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Potential Role of Pre-Exhaustion Training in Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Review of The Literature
Potential Role of Pre-Exhaustion Training in Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Review of The Literature
Pre-Exhaustion Training
in Maximizing Muscle
Hypertrophy: A Review of
the Literature
Alex S. Ribeiro, PhD,1 João Pedro Nunes, BSc,2 Paolo M. Cunha, MPEd,2 Andreo F. Aguiar, PhD,1
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R
PRACTITIONERS WITH THE GOAL with minimal rest between them (37).
OF ENHANCING MUSCULAR a modality of exercise recom-
Another common way to perform this
ADAPTATIONS. PRE-EXHAUSTION mended to promote muscle
system is in a traditional multiple-set
CONSISTS OF PERFORMING A growth (1), and its influence on this
sequence (e.g., 3 sets of SJ before the
SINGLE-JOINT EXERCISE BEFORE outcome shows a dose–response rela-
MJ exercise) (9). The theory behind
A MULTIPLE-JOINT EXERCISE IN AN tionship, at least up to a certain point
this variation is that first performing
EFFORT TO INCREASE THE OVER-
(12,22–25). The effect of RT on muscle
an SJ exercise fatigues the agonist in
hypertrophy seems to be protocol-
LOAD (MUSCLE ACTIVATION AND/ isolation, thus placing greater stress
dependent, whereby manipulation of
OR TRAINING VOLUME) IN A GIVEN on the agonist during MJ exercise
program variables such as volume,
MUSCLE. DIFFERENT PE AP- and potentiating its hypertrophy
intensity, exercise selection, and exer-
PROACHES HAVE BEEN INVESTI- (7,21,37). Yet, another approach is to
cise order may affect RT-induced adap-
GATED IN RESEARCH; THIS first perform an SJ exercise that works
tations (1,20,37). Regarding exercise
REVIEW DISCUSSES THE RELE- a synergist of the MJ, followed imme-
order, evidence indicates that its
VANT LITERATURE REGARDING diately with a set of the MJ movement
manipulation can affect various acute
THE EFFICACY OF PE FOR (e.g., triceps pushdown followed by
and chronic RT-related outcomes
POTENTIATING OVERLOAD AND bench press). This approach has been
(27,28). Current guidelines recommend
MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY. IN GEN- used in scientific research and can be
performing multiple-joint (MJ) exer-
ERAL, PE DOES NOT ALTER THE referred to as a reverse PE (3). The
cises before single-joint (SJ) exercises
rationale for this approach is that the
NEUROMUSCULAR ACTIVITY OF (1). Paradoxically, pre-exhaustion
fatigued synergist contributes less to
THE TARGET MUSCLE IN MULTI- (PE) is a popular RT system used by
the subsequent MJ movement, thereby
JOINT EXERCISE, BUT IT DOES athletes and practitioners seeking to
placing greater stress on the agonist
enhance muscle hypertrophy (7,11,37).
The PE is one of the training principles KEY WORDS:
Address correspondence to Dr. Alex S. Ri- described by Joe Weider (37) that in- exercise order; system; fatigue; volume
beiro, alex-silvaribeiro@hotmail.com. volves performing an SJ exercise
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Pre-Exhaustion and Resistance Training
group. Given these variations and throughout the leg press repetitions increase activation of the pectoralis
assorted theories, the purpose of this (0–15 repetitions) after the PE with major when performing the bench
review is to discuss the relevant litera- 30% and 60% of 1RM, respectively, press; on the other hand, results suggest
ture regarding the efficacy of PE to whereas the condition without PE that PE may increase the activation of
potentiate muscle hypertrophy. showed an increase of 27.6%. It should a synergist muscle during MJ exercise.
be noted that exercises were performed
Alternatively, Pirauá et al. (15) investi-
METHODS submaximally, with sets terminated at gated muscle activation when perform-
An extensive literature search was per- 15 repetitions; it remains unclear if re-
ing the dumbbell fly (10 repetitions with
formed using PubMed and Scielo data- sults would have differed had sets been
bases. Searches were performed using 30% of 1RM) on stable (bench) and
performed until muscle failure.
the following terms in both English unstable (Swiss ball) surfaces before per-
Akima et al. (2) used electromyostimu- formance of the bench press. The bench
and Portuguese: “pre-exhaustion,”
lation to fatigue the quadriceps femoris press was performed until concentric fail-
“pre-activation,” and “exercise order.”
in subjects performing knee extension ure. Results indicated significant in-
The date of publication was not used
exercise before and after stimulation. creases in activity of the pectoralis
as a criterion for inclusion and exclusion
Pre-exhaustion of 1 of 4 heads of the major, anterior deltoid, triceps brachii,
of studies. Studies were included regard-
quadriceps augmented recruitment of and anterior serratus muscles during
less of the sample’s characteristics.
the 3 others when the exercise was the bench press when it was preceded
repeated. However, this approach has by dumbbell fly, independent of surface.
