Influence of Exercise Order on Maximum Strength and Muscle Volume in Nonlinear Periodized Resistance Training

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of exercise order on strength and muscle volume (MV) after 12 weeks of nonlinear periodized resistance training. The participants were randomly assigned into 3 groups. One group began performing large muscle group exercises and progressed to small muscle group exercises (LG-SM), whereas another group started with small muscle group exercises and advanced to large muscle group exercises (SM-LG). The exercise order for LG-SM was bench press (BP), machine lat pull-down (LPD), triceps extension (TE), and biceps curl (BC). The order for the SM-LG was BC, TE, LPD, and BP. The third group did not exercise and served as a control group (CG). Training frequency was 2 sessions per week with at least 72 hours of rest between sessions. Muscle volume was assessed at baseline and after 6 weeks and 12 weeks of training by ultrasound techniques. One repetition maximum strength for all exercises was assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks of training. Effect size data demonstrated that differences in strength and MV were exhibited based on exercise order. Both training groups demonstrated greater strength improvements than the CG, but only BP strength increased to a greater magnitude in the LG-SM group as compared with the SM-LG. In all other strength measures (LPD, TE, and BC), the SM-LG group showed significantly greater strength increases. Triceps MV increased in the SM-LG group; however, biceps MV did not differ significantly between the training groups. In conclusion, if an exercise is important for the training goals of a program, then it should be placed at the beginning of the training session, regardless of whether or not it is a large muscle group exercise or a small muscle group exercise.

Influence of upper-body exercise order on hormonal responses in trained men

“…This exercise--order recommendation has been supported by studies that found greater strength gains (Dias et al 2010;Simão et al 2010;Spineti et al 2010) and hypertrophy Spineti et al 2010) in muscles that were trained at the beginning, rather than at the end, of a session during a long--term training program. Furthermore, studies examining the effect of exercise order (i.e., either large or small muscle--group exercises performed first in a training session) on repetition performance demonstrated significantly greater total repetitions (across all sets) for the same exercise when large muscle--group exercises were performed first than when they were performed last in a sequence (Bellezza et al 2009;Farinatti et al 2009;Gentil et al 2007;Miranda et al 2010;Sforzo and Touey 1996;Simão et al 2005Simão et al , 2007Spreuwenberg et al 2006).…”

Comparação entre diferentes modelos de periodização sobre a força e espessura muscular em uma sequência dos menores para os maiores grupamentos musculares

“…Our results indicate that the exercises which ended the training session (BP ad LPD), were performed under previous fatigue promoted by the accessory muscles already recruited during the BC and TE performance, for being in the end of the sequence 16,24,25 , and consequently thy were less sensitive to the maximum strength increment, which indicates that the B and LPD, besides presenting lower strength increment, have not been influenced by the periodization model adopted either. Thus, higher efficiency of OP is observed in the evolution of maximum dynamic strength in the initial phase of the training for the exercises which started the session and in the muscle hypertrophy of the EE and EF; however, the same results have not been found concerning the MVIC increase.…”

“…A possible explanation for these divergences of results may be aassociated with the size of the muscular groups involved in each exercise 24 . Previous studies have demonstrated that the exercise order may influence on the development of maximum strength 16,24,25 . Additionally, our results indicate that the RT periodization model does not equally influence on all the exercises in a sequence, since the exercises which start the training session may be boosted by the manipulation of the variables referring to intensity and volume.…”

Efeito Agudo Da Ordem De Exercícios Tradicional E Pré-Exaustão No Treinamento De Força

“…Em programas de musculação onde o principal objetivo é a hipertrofia/força máxima, um elevado volume associado à alta intensidade devem ser realizados para cada grupamento muscular 6,[13][14][15] , portanto, sessões direcionadas para grupos musculares sinérgicos (rotinas divididas) dentro na semana (microciclo) são sugeridas 2,[6][7][8][12][13][14]16,17 . Dentre tais estratégias de ordem de exercícios, duas são as mais utilizadas na musculação, a pré-exaustão que consiste na realização de um exercício isolado seguido por um multiarticular e o tradicional, onde se realiza a ordem inversa 5,11,[16][17][18][19] .…”