Everyone has their own way of performing their workout. Some people do cardio first, while others do weights training. While doing your weight training, some do the small groups first, while others do the large muscle groups. Now, research is showing that the order of your weight training can affect the level of enjoyment you get from your workout.
In the study, exercisers performed two sets of exercises: chest press, leg press, rows, leg extension, overhead press, hamstring curl, biceps curl, calve raise, and triceps extension. One group went from large muscles to small muscles (1-9), while another did the exercises in reverse.
The exercisers who went from small to large were able to complete more reps and rated their exercise enjoyment as higher than the other group (source).
Personally, I have my clients do their abs first. Most people hate doing ab work so I get it out of the way first. I taper the workout from free weights to machines. However, some clients don’t use very many (if any) machines. I like to go from hard exercises to the easiest. No matter what your routine may be, burning calories is key, so pick the order that keeps you coming back!
Adria Ali
(CES, PES, CPT, BS)
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