Question for the lifters

mack1

Hi All,

I'm currently doing a 3 day split as follows:
Mon: Chest, Tris & Shoulders
Tues: Legs
Thurs: Back and Bis

So tonight I really went hard and heavy on the back, well pleased with myself, but when I was finished I couldn't even lift my regular weights for the biceps, I just didnt have it in me. So I dropped down a few kg and completed my workout, but my question is this:

I do the larger muscles first each day, so are the 2nd set of muscles suffering as a result? I want to improve my arms for example, so is doing them after a good back session pointless?

If so any suggestions?

Thanks!
M

tribulus

Biceps will be involved in the rowing exercises so it's not unusual really that their strength was down, I've found the same thing myself.

If your bi's are a priority then you could put them before back work so you can hit them fresh. I prefer it that way but find what works, try more volume, more intensity, higher frequency etc.

As an aside if you're deadlifting, it would probably be better to separate your leg and back days with the chest day to give yourself more time to recover.

davyjose

In real life, your muscles don't work by themselves. The biceps pretty much work as a pulling action, in conjunction with your back, in the same way that chest exercises largely incorporate your tri's. Exercises such as barbell rows or pull-ups particularly demonstrate this. So if your doing a lot of back exercises, yes this will make your arms tired.
What Trib says is great advice, because when you pre-exhaust your biceps, it means you are putting the majority of the load on your back. Just be careful not to over-do biceps to the point where u lose form on your back exercises.

mack1

Cool - thanks lads, will try doing that so!
cheers!
M