pre-exhaustion
The pre-exhaustion method is a high-intensity training technique that was invented and popularized during the 1960s by Robert Kennedy, the founder of Muscle Mag International.
This training method was then used and spread extensively by other bodybuilding greats such as Joe Weider who incorporated it into their weider principles, Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer who incorporated it into their Heavy Duty system.
The pre-exhaustion method aims to eliminate the “weakest link in the chain” problem. Most exercises involve more than one muscle group, even certain isolation exercises targeting a single muscle group.
For example, most chest exercises also involve the triceps and deltoids. These muscles often become fatigued before the pectoral.
The theory behind pre-exhaustion sets is to fatigue the target muscle or major muscle as much as possible using an isolation exercise (or as much as possible an isolation exercise you can find) and then immediately move on to an exercise that use fresh muscle to drive the target muscle to deeper levels of stimulation.
One of the best examples of the pre-exhaustion principle is the dumbbell crucifix (opening) followed by the barbell bench press. The bench press is considered a chest exercise, but the triceps and shoulders are also given a high level of tension.
pre-exhaustion
Mike Mentzer incorporated various types of pre-exhaustion into his workouts and into the Heavy Duty system.
Often it is the triceps that hit first muscle fatigue/failure. In order to get around this problem, first perform an isolation exercise such as a dumbbell crucifix, which does not work the triceps.
This will “pre-exhaust” the pectoral muscles, leaving the triceps in a stronger and fresher state. Now when you do the bench press, your triceps will no longer be the weakest link in the chain. Relatively stronger triceps can be used to drive the pectoral muscles to failure.
The beauty of the pre-exhaustion method is that it not only provides us with an alternative training method to incorporate into the training regimen, it can also be applied to each of the major muscle groups that we aim to develop.
When to use the pre-exhaust method?
The pre-exhaustion method can be used in several situations:
Injury: When you are injured and/or cannot lift a lot of weight in heavy and compound exercises. In this sense, performing an isolation exercise before the compound exercise will cause you to reach muscle failure in the compound exercise with less weight than in normal sets.
Stimulus: This method is an excellent way to provide a different stimulus to the target muscle.
Time: If you have little training to train, this method, which is also a type of superset, is useful to perform a greater number of exercises in less time, also increasing the intensity level of training.
Variety: If you're fed up with doing the same workout over and over again, this is a great way to add variety to your training program.
Note: This article is only intended to describe what the pre-exhaustion method is and how it works and not to assess its effectiveness as a training method for hypertrophy.
Examples of Pre-Exhaustion Exercises
Below you will find examples of the application of the pre-exhaustion method for the main muscle groups.
Note that you always start with an isolation exercise and with as little rest as possible, a compound exercise works that same muscle group.
Conclusion
If you've been leaving your gym workouts bored or feeling like you could have given more, then this pre-exhaustion method is for you. If used correctly, this technique will ensure that the target muscle is trained and worked like never before. You will leave everything you have in the gym.
So if you are looking for a different training method to use sporadically in order to “shock” your muscles and add some variety to your training sessions, then you really have to try this method.
Final note: This is a very intense form of training that can lead to overtraining if applied too often. It is best suited for intermediate and advanced athletes.