RESULTS
limited practical application because it This finding suggests that PE may
ACUTE STUDIES is impossible to stimulate only one of increase the activation of a target muscle
the vasti muscles using RT exercises.
Neuromuscular activity. Several during MJ when it is preceded by sub-
studies have investigated whether PE The PE system is often used to increase maximal performance of an SJ exercise.
alters neuromuscular activity during pectoralis major activity during bench However, considering that PE used a very
MJ exercise. The first study on the press performance. Gentil et al. (8) com- light load at a low intensity of effort, it
topic was conducted by Augustsson pared the neuromuscular activity of the can be speculated that the enhanced acti-
et al. (3), who assessed the electromyo- pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, and vation in all muscles during the bench
graphic (EMG) activity of the rectus triceps brachii during performance of press may be a function of postactivation
femoris, vastus lateralis, and gluteus the pec deck and bench press in 2 con- potentiation mechanisms (26) rather
maximus during one set of horizontal ditions: pec deck performed before the than prefatigue induced by PE.
leg press exercise with and without PE. bench press (PE) and the inverse order.
Reverse PE (e.g., triceps pushdown
The PE consisted of one set of a 10RM Results showed similar muscular activa-
before bench press) is postulated to
knee extension exercise. Results indi- tion in the pectoralis major and anterior
increase overload in the agonists
cated that PE impaired rectus femoris deltoid regardless of condition, but an
increase of 33% in triceps activation was through a reduced contribution from
and vastus lateralis activation during
noted during the MJ exercise when per- the fatigued synergistic muscles during
the leg press. Based on this finding,
formed after the pec deck. Brennecke the MJ movement. To determine the
PE may be suboptimal for maximizing
et al. (4) tested a similar experimental validity of these claims, Soares et al.
lower-limb activation. It is noteworthy
protocol (8), but the SJ exercise used for (30,31) investigated the neuromuscular
that the inverse order was not analyzed
PE was the dumbbell chest fly. Again, activity of pectoralis major and triceps
to determine what would have hap-
pened to activation in the knee exten- PE conferred no differences in activa- brachii during the triceps pushdown
sion if the leg press was performed tion of either the pectoralis major or and bench press exercises in 2 sequences:
immediately prior. Rocha-Júnior et al. anterior deltoid in the bench press; a reverse PE whereby the triceps push-
(18) examined EMG activity of the however, triceps brachii activation down was followed by the bench press
vastus lateralis during 15 repetitions increased significantly during perfor- and a traditional sequence whereby the
of leg press 458 at 60% 1RM in 3 con- mance (18%). Most recently, Go1as bench press preceded the pushdown. No
ditions: a control condition whereby et al. (9) investigated the effects of PE significant difference was noted between
only the leg press 458 was performed; on EMG amplitude in the pectoralis conditions for both the pectoralis major
a PE condition whereby 15 repetitions major during a single repetition of and triceps brachii. Conversely, a similar
in the knee extension at 30% of 1RM 95% 1RM bench press both in isolation balanced cross-over experimental proto-
was performed before the leg press 458; and after performance of multiple sets of col analyzing neuromuscular activity in
and a condition where 15 repetitions in incline dumbbell fly exercise. Similar to the 10RM bench press performed before
the knee extension at 60% of 1RM was previous findings, no significant differ- or after the triceps pushdown showed
performed before the leg press 458. An ence in pectoralis activation was noted significantly greater pectoralis major acti-
increase of 67.4 and 59.5% in vastus after PE. In total, these investigations vation in the reverse PE condition than
lateralis activation was observed provide evidence that PE does not the condition without reverse PE (10).
