Fullbody and Squats & Deadlifts

[BendtheBar]

The more I do fullbody-style workouts, the more I like the idea of doing high energy/taxing lifts like squats and deads last.

What say you? When do you prefer to do the taxing lifts?

[BigJosh]

For myself, I tend to do my biggest lifts first. To me, the idea is to hit the biggest, most taxing lifts when your body is 'fresh' and your energy levels are at there highest. This way I can maximize my potential effort for the big (and theoratically most effective) lift.
However, having said that, i've done fullbody routines where I squat first and deadlift third (generally with OHP in between), and I still experienced progress with my deadlift.

[Carl1174]

I tried putting the squats at the end of my routine last session and it was a major FAIL. I 'may have had a little more strength at the beginning, but I was wiped out by the time i got to the squats. I couldnt lift what i wanted to and weight and reps suffered for it. My legs were shaking just doing my second set of squats at 100kg when normally working weight is about 130kg !!! Although i was alittle short on time and i may have taken lest rest than normal, but it still didnt feel 'right'

If I do squats first when freshest (well second after an oly lift) then i can hit more. i may fatigue quicker as i get towards the end of the upper body stuff, but if BB Curls are sub-par Im not really as concerned as if squats are.

I have done Deadlifts at the end of a 'back day' on a split which seemed OK. i couldnt lift as much but they were a good finisher, but for the fullbody I prefer to work through from (in most cases) heaviest to lightest.

Carl.

[ricka182]

I'd have to say I get better results when doing the bigger lifts first.. If I did a good full body, with squats and deads last, I don't think I'd really have it in me to lift as heavy as I want.

If I was just doing speed reps or light weight work, I could do it...

[ILoveLifting]

Btb, when the weights moved are as heavy as you use it may be best to hit the biggest most taxing set last. At your level with one singles set, YOU have the ability to burn an incredible amount of energy and inflict painful amounts of damage. Relatively speaking I would not want to do anything after one of your sets, especially finish the bulk of a routine.

Just a thought.

[Fazc]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

The more I do fullbody-style workouts, the more I like the idea of doing high energy/taxing lifts like squats and deads last.

It's all about conditioning for me.

I think if you're doing a Full-Body with Squats near the end you may well be tired to begin with, that's just your energy systems and other complicated bits-n-bobs not adapted yet. However if you're still dragging your heels a couple months later there's something seriously wrong.

The more I work with Full-Body routines (especially with the super high volume stuff at the moment) the more I have had to realise that you really cannot view them as a series of seperate exercises. A Full-Body routine demands that you view the entire workout as one large set in itself. There is no point knocking yourself out and making progress on the first three exercises if the fourth and fifth amount to nothing. That is not Full Body training.

When introducing Full-Body routines, your first goal is to condition your body to withstand the workout. If you skip that initial foundation period, there is no way on earth you can profit from an extended Full-Body routine. Some examples to illustrate:

Overhead Press - Great, felt good!
Chins - Great, felt good!
Benches - Not bad.
Squats - Floored.
SLDL - Zzzzzzz.

Now the goal for next session is not to hammer the Overhead Press and Chins into obliviion no matter how tempting a new PR is. The goal should be to maintain the weight and get to the Benches and Squats as quickly as possible.

Overhead Press - Great, felt good!
Chins - Great, felt good!
Benches - Great, felt good!
Squats - Great, felt good!
SLDL - Not bad.

A few sessions like this and you could have the above notations.

From there on, you should breeze through all of the exercises. At that point consider adding weight.

So there you go, a quick 'n' dirty guideline for building work capacity Full-Body style.

[Carl1174]

Great post Fasc. I think thats why i struggled when i swapped them around. I am conditioned to doing the squats first and i know how hard to push each exercises, when i swapped things around I went balls to the wall and was fried by the time it got to the Squats

Carl.

[IronManlet]

I prefer doing the big ones first. I feel like they "wake me up" for the rest of the workout to follow. Plus, I have more energy if I do them first and can hit them a lot harder.

But then again, I also like to train in the mornings and enjoy the bruises I get from front squats...

[Wlfdg]

I prefer do technical lifts first followed by squats/deadlifts.

[bamazav]

I am a Squat first guy. Session just doesn't feel right if I go any other way.