This is PART 2 of a 5-Part series on acute program variables for designing a resistance training program. The first step before undertaking any training program is to have a clearly defined goal. That will determine how you manipulate each of these variables, which are necessary to create a change in the physiological responses and subsequent adaptations to resistance training.

Acute Program Variables:

Exercise Selection ———- Order of Exercise ———- Intensity ———- Volume ———- Rest Periods

Order of Exercise

Once you have selected which exercises to incorporate into your resistance training program, the next step is to decide in what order you will perform them. 

The order of exercises can have a significant affect on overall force production and rate of muscle fatigue during a training session. 

In general, since large muscle groups involve a greater energy expenditure and are more effective at increasing muscle strength, they should be placed early in a training session when you are fresh and not yet fatigued.  

Have you ever tried to perform squats, bench press, or pull-ups at the end of your workout?  It’s likely your performance was dramatically diminished due to muscle fatigue from all the exercises done previously. 

As a general rule of thumb, perform large muscle group exercises first and follow with smaller ones at the end.

Want to keep adding weight to the bar for back squats? Do them first.

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Want to get better at pull-ups? Do them first.

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“But what about all these bodybuilders I see in the gym grunting through leg extensions and leg curls at the beginning of their workout?”

Competitive bodybuilders have a specific goal — to increase the fatigue of a muscle and to pump as much blood into it as possible. Pre-exhausting a muscle primes it for the subsequent complex, multi-joint movements, like squats or deadlifts, helping it fatigue faster. A bodybuilder is less concerned about maximizing strength or power gains, so performing complex movements at the beginning of a training session, when muscles are fresh, is not the priority.

Keep it simple.

What is your goal? Let that dictate the order in which you perform selected exercises.

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Once you’ve selected the exercises and in what order to do them, the third step is to determine an appropriate intensity level.

How to Design a Resistance Training Program: Part 3 – Intensity