Question about workout

[raildogg]

I've been working out this way for a while now:

For example, if its the day for triceps/chest, I do one set of triceps followed by one set of chest exercises and repeat this.

I've been wondering if I should just do the triceps first and then do the chest exercises. Please advise.

 

[XxPrOdiGyxX]

Doesn't matter which goes first really. As long as you work out complementary muscles you should be fine:

Chest and Tri
Back and Bi

 

[SVT Cobra]

Doesn't matter. Whatever you feel more comfortable doing/what is quicker/allows you to lift more weight.

 

[EvilYoda]

I've also wondered that...but if I'm doing complementary muscles, I find that if I max out one first, my other exercises will suffer due to lack of support and thus not being able to do the weight I should be doing.

Granted, I'm doing this to stay in shape and not so much bulk and be "big and strong". I actually want to be smaller

 

[Kelemvor]

I've always done multiple sets of the same exrcise before moving on to the next one. But I can see why you'd want to do one of each and then repeat the whole cycle so that everything gets worked out evenly.

hmm.

 

[Aharami]

i actually do chest/bis; shoulders/tris; back/legs. alternate

 

[purbeast0]

i always do all my chest exercises first then I do tricep ones.

I used to do chest/tricep/chest/tricep/chest/tricep exercises in that order but I no longer do, and I've seen much better gains.

The reason is because chest uses Triceps secondary, so I don't want to do an exercise that does triceps primary which will in turn hinder my next chest exercise because my triceps are tired, when that's not hte primary muscle I'm focusing on.

Same thing goes for my back and bicep day.

 

[slimrhcp]

You're definitely going to want to do chest before triceps. One would not want their chest muscles to be exhausted before their smaller triceps. Imagine tiring your triceps and then benching. Not a good idea. Small muscle failure is disasterous on compound lifts (bench, row, deal lift, squat, pull-ups, etc).

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: raildogg
I've been working out this way for a while now:

For example, if its the day for triceps/chest, I do one set of triceps followed by one set of chest exercises and repeat this.

I've been wondering if I should just do the triceps first and then do the chest exercises. Please advise.

Isnt that circuit training?

 

[Rudee]

Originally posted by: XxPrOdiGyxX
Doesn't matter which goes first really. As long as you work out complementary muscles you should be fine:

Chest and Tri
Back and Bi

I strongly disagree that as you need to work out complementary muscles in the same workout. I used to do a similar routine like you describe above when I was in my 20's and got ok results, but it wasn't until I split my routine up so I hit the same muscles twice a week directly and in-directly that the results multiplied. i.e. triceps get indirect work on chest day as well as tricep day. Biceps get indirect work on back day and direct work on bicep day. My favorite routine for mass:

Chest Back
Shoulders Traps
Abs Calves
Biceps Triceps
Quads Hamstrings

Thats a monday to friday workout with weekends off that I have found to give the best results, and I have stuck with this routine for years, only changing it every few months for variety.

 

[TheNinja]

You gotta do the compound exercises first. If you do chest/tris on the same day, you gotta do chest first. At least I do. If I do triceps first I hardly get a chest workout. The reason is that your triceps are engaging during chest workout too, so if your triceps are shot you'll have hard time benching enough to engage you chest properly.

I used to do

chest/tris
back/bis
legs/shoulder (I don't care much about legs)

Now I've switched up
chest/abs
back/legs
shoulder/abs
bis/tris

I've only been doing that for about 3 weeks and am liking it so far. Gotta keep those muscles guessing

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: TheNinja
You gotta do the compound exercises first. If you do chest/tris on the same day, you gotta do chest first. At least I do. If I do triceps first I hardly get a chest workout. The reason is that your triceps are engaging during chest workout too, so if your triceps are shot you'll have hard time benching enough to engage you chest properly.

I used to do

chest/tris
back/bis
legs/shoulder (I don't care much about legs)

Now I've switched up
chest/abs
back/legs
shoulder/abs
bis/tris

I've only been doing that for about 3 weeks and am liking it so far. Gotta keep those muscles guessing

Why do you do your abs twice a week and every other muscle once a week?

That is probably the #1 misconception people have about the abs muscle. Abs are just like every other muscle in your body and should be treated as any other muscle in your body.

 

[TheNinja]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: TheNinja
You gotta do the compound exercises first. If you do chest/tris on the same day, you gotta do chest first. At least I do. If I do triceps first I hardly get a chest workout. The reason is that your triceps are engaging during chest workout too, so if your triceps are shot you'll have hard time benching enough to engage you chest properly.

I used to do

chest/tris
back/bis
legs/shoulder (I don't care much about legs)

Now I've switched up
chest/abs
back/legs
shoulder/abs
bis/tris

I've only been doing that for about 3 weeks and am liking it so far. Gotta keep those muscles guessing

Why do you do your abs twice a week and every other muscle once a week?

That is probably the #1 misconception people have about the abs muscle. Abs are just like every other muscle in your body and should be treated as any other muscle in your body.

Honestly, I used to never do abs and they looked fine. I agree that most people think they get a 6 pack by doing 500 crunches a day, which is ridiculous. Now I basically just do them in between sets of Chest to kill some time. I don't like down time and I only get about 40-45 minutes workout. So while I'm resting chest I'll throw in some abs. While I'm resting back, I'll do legs, etc. Cuts down on my overall workout time and keeps my heartrate up more too.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: TheNinja

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: TheNinja
You gotta do the compound exercises first. If you do chest/tris on the same day, you gotta do chest first. At least I do. If I do triceps first I hardly get a chest workout. The reason is that your triceps are engaging during chest workout too, so if your triceps are shot you'll have hard time benching enough to engage you chest properly.

I used to do

chest/tris
back/bis
legs/shoulder (I don't care much about legs)

Now I've switched up
chest/abs
back/legs
shoulder/abs
bis/tris

I've only been doing that for about 3 weeks and am liking it so far. Gotta keep those muscles guessing

Why do you do your abs twice a week and every other muscle once a week?

That is probably the #1 misconception people have about the abs muscle. Abs are just like every other muscle in your body and should be treated as any other muscle in your body.

Honestly, I used to never do abs and they looked fine. I agree that most people think they get a 6 pack by doing 500 crunches a day, which is ridiculous. Now I basically just do them in between sets of Chest to kill some time. I don't like down time and I only get about 40-45 minutes workout. So while I'm resting chest I'll throw in some abs. While I'm resting back, I'll do legs, etc. Cuts down on my overall workout time and keeps my heartrate up more too.

Yah to each their own, but you would probably benefit by dedicating a half-workout session to your abs ( just like any other day of yours with your other muscles) instead of just doing them "in between sets" of other exercises.

And as you had said before, it's best to do your muscles straight through - which would mean doing your abs workout directly (all upper, lower, and obliques) straight isntead of doing them between other sets.

Your abs play a role in A LOT more exercises than you would think.