How should you structure your lifts?
Last week we touched on lifting splits in last week’s blog post. This week we’re diving into those lifts and talking about structuring your sessions. We’ll be answering the questions:
Is there a specific order you should do different lifts in?
Are there specific lifts that shouldn’t be done in the same workout?
We’ve got quite a bit to cover so let’s dive in-
(Don’t skip out on the end - you’ll find a sneak peak into my free training offer)
is there a specific order you should do lifts in?
When it comes to putting your lifts in order of execution there are a few key points to keep in mind and program according to…
but never forget that your program is your own and there is no “right” or “wrong” way to move your body!
Power movements should be done first if they are going to be part of the session. The goal of power movements is to move moderate loads as fast as possible. Because of the explosive-nature of these movements it’s advised to do them at the start of the session when you’re fresh, have little to no muscular fatigue and after a solid warm-up.
If your session contains compound lifts, which most do, they should be done towards the beginning of the lift, again when fatigue is low. When you think of compound lifts think big barbell movements, although they don’t need to always be barbell-based. Front squats, bench presses, barbell rows, pull-ups and similar movements would fall into this category.
You may have more than one compound lift you’re working on in your session or program. If that’s the case you’ll determine lift order based on your current goals, purpose of each lift, rate of fatigue, etc. Typically if you have multiple compound lifts you’d have a “primary” and “secondary” and order them as such.
After compound lifts, you might consider unilateral movements (if they’re to be part of your session). This might be something like step-ups, split squats, or single arm rows/presses. These movements are commonly done with lighter weights compared to compound lifts and support strength or hypertrophy goals in the big lifts.
Next you’d likely have any accessory or isolation work. The lifts you place here may also fall into the section above, that’s okay! As long as they’re done after compound lifts try not to get hung up on which specific category it falls into. If you’ve noticed a weaker side/limb you may have specific work to address that, those movements could fall here. Typically core-work is included in this section, too.
Below you can find some examples of each of the movement categories we discussed:
And with all of that being said, let’s simply the information above to show the order:
Power > compound > unilateral > accessory > isolation
In true fitness-professional fashion my answer to the next question might make you roll your eyes…
Are there specific lifts that shouldn’t be done in the same workout?
… it depends 🙃 on a lot of things actually!
It’s important to take into consideration how your body processes different movements. The goal is to work hard in each session but not so hard that you need to take multiple days off to recover fully before lifting again.
Different lifts will feel different for each person. For me personally, I know my body and mind are going to be seriously TAPPED OUT after heavy deadlifts or any pull-up variation. Because of that, I don’t tend to program these two lifts in one session but if I do I constantly revisit how I’m feeling before/during/after to make changes if necessary.
Besides looking at what lifts go in your session, you should also consider what lifts are happening in the sessions before and after that one.
If you have a heavy overhead press day on Monday, doing more overhead press volume Tuesday might not be ideal. As always, a lot of this depends on the individual and their goals! Generally speaking, there aren’t movements you absolutely shouldn’t do together in one lift… just movements you may not enjoy doing together 😝
There are so many levels to programming a lift and it can be hard to feel confident about what you have planned in front of you.
If you’ve been feeling especially unsure of your lifts recently, maybe testing the waters with a structured program sounds appealing right now. If you’re thinking, “YES PLZ” then look no further-
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To summarize:
How you order your lifts is ultimately up to you but general guidelines are to start with any power movements, proceed to compound lifts, then potential unilateral work, and finish it out with any accessory movements or isolation work.
When deciding if you should put two lifts together in one session consider how taxing it is on your body and the intensity/volume/load you’ll be using for each. Generally there aren’t lifts you absolutely shouldn’t do together but after some time lifting you may find there are lifts you can do better if you separate them into separate lifts.
As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns about the information shared in this post drop them in the comments!
Next time we’ll be discussing supersets, compound sets, trisets and circuits - if you have a topic you’d love to see discussed here, let me know below.
Chat soon-