Pre-fatigue exercises
When and why you should do them.
What is a pre-fatigue exercise?
I know what you may be thinking.
"What on God's green earth is a pre- fatigue exercise?"
Well, it's kind of just as simple as it sounds. This is an exercise that you specifically choose to do before another exercise. Thus, when entering the following exercise, you have already induced some acute fatigue to a specific muscle/ muscle group .
An easy example is choosing to do leg extensions before you do a barbell back squat. After you have done a few sets of leg extensions, the quadricep muscle will be fatigued. Therefore, you will not be able to produce maximal Force through the quadriceps during the squatting movement. Importantly, if you can normally squat 400 lb when your legs are completely fresh, after a set of leg extensions you may only be able to squat 350 pounds.
Why use a pre-fatigue exercise?
The purpose of a pre- fatigue exercise can be many.
To fatigue a specific muscle group so that you do not need to use as much weight during the following exercise.
Using a pre-fatigue exercise to warm up and begin getting a good mind to muscle connection with a given body part.
To fatigue a specific muscle group so that it is unable to contribute as much to the following exercise. For example, if you find that your lower back often takes over during a stiff legged deadlift, and you are using the exercise to Target your hamstrings, you can do a pre fatigue exercise for the lower back so the hamstrings are forced to work more during your stiff legged deadlift exercise.
Will it work for you?
With that being said, each of these scenarios could either increase or decrease the output of a specific muscle group, depending on the person. Let's take the last example. Some people may find, if they fatigue their lower back before doing a hamstring focused deadlift movement, they will get more output out of their hamstrings during the deadlift. However, some people find that they simply just fatigue much quicker, and because they have already pre-activated their lower back, the mind muscle connection they have developed during the beginning of the workout causes them to use even MORE lower back during their deadlift.
That is why exercise selection is so nuanced. Some people find that when they fatigue a muscle, they are unable to contract the muscle as well in the following exercises. Others find that a pre-fatigue exercise simply acts as a warm up to help them better contract that muscle later in the workout.
How to know if it worked
It is extremely difficult for me to tell you which individual you are. One way to find out is to simply judge on soreness, and your ability to contract a muscle during a workout. If during an exercise, you are feeling the fatigue in a specific body part, it is very likely that is the body part that is going to be the most fatigued at the end of the exercise. Additionally, if the following day, there is a specific body part that is more sore than the others, one can assume that that body part is more fatigued than the rest of their body.
Examples of pre-fatigue exercises
Pre fatigue exercises are fun to experiment with. Some examples include:
- Doing chest flies before a bench press.
- Pullovers before pulldowns
- Hamstring curls before deadlifts
- Lateral raises before shoulder pressing
- Leg extensions before leg press / squatting
Conclusion
This is why I love the gym so much. There are so many subtle nuances, and so much to learn about yourself and others, that I never seem to get bored. Moreover, there's always room to experiment and try new and novel things such as pre fatiguing different body parts at the beginning of a workout, and seeing how that effects your ability to contract a muscle in the following exercises.
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