77
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Pre-Exhaustion and Resistance Training
exercise until failure. Measures of lean PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS major, latissimus dorsi, and quadri-
mass were assessed by air displacement Based on available literature, we can ceps), as opposed to just the syner-
plethysmography (ADP). Results re- conclude that PE does not augment gists (e.g., biceps brachii and triceps
vealed no significant changes for any neuromuscular activity of the target brachii).
group in lean mass, making it difficult muscle in MJ exercise, but it can
to draw any conclusion on the effect enhance activity of the synergistic mus- Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:
of PE in muscle hypertrophy. The lack cle. From a volume-load standpoint, PE The authors report no conflicts of interest
of changes in lean mass can be related to favors a greater training volume load, and no source of funding.
the following factors: (a) use of a single mainly due the increase in the number
set per exercise protocol for trained in- of repetitions performed in the SJ exer-
dividuals, which is in opposition to gen- cise, but it may reduce the volume load Alex S. Ribeiro
erally accepted recommendations in the MJ. The paucity of longitudinal is Professor and
(1,12,22–25), and/or (b) the use of data prevents the ability to draw con- Research Associ-
ADP as a measurement instrument, clusions as to the direct effects of PE on ate of the Center
a method that has limited ability to muscle hypertrophy. for Biological and
assess hypertrophic changes. It can be concluded that PE may be Health Sciences
a viable strategy to use during a hyper- at University of
Two other studies have endeavored to
trophic training mesocycle. Specifically, Northern
investigate the effects of exercise order
PE can help to increase training vol- Parana´.
on hypertrophy, with sequencing in
the nontraditional training condition ume, which has been shown to be a pri-
similar to a reverse PE (29,33). Simão mary driver of hypertrophy (24). It has
et al. (29) and Spineti et al. (33) com- been hypothesized that progressively João Pedro
pared performing MJ exercise followed increasing RT volumes over a period Nunes is a gradu-
by SJ exercise (bench press, lat pull- of several months may elicit a supercom- ate in Bachelor of
down, triceps extension, and biceps curl) pensation of muscle proteins to maxi- Physical Educa-
mize hypertrophic adaptations (22). tion, student in
to the inverse order. Results showed no
The use of PE could conceivably be Metabolism,
significant difference between groups for
used during the high-volume block to Nutrition, and
both triceps brachii (MJ-SJ 5 +15%, SJ-
facilitate the maintenance of increased Exercise Labora-
MJ 5 +12%) and biceps brachii muscle
volume. Alternatively, reverse PE would tory at Londrina
volume (MJ-SJ 5 +10%, SJ-MJ 5
seemingly be contraindicated in this re- State University.
+13%). Alternatively, Simão et al. (29)
observed that, for the triceps brachii, on- gard because it seems to negatively
ly the SJ-MJ condition significantly influence total training volume. The
current literature is insufficient to deter- Paolo M.
increased muscle thickness from pre-
mine whether PE promotes any addi- Cunha is a PhD
training to post-training (MJ-SJ 5 0.0%,
tional anabolic effects from student in Physi-
SJ-MJ 5 +8%). However, although
a mechanistic standpoint over and cal Education,
biceps brachii muscle thickness was sim-
above traditional RT, so any use for this student in Metab-
ilar between conditions, only the MJ-SJ
purpose remains speculative. olism, Nutrition,
group showed a significant difference to
and Exercise
a nonexercising CON at post-training Future longitudinal studies using PE Laboratory at
(MJ-SJ 5 +6%, SJ-MJ 5 +4%). should be performed to fill existing Londrina State
The conflicting results of the limited gaps in the literature and thus pro- University.
longitudinal data on PE prevent the vide greater insight into the potential
ability to draw strong inferences as to implications for its practical use. The
whether the strategy enhances muscle use of site-specific measurement Andreo F.
hypertrophy. Furthermore, direct site- techniques (e.g., ultrasound, mag- Aguiar is Professor
specific measures of muscle hypertro- netic resonance image, and com- and Research
phy on the topic have only been puted tomography) would be Associate of the
obtained in the upper limbs; no studies helpful for tracking subtle changes Center for Biologi-
have endeavored to investigate in muscle hypertrophy. Moreover, cal and Health
changes in the trunk or lower body. studies should endeavor to analyze Sciences at Uni-
Further research is needed to fill in hypertrophic changes of the agonist versity of Northern
these gaps in the literature. muscle in MJ exercise (e.g., pectoralis Parana´.
79
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Pre-Exhaustion and Resistance Training
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Fernandes L, and Simão R. Influence of Farjalla R, Saavedra F, and Reis VM. Effects Eur J Appl Physiol 112: 1569–1576,
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