Pectoral Pre-exhaust Study

[Sully]

Bench Press Pre-Exhaustion (PE) Science: PE Works for Triceps, not Pecs & Delts | Plus: DB, Barbell or Smith M. - SuppVersity: Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone

 

[striffe]

Very interesting and pretty much goes against what many have believed over the years.

 

[Viking]

I never fully got the pre exhaust your chest method. You often read the body doesn't know what weight it is lifting. So by pre exhausting your chest you can get the same results lifting much less. That could be true in some ways but surely the force needed to lift 500 pounds compared to 300 pounds is much different. I still try to warm up my chest before pressing heavy but try to lift the most weight possible with good form. Supersets have their place but I would rather be fresh for my biggest lifts so I can get the most out of them. For chest my main pressing movement is what I consider most important.

 

[AGGRO]

I do this quite a lot so this study is eye opening. Thanks for posting.

 

[bbuck]

Pre-exhausting never made any sense to me. How does something work harder when it is low on fuel? You may get more fibers firing off but they would be contracting with less force. If just getting muscles to fire without a heavy load worked then endurance athletes should be more muscular then they are I would guess. I have pre-exhausted my tri's for a while after seeing such studies and it seemed to work much better for my chest.

 

[Victory]

I never pre exhausted so I am glad to read that study. Never really made sense to me. I occasionally do supersets for chest but I am not thinking about pre hausting. If I am pressing heavy it will be my first exercise.

 

[ketsugo]

Preexhaust makes incredible sense and increases intensity way more then straight sets. You grow by stimulating muscle fibers . You need stimulus to recruit as many fibers and neurons as possible . Your body adapts to anything and everything you do . Periodically you shock it by doing unorthodox routines . Usually when say you bench or press the weak link is your smallest muscles like your triceps . Many times you can’t fully recruit enough fibers to provide stimulation for growth . Your weak or smaller muscles give out. Thus if you are doing cheat you isolate the chest first with say flye or pec dec or cables . Then quickly since only seconds to recover you switch after you exhaust the isolation move to compound move like press or dip . Now the so called weak muscles are fresh further tire the target muscle . Oh but you say 300 not like 500. You are body builder not power lifter . Stimulating hormones and neurons are the goal . While there is merit to amount of weight correlated to size meaning you can build larger fibers . However developing freaky fast or huge that is not enough. You stimulate more hormone production by reaching deeper fibers stimulating more neurons creating hyperplasia or your muscle fibers will liters split and increase in number . There are many ways of training . You need to periodically change ( periodization) try them all. Duration of contraction of muscle group by extending a set . Will build freaky fast size . More then heavy straight sets. However both ways have a place as they both contribute to building and changing . Google like x-rep training it’s a modern twist on older theories based on y
Decades of modern studies . Thinking you only build by lifting heavy is like cave man outdated info . It’s not just chemicals that make today’s bodybuilders freakier then those from years ago . It’s training methods . Bodybuilding is like being a scientist. Strong mind = strong body - train smarter . You need to understand how your body works on a molecular level. Strict straight sets are not enough to make drastic changes in body composition. You got preexaust super sets, extending sets by doing partial reps when you can no longer do full rep those three 6 inch reps will hit deep fibers that you’d never hit . Strip sets hit the deep . When you organize your routine try not do do same angle of move for each body part - use various angles to hit each group . You have to attack your body to continue over time seeing progress . Otherwise you become one of those people who go to gym for years and never change .if you don’t get or comprehend something then study more sources of it. These days so much out there ebooks etc . Back in 70s and 80s we didn’t have all this . Never let anyone tell you can’t , never listen to negative, you are on a journey to sculpt yourself. Try everything. At the same time allow each method time for you to understand it and how you respond . Homeostasis the principle of ever changing always adapting . The human body lives and breathes this concept ! Therefore you need to shock it over and over again . Go back to former method again try new method etc .