom,
Other than the frequency being on the really low side this would be an effective routine. While there are people who do require this much recovery between workouts, most do not as long as they are eating well, getting adequate sleep, and not overstressed. I usually also perform deadlifts later in the workout so the lower back fatigue doesn’t make it difficult to maintain proper positioning during some other exercises.
Another well written and thought out piece. Keep the quality work coming Drew. 🙂
Thanks Lifter,
Now that I’m almost caught up on other writing projects I plan to do just that.
Hi Drew,
You stated that intensity of effort and tension are the two most important factors leading to muscle hypertrophy. Couldn’t that be further implied that performing static contractions of primarily single-joint movements would be the most efficient way to perform a routine of say 6-8 exercises 1-2 times per week?
Thanks,
Andy
Hey Andy,
Timed static contractions and static holds would also be very effective, however compound movements are more efficient since they work more muscle groups simultaneously. The most effective frequency would depend on the individual.
Thanks Drew. I understand compound moves being more efficient. But what about being more effective, especially regarding muscle hypertrophy?
Hey Andy,
For most muscle groups it doesn’t make much difference. This is one of the things I cover in Elements of Form.
Hi Drew
If you had access to an ARX machine, where the motor lets you select various speeds, would you vary the setting from time to time or just keep on the same speed?
I tried Dardon’s 30 second negative – positive – negative workout on the ARX and really enjoyed it, perhaps because the metabolic stress is less and gives you an opportunity to really focus on tension / muscle damage. I want to stick to it, but feel
Slightly ‘guilty’ that’s it is not as taxing as the machine set at a higher speed / more reps
Cheers
Matt
Hey Matt,
I would keep the ARX machines set to around 10 to 15 seconds, around 20 to 30 per repetition total.
“You should also use a repetition method like SuperSlow, negative emphasized reps, or rest-pause reps which make it possible to use more resistance for the same amount of time.”
Most HIT trainers recommend continous tension on the targeted muscle group and therefore to avoid locking out on exercises like squats, bench pressen etc.. Above you recommend rest pause reps if the primary goal is maximum muscle hypertrohy.
Do you recommend locking out on the mentioned exercises to get a little recovery between reps in order to be able to use more resistance?
Thanks Andy
Hey Andy,
I don’t recommend locking out to rest when performing rest-pause. Rest-pause is best performed with exercises or on machines which allow you to set the weight down and completely unload the targeted muscles between reps. For example, rest-pause squats, bench presses, and standing presses should be performed inside a power rack so the bar can be set down at the bottom/start-point of the rep. Dips should be performed using a step or bench you can stand on to support your weight between reps. If you do rest-pause be very careful with it. I wrote more about it in Experiments With Rest-Pause High Intensity Training.
Drew,
In the experiment article you mentioned Joe Ross made great gains. Was his routine like this, alternating the exercises with others hitting the same bodyparts and with the upper arms and forearms you mentioned, or was the routine more of a consolidated one?
Squat
Chin-up
Bench Press
Stiff-legged Deadlift
Standing Press
Bent-over Row
Hey Eric,
It was similar to this but with only one compound leg exercise at the beginning, either leg press or shrug-bar deadlift.