Thread: pre vs post exhaustion

I doubt looking at it at that isolated a level is goign to make a difference in the big picture. And for that matter, that's one of the things I might keep as a variation when its time to change up my workout.

For strength & muscle growth what else are you doing? I'd be looking more at your core heavy stuff than just this.

Originally Posted by sassy69

I doubt looking at it at that isolated a level is goign to make a difference in the big picture. And for that matter, that's one of the things I might keep as a variation when its time to change up my workout.

For strength & muscle growth what else are you doing? I'd be looking more at your core heavy stuff than just this.

yea i do lift heavy this is just one excercise that im doing this
I also do bench press 195x10 205x8 then 225x5-6 reps
and incline bench hevay as well
but I incorporate some high reps in my workout as well. I start off with pushups I hit 125 then 80 and last set 70
im not bodybuilding I just want to stay lean and continue to increase strength
so was wondering of this was better than doing dumbbell flyes alone

Id save the pushups for the end of the workout

Originally Posted by njc

Id save the pushups for the end of the workout

would that be better, to end it with push ups?
and why?
thanks for all the feedback by the way guys

use your power and save it for the heavy lift then end with the burn
that way you wont be using up your energy to burn and will be able to get more from heavy lifts

I don't get your relationship between diamond pushups and flyes. One will hit the triceps hard, the other the pectorals. So in that case it doesn't matter.

Now, pushups and bench, yeah. They use the same muscles. If you were to pre-exhaust your triceps with diamond pushups before benching, your pectorals would then be the main mover on your bench.

But if you're going to do 100 regular pushups, do them after bench. Doing them before benching will reduce the weight you can handle on the bench, thus lowering the tension, which means your muscles won't adapt to the higher weight. Your gains won't be anywhere near as good that way.

Now, exhausting with lots of pushups after benching will thoroughly deplete glycogen stores, helping with overcompensation, making the muscles store more glycogen. Your muscles will look bigger and fuller, and your next workout can be even more intense.

So, unless you are pre-exhausting one of a group of muscles involved in a lift so as to make the other muscles involved in that lift work harder, save the exhaustive efforts for after your heavy stuff.

Originally Posted by ThreeGigs

I don't get your relationship between diamond pushups and flyes. One will hit the triceps hard, the other the pectorals. So in that case it doesn't matter.

Now, pushups and bench, yeah. They use the same muscles. If you were to pre-exhaust your triceps with diamond pushups before benching, your pectorals would then be the main mover on your bench.

But if you're going to do 100 regular pushups, do them after bench. Doing them before benching will reduce the weight you can handle on the bench, thus lowering the tension, which means your muscles won't adapt to the higher weight. Your gains won't be anywhere near as good that way.

Now, exhausting with lots of pushups after benching will thoroughly deplete glycogen stores, helping with overcompensation, making the muscles store more glycogen. Your muscles will look bigger and fuller, and your next workout can be even more intense.

So, unless you are pre-exhausting one of a group of muscles involved in a lift so as to make the other muscles involved in that lift work harder, save the exhaustive efforts for after your heavy stuff.

well its just diamond pushups hit the triceps and innner chest
I feel a burn around my 12th rep right in the middle part of my chest

and yes that is a possibility for me to do push ups after chest I see no problem with that, I might just do that

both pre or post exhaustion work but if and when I do either, I do them for these reasons:

1. pre exhaust: I would consider this when I want to exhaust the main muscle first and then use the compound movement to push it further......

example are leg extensions and any form of squat, leg press, etc.... What this also does obviously, is you cant use as heavy a weight on the compound movement and you dont exhaust the assisting muscles as much this way.

But if I were to do squats or leg presses, then folowed up wtih leg extensions, I would be going for a burn and a pump with the leg estensions..... You will use heavier on the main exercise but you will also exhaust some of the other muscle grops first or to a great degree....


certain exercises like the tricep bench or diamond pushups or reverse grip tricep extensions are all about flushing. in the old days we would always end a bodypart with a flushing exercise that would allow ups to go for several reps and burn the muscle out with that one set or max 2.

There is something to be said about if you pre exhaust, you acnt lift as heavy on the main exercise, like a bench or a squat. But nlesss you want to always push for power, etc..... who cares if you lift less? Why strain your tendons. If you are doing the negative part of the lift slowly then explosively push up, you WILL ACTIVATE those muscle fibers ...I think the idea is intensity..... you are still going to failure, or you are still drop setting or using forced reps, the muscle itself still gets stimulated, IMO, and altho you wont go for any personal records, who cares???? You isolated the body part to pre exhaustion so now it is actually working HARDER doring the main exercise to keep up, higher intensity wiht the first rep.

I do shoulders.... say I am doing seated laterals. I might do them, (sort of a pre exhaust) and when I cant do anymore, I immediately take that same weight and do as many dumbell presses as I can.....

legs, I will do leg biceps first before leg presses or squats... why? cuz I can go to failure on leg curls and then take it past failure when the muslce is forced to work in leg presses or squats....

I think it is individual.... Its what works for u. BUT I wont do 100 pushups to them do bench.... First a push up is not an isolation movement.... Doing a fly before a bench OR better yet, do your flys then when you cant do any more, immediately start doing dumbell bench presses with the same weight, press up, fly down for the negative or do partial reps without any lockout and in a fluid up and down movement...... That pushes the flys beyond natural failure

Originally Posted by sassy69

I doubt looking at it at that isolated a level is goign to make a difference in the big picture. And for that matter, that's one of the things I might keep as a variation when its time to change up my workout.

For strength & muscle growth what else are you doing? I'd be looking more at your core heavy stuff than just this.

This is what I immediately thought.

Hell do some real pushups so you can take some emphasis off of the tris, which is what you're doing with diamonds....if your goal is to build muscle. I'd do real pushups, weighted if you don't have a bench or can't get to a gym. Get a back pack and fill it with cheap books. Noone reads books anymore people will give them away. I used to use encyclopedias back in the day. "Boy you better not mess up my encyclopedias!" My mom would yell at my brother and I. Hell that was back when you had to go to the encyclopedias or the library.

Then if I was going to do diamonds I would do them later. Between them and flies I don't think it would make much of a difference which one you did first. You need heavier resistance. I would do pushups first I guess since it's more work.

i dont do pushups on chest days lmao. I do them all the other days tho.. THats just me.