Pre-Exhaustion
Performing an isolation exercise before a compound to fatigue the target muscle.
Updated
Pre-exhaustion involves fatiguing a specific muscle with isolation work before compound movements. The goal is to ensure the target muscle fails before synergists in the compound exercise. For example, doing leg extensions before squats to ensure quads reach failure despite glute/hip involvement. Research on its effectiveness is mixed.
Examples
- Dumbbell flyes before bench press
- Leg extensions before squats
- Lateral raises before overhead press
Related Terms
Compound exercises
Put this into practice with exercises from the library.
Clean Pull
Olympic Weightlifting · Barbell
Clean Shrug
Olympic Weightlifting · Barbell
Clean and Jerk
Olympic Weightlifting · Barbell
Clean and Press
Strength · Barbell
Clean from Blocks
Olympic Weightlifting · Barbell
Clock Push-Up
Strength · Bodyweight
Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press
Strength · Barbell
Close-Grip Dumbbell Press
Strength · Dumbbell
Common questions
What is Pre-Exhaustion?
Performing an isolation exercise before a compound to fatigue the target muscle. Pre-exhaustion involves fatiguing a specific muscle with isolation work before compound movements.
What exercises train the Pre-Exhaustion?
Good options include Clean Pull, Clean Shrug, Clean and Jerk, Clean and Press, Clean from Blocks. Each links to a step-by-step guide with demonstration images.
What are examples of Pre-Exhaustion?
Dumbbell flyes before bench press; Leg extensions before squats; Lateral raises before overhead press.
Put it into practice
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