We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!
Thoughts on the order of lifts
klrenn
Posts: 245 Member
I've been playing around with the order in which I do my lifts. For the longest time I did them as described in the program - squat/bench/row and squat/OHP/deadlift
Then I started having pain in my upper arm/elbow while squatting, so I decided to try swapping bench and squat. Warming up my arms with bench made the pain during squats disappear.
I've just started playing around with swapping squats and deadlifts, because I was wondering if my deadlift could be better if I did it first when I wasn't tired after squats and OHP.
But now my squats feel so much harder. Duh...
Do you have a particular order you like to do your lifts? Have you tried switching things around? Am I just screwing up a good thing?
Then I started having pain in my upper arm/elbow while squatting, so I decided to try swapping bench and squat. Warming up my arms with bench made the pain during squats disappear.
I've just started playing around with swapping squats and deadlifts, because I was wondering if my deadlift could be better if I did it first when I wasn't tired after squats and OHP.
But now my squats feel so much harder. Duh...
Do you have a particular order you like to do your lifts? Have you tried switching things around? Am I just screwing up a good thing?
0
Replies
-
I think the order is meant that way because technically, the squat is harder to perform than the other lifts, so it makes sense as a beginner to go at it while fresh.
If you were to compete in powerlifting, then you also want to stick to the order so you know how much weight you can move on bench and deadlift while already fatigued by previous efforts in the squat.
In a regular, basic training situation, it probably doesn't matter that much. I think the common consensus is to do the lifts you want to focus the most on first thing, and then work with the rest, taking into account the tiredness.
The only thing i would note is that, if you start including more things in a training session, you'd typically want to start off with skill-based stuff first so you can practice the best form possible, then work your way down with power (explosive stuff) if it applies, strength, then endurance. Sometimes it's also good to mix it up, though.
So, really, whatever works for you!0 -
I have always done the squats first. But the other 2 or 3 (depending on if I have added additional lifts) I have moved around depending on where I was. If I'm at the gym, it's squats, deads then OH press. If I'm at home, it's squats, OH press, then deads. I move out of the squat rack for my OH press at the gym since we have a rack specifically for that. My squat, bench, row routine is just that every time when I'm home and squat, row, bench at the gym.0
-
It depends on what your goal is, I think. If you are a powerlifter, I'd do the major lifts on separate days with an emphasis on increasing my max.
I moved from powerlifting to weightlifting last year. My weightlifting coach programs one move as the point of emphasis for the day. As an example, today is jerk day. 1/2 hour will be spent on variations of the jerk. Then a few cleans, then accessory work for strength, then front squats. Tomorrow will emphasize cleans. I just do what Coach says to do. lol
When I was a powerlifter, Monday and Friday were cardio/bodybuilding, Tuesday was bench, Wed was squat, Thursday was Dia de los Deadlifts my favorite. I never did them all on the same day, as it was far too fatiguing.0 -
i do them in whatever order. one side of my nature likes to get the hard stuff over with before i have the fun. but another part of me is a slit-eyed analyzer and wants to stack things in whatever order gives the greatest cumulative payoff instead. and then there's the issue of what's available at a given moment, in a public gym that gets a whole lot of traffic.
i do like to mix my rows in with my other stuff though. or do them first, especially when it comes to deadlifts and press. that's partly because i've moved on from sl so in my world these days rows are an accessory move anyway. and it's partly because my lats seem like they really need a lot to get them to fire. and there's no question for me that my deadlifts and benching go better for me when they do. rows also warns my hamstrings they'd better get ready for something big, so i like them that way for deadlifts as well. i tend to do my rows alternated with my early deadlift warmups.
bench and squats, i've mixed them in both directions. it seems to me like there are benefits for me either way. after benching i like to do something that imposes 'opening' on my shoulders and the squat sure does that. i kind of use squats as a cheap form of getting a kosher pec stretch
and/or the other way round: if i have done my squats first my pecs are usually better warmed up for the bench.
tl;dr: i wing it. my body's unpredictable so this works better for me than some 'always the same no matter what your specifics are today' thing.0 -
Thanks! Lots to think about.
I think for now I'll go back to doing squats before deadlifts since I'm having such a hard time progressing with squats, but then once I know when my next meet is (it's bench/DL only) I'll switch it to deads first while I prep for that.0
This discussion has been closed.