Ok first this bit of researDoes Pre-Exhausting Small Muscles Work?
by Jack A. Medina, M.A.
and Roy E. Vartabedian, Dr.P.H.
September 29, 2008
In this issue:
* Does Pre-Exhausting Small Muscle Groups Before Working Large Muscle Groups Work?
* Announcing New Book Release from Jack Medina, M.A. and Roy Vartabedian, Dr.P.H.
Jack Medina
The Theory
Bodybuilders often talk about how they like to "pre-exhaust" certain muscle groups when they train, and as a result there will be greater gains in size, strength, and power. Is this theory true?
Biceps and triceps muscle
Details Behind the Theory
The theory behind pre-exhausting small muscle groups first (before large groups) in training is based upon the assumption that most multi-joint exercises (bench presses, chin-ups, etc.) have "weak links." These weak links are small muscle groups (triceps in a bench press, biceps in a chin-up).
Theoretically, when you fail on one of these exercises, you fail because the weak link is failing. By pre-exhausting the major muscle groups (pecs in a bench press, lats in a chin) with an isolation exercise, you would, in theory, be putting the big and small muscle groups on a level so they would receive more equal stimulation.
Research on Muscle Pre-Exhaustion
Brazilian researchers compared the effects of pre-exhaustion to priority training (doing your multi-joint exercise first in a training session) on upper-body muscle activation and exercise performance (Gentile, P., et al. "Effects of exercise order on upper-body muscle activation and exercise performance, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 21: 1082-1086, 2007).
The results of this study question the whole concept of pre-exhaustion and conclude that the theory is wrong. Pre-exhaustion doesn't work because it is based on a flawed concept of how muscle fibers are recruited. With pre-exhaustion, you assume that, as a muscle gets tired, more fibers are recruited until it fails (until you cannot lift the weight anymore).
However, most research shows when you are using heavy weights, most muscle fibers are recruited right from the beginning of an exercise. So there is no need to pre-exhaust your pecs before a bench press. If you are using heavy weight, your pecs will be using all the muscle fibers they can to move that weight.
The Bottom Line
This study also showed that, to get the most out of an exercise, you should do it first in the training session. Subjects in this study performed best on the bench press when they did that exercise first.
Reference: Journal of Pure Power, Volume III, Number 2, June, 2008.ch
http://www.jackmedina.com/newsletter/september-2008.htm
ok thats all fine and now this
In a 2003 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Swedish researchers found that when guys performed a leg extension (isolation exercise) followed by a leg press (compound exercise), the quadriceps muscle was used less in the leg press than it would have been if the leg press had been performed alone. So the pre-exhaustion technique actually had the opposite effect of what was intended: It decreased muscle activity and reduced strength. A more productive method would be to opt for "post-exhaustion" training, in which you complete the heavier compound exercise before the isolation movement. In the compound exercise, you'll exhaust the muscles that assist the target muscle, forcing the main muscles to work harder in the isolation set.
When and how: Use the "post-exhaustion" technique at the end of a workout to give a lagging muscle group extra work.
Both of the above studies concluded that Preexhaust was not good. Ready for this? They based it on the fact that during the compund movement there was less activity in the muscle fibres then doing it without the pre-exhaust
Can anyone see how this proves it worked?!?!
LOL - You gota laugh!!
