The Benefits of Alternating Muscle Groups
Q: When working out with weights, and doing two different muscle groups in the same workout, say for example chest & back... is it better to do all chest exercises first, then move on to back? What if you can handle heavier weight if you alternate chest/back/chest/back than you can handle if you just did all chest exercises one after the other? Which way is more beneficial?
A: This is a great question. In summary, I’d suggest alternating chest and back exercises rather than doing all chest and then all back, or vice versa. At the Personal Fitness Advantage training studio, we alternate body parts from set to set, 80-90% of the time. This is generally known as ‘supersetting’. Alternating muscle groups is very time efficient and there also seems to be some physiological benefits to it. All of this depends on an exercisers exact goals. Not to confuse the issue, but one statement I often make is that ‘the best training program is the one you haven’t been doing’. By that I mean that if someone had come into our facility and had already been supersetting chest and back exercises for the last twelve months, they’ll almost always get better results to changing the format and using a style that has them complete all of one muscle group before moving to the next. Here are a few samples: Scenario #1: Superset from set to set (We do this 80% of the time): Super set #1: Incline Dumbbell chest presses and lat pulldowns. 1a. Dumbbell chest presses/ rest 45 seconds 1b. Lat pulldown/ rest 45 seconds Repeat the superset three consecutive times and then move to superset two. Superset #2: Pushups and 1-arm dumbbell rows 2a. Pushups/ rest 45 seconds 2b. 1-arm dumbbell rows/ rest 45 seconds Repeat the superset three consecutive times and then move to superset three. Superset #3: Standing cable chest press and lying dumbbell pullovers 3a. Standing cable chest press/ rest 45 seconds 3b. Lying dumbbell pullovers/ 45 seconds
Scenario #2: The same exercises but alternating from exercise to exercise rather than set to set. (We do this 10% of time) In this scheme, the exerciser would complete all three sets of each exercise before moving to the next exercise (which would target the opposing muscle area) 1. Dumbbell chest presses, 3 sets, 45 seconds between sets 2. Lat pulldowns, 3 sets, 45 seconds between sets 3. Pushups, 3 sets, rest 45 seconds between sets 4. 1-arm dumbbell rows, 3 sets, rest 45 seconds between sets 5. Standing cable chest press, 3 sets, 45 seconds between sets 6. Lying dumbbell pullovers, 3 sets, 45 seconds between sets Scenario #3: The same exercises but completing all chest exercises and then moving to back and completing all back exercises(We would do this 10% of the time). 1. Dumbbell chest presses, 3 sets, 45 seconds between sets 2. Pushups, 3 sets, rest 45 seconds between sets 3. Standing cable chest press, 3 sets, 45 seconds between sets 4. Lat pulldowns, 3 sets, 45 seconds between sets 5. 1-arm dumbbell rows, 3 sets, rest 45 seconds between sets 6. Lying dumbbell pullovers, 3 sets, 45 seconds between sets
If you use this last strategy, make sure that every 3-4 weeks, you change the order in which you work your body parts. So if on month one you work chest first, make sure to work back first on month two and so on. Failing to change the order in which you work body areas can lead to muscle imbalances and injuries.
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