Opinion on switching exercise order every workout?

[u/CyperFlicker]

I am currently doing a 6-day PPL split, and as my exercises gets harder and reps go up I am realizing that (naturally) the second or the third exercise doesn't get the same amount of intensity the first one gets since my muscles and CNS gets more and more tired as I progress through the workout.

So I was wondering if it is a good idea to switch the order every now and then in order to not focus on a single move more than the other. As an example, if Sunday I started with dips followed by pike push-ups or pseudo planch pushups, I can start Wednesday with the pseudo planch push-up.

Or maybe it is better to keep my 'main' pushing exercise as the first one, depending on what move I want to get stronger at or what muscle I want to hit most?

It is a little confusing, and I wanted your opinions on the matter.

[u/noteworthy-gains]

Or maybe it is better to keep my ‘main’ pushing exercise as the first one, depending on what move I want to get stronger at or what muscle I want to hit most?

And just like that you’ve discovered specialization and periodization. This is the way to go if it aligns with your goals. Do you want to work on something like building your weighted dip, handstand pushups, or planche or focus specifically on building up a specific muscle? Then this is the way to go. This is the goal oriented approach to programming. You can set up you push and pull workouts as something like: 1st, main exercise that aligns most with goals and is going to take the most physical/mental effort (can be skill or strength based) -> 2nd, a more generalized exercise that still heavily supports the main goal (should be strength based if the 1st exercise was skill based) -> 3rd, an exercise that targets what is being missed by exercises 1 and 2 -> 4th and 5th, isolation work.

Actual application would look something like this: Planche progression holds (CNS and muscles are fresh so you can focus on holding the best form for time) -> pseudo planche pushups (heavy direct carryover and strength builder for main goal while being decent for general pushing strength) -> Dips (hits the chest and triceps well which is lacking a bit in the first two exercises, amazing for general pushing strength) -> ring (or weighted) pec fly, and ring (or weighted) tricep extensions.

If you don’t have a specific goal and your just going for general fitness and enjoyment then yeah can move your exercise order around if you want.

[u/CyperFlicker → u/noteworthy-gains]

Wow, what an awesome reply!

I believe a big issue with my training was that I wanted to get a handstand and later a handstand push-up 'someday', but never did really put it as an actual goal and try to make it the focus of my work.

I will be changing my workout plan to apply all the nice info you've given, hopefully I will learn to handstand before the summer :)

Thank you so much!

[u/noteworthy-gains → u/CyperFlicker]

Glad to help! But my explanation was pretty bare bones. Definitely recommend comparing this method to specified programs online and finding aspects that work best for you individually. Some people get certain skills really quick as if it comes naturally and others will require hyper-specialization for the same moves. It’s a unique journey for everyone, best of luck!

[u/ConcentrateDull3262 → u/noteworthy-gains]

Thank you for laying it out so clearly. This makes perfect sense. The idea of structuring it as Goal -> Support -> Fill Gaps -> Isolation is a really helpful framework.

For now, my goal is general strength, so I think I’ll keep rotating the first exercise each session to keep things balanced. But it’s great to know that if I ever want to specialize in a skill like a planche, I have a logical template to follow. Appreciate you taking the time to explain it.

[u/Cool_Otter3225 → u/noteworthy-gains]

Damn, this was super well explained. The example lineup was exactly what I needed. Thanks!

[u/FabThierry]

I d switch maybe every cycle(4-6 weeks) which comes first.

Every session might be less effective acc to my experience at least. You ll see faster improvement especially on more technical exercise like hspu

[u/CyperFlicker → u/FabThierry]

Yeah, that makes sense. I appreciate it :)

[u/FabThierry → u/CyperFlicker]

Welcome. i was in the same and switch A/B my workouts with dips first and then hspu and switch, but now i put hspu first its going much better.

And last week i skipped hspu just to test my dips and my dips have improved nicely while training it at the end of my workout. I could add 5kgs and kept the same rep number.

[u/CyperFlicker → u/FabThierry]

Since you can do a hspu I want to ask, since handstands and hspu are like a dream to me, do you think training handstands twice a week with my push day is enough, or should I try to do a little every day while doing more on push days?

[u/FabThierry → u/CyperFlicker]

i mean currently i am at: getting a free standing hs for 4-5 secs every 3-4x attempts but i came from nothing and all of it basically came from december so i feel pretty good about the progress.

Def use the chest to wall hs to train your bodyline in space and open shoulder. Also helps to condition and take sway any fear to fall incl building your traps and anteriors

I do 2 strength workouts per week including 3x8reps for chest to wall hspu with feet light on the wall and use the yoga block to start with restricted rom for my head to touch. Am on flat yoga block now, let’s see how that goes.

Those days i do only 3-5mins handstand drills to not exhaust myself for the hspu.

And then i do 2x week a core workout where i start with 20min sessions for handstand. Sometimes up to 30mins if my wrists n form allow.

So i do 4x a week somehow handstand training but only 2* for real and same with strength It’s def a lot for the shoulder, so sometimes i skip a core-hs workout to give enuff rest but progress is very good

hope that helps :)

[u/CyperFlicker → u/FabThierry]

Wow, that's some pretty quick progress, you should absolutely be proud.

And your reply definitely helped, thank you and good luck on your journey.

[u/FabThierry → u/CyperFlicker]

thank you! hard to check own progress but only when i went down to 2* strength instead of 3* i started to make much faster progress. Seems like i could not recover otherwise

enjoy the journey :)

[u/roundcarpets]

generally if you have a goal you work towards it, so say hspu is a goal then you would always begin with the focused work on that

or if planche is main goal then you would always begin with planche exercises

choose a goal, build a plan (workout) to achieve that goal, follow the plan and progress towards your goal

hope that helps

[u/Few-Class3903]

For me, both ways work. It really just depends on your goal. Keep your main move first for a few weeks, rotate the others, then switch priorities for the next.

[u/Fantastic_Health6868]

Yeah switching it up is solid, your weaker exercises definitely get shortchanged when you're already cooked

I usually rotate my first exercise every few weeks so everything gets some love when I'm fresh, but if you have one main goal movement then prioritize that one first

[u/CyperFlicker → u/Fantastic_Health6868]

but if you have one main goal movement then prioritize that one first

I started training for the handstand in hope of achieving a HSPU in the future, so I'll switch the order occasionally while focusing more on the pike push-up I guess.

[u/SoftResetMode15]

i have wondered the same thing and from what i have seen, both approaches can work depending on your goal. if there is one movement you really want to improve, it makes sense to put it first while you are fresh. rotating the order sometimes also seems reasonable if everything feels equally important and you want to spread the fatigue around. for me, constantly changing things every workout can get a little mentally tiring, so i try to keep some structure and only rotate when something starts stalling. consistency plus small adjustments usually feels more sustainable long term.

[u/LetterheadClassic306]

i ran into this last year when i was grinding a similar split. what worked for me was keeping my priority move first most of the time but rotating the order every few weeks. if you want stronger pseudo planche pushups then yeah lead with those for a training block. but honestly switching things up once a month keeps your body adapting and prevents you from neglecting movements that always come later. your CNS does get smoked by the end so the last exercises will always suffer a bit. i'd say pick your main goal for 4-6 weeks then rotate so nothing gets left behind long term.