Order of Upper Body Exercises

[exercise-lover]

It seems like almost always upper body goes from working large muscles (back then shoulders and chest) to smaller muscles (biceps/triceps). Is there a reason they are ordered this way? Sometimes I like to start with bis/and tris then go to larger groups. Is it advisable to change the order? Thanks.

 

[Aquajock]

It seems like almost always upper body goes from working large muscles (back then shoulders and chest) to smaller muscles (biceps/triceps). Is there a reason they are ordered this way? Sometimes I like to start with bis/and tris then go to larger groups. Is it advisable to change the order? Thanks.

I think the philosophy about that particular ordering is that the larger muscles rely so much on the smaller assister muscles of the biceps and triceps that it's better to recruit these assisters when they're fresh. I personally like to do my upper body work in the following order: Chest; triceps, back, shoulders (posterior delts, middle delts, anterior delts and then overheads to hit the middle delts again) then biceps. I like to do triceps immediately after chest because the push-ups and bench presses also recruit the triceps and they're warmed up already, so it feels like a natural progression.

A-Jock

 

[exercise-lover]

A-Jock, Which DVDs do you do to go in this order or do you use the chapter? Thanks for your opinion.

 

[Aquajock]

A-Jock, Which DVDs do you do to go in this order or do you use the chapter? Thanks for your opinion.

Hi, Exercise-Lover! Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . don't tell anyone, but I don't really use DVDs for weight training, although I always buy Cathe's productions on the chance that someday I may wish to do so. I just kind of do my own thing with sets and reps and weight loads for upper AND lower body.

I'm sure with any of Cathe's strength-training or endurance-training DVDs you could do them in any order you with using the chapter-select feature.

A-Jock