Why is exercise order important during a workout?

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2014-08-17

I often get asked: Can I swap the exercises around? I respond: Sure, but then it will be your exercise routine, not mine. And I won’t take responsibility for it.

Many believe that the order of exercises doesn’t play a significant role. But this is not the case. To help you understand why this is so, I will outline the main rules that determine this order. Generally, each workout uses several of these rules at once.

1. From basic exercises to isolation exercises

This rule applies to all workouts, regardless of their goals. It’s best to start with basic exercises. As you progress through the workout, you should transition to more localized (isolation) exercises. In other words, start with complex movements and finish with simpler ones.

2. Exercises for one muscle group in succession

This rule is particularly suitable for muscle building. When several exercises for the same muscle group are performed one after the other, it allows you to focus on that one muscle group and maximally fatigue it. This, in turn, with proper recovery, will promote the growth of those muscles.

3. Alternating antagonist muscles

This is used both for mass gain and for developing muscle definition (cutting). You can read more about antagonist muscles here. For example, you alternate exercises for the biceps and triceps or for the chest and lats. Which of the last two options (alternating or performing both consecutively) is better for building mass is hard to say; it’s likely a matter of personal preference. However, alternating is perfect for shedding excess fat.

4. Pre-exhaustion

You can read more about this method here. The essence is to perform 1-2 isolation exercises for the same muscles at the beginning. Then, 1-2 basic exercises for those same muscles follow. This is essentially the reverse of the first option described above. This method is sometimes employed to load the target muscle group more heavily while expending less energy and avoiding injury. After isolation, it’s challenging to perform basic exercises with heavy weights.

5. Lagging muscle groups

Sometimes, the first exercises are those that target the muscles a person wants to emphasize. Reasons for this can vary: the muscles may simply be weaker than others, or there may be an injury or spinal condition (for example, hyperextensions at the beginning of the workout), etc.

6. Alternating upper and lower body

Exercises for the upper and lower body are alternated. This is excellent for beginners and for fat loss. It allows for fairly intense training since muscles do not get fatigued; instead, there is a constant change of muscle groups during the workout.

Conclusions

As you can see, there can be many reasons for arranging the exercises in a specific order. All are justified from both physiological perspectives and the training experience that humanity has accumulated. Therefore, when you take a ready-made workout plan (especially mine), you should understand that the exercises are not arranged randomly, but rather intentionally. If you change the order of these exercises, you may achieve a completely different effect from your workouts.

Of course, there are instances where swapping exercises won’t impact workout results. But these occurrences are not common. Additionally, you need to know how and what to swap. Good luck!