When designing a client’s training program, many coaches obsess over reps, sets, and tempo—but often overlook one of the most underrated variables: exercise order. The sequence in which exercises are performed significantly impacts the training stimulus, neuromuscular fatigue, injury risk, and ultimately, the results your clients get.

Understanding how to order exercises isn't just "nice to know"—it's fundamental for personal trainers who want to write better programs, especially for strength, hypertrophy, or performance outcomes.

🧠 1. Start with Neurological Complexity

Exercises that demand the most from the central nervous system (CNS) should be performed first in a session, when energy, focus, and coordination are at their peak.

• Olympic lifts, heavy deadlifts, squats, and power cleans are prime examples.

• Fatigue can impair motor unit recruitment, reduce rate of force development, and increase injury risk if these movements are performed later in the workout     ¹.

Key Rule: Begin the session with multi-joint, explosive, or technical lifts to maximise force production and maintain safety.

🔋 2. Manage Cumulative Fatigue

As fatigue builds during a session, both movement quality and force output decline. Placing high-skill or heavy-load exercises later can compromise technique.

• Research has shown that exercises performed earlier in a session tend to elicit greater training volume and intensity, which is crucial for hypertrophy and strength gains     ².

• For example, squatting at the start of a session leads to higher loads and better technique than squatting after leg extensions or jump squats.

Takeaway: Avoid placing fatigue-inducing movements ahead of high-effort or high-speed activities—especially in general population clients or athletes.

🎯 3. Program Based on Priority

If a client has a specific goal—like building bigger calves, improving their bench press, or correcting a muscular imbalance—those exercises should be prioritised early in the session.

• Muscles trained early receive greater neural drive and workload, leading to enhanced hypertrophic adaptation     ³.

• Likewise, strength-focused goals (like 1RM improvement) are best pursued at the beginning of a session due to reduced fatigue and better concentration.

Coach’s Tip: Periodically rotate which muscles or lifts go first based on evolving goals.

🔁 4. Use Advanced Techniques Judiciously

For more experienced clients, the rules can be bent with purpose.

• Pre-exhaustion techniques (e.g., leg extensions before squats) can increase activation of target muscles while reducing systemic load and joint stress     ⁴.

• This is particularly useful for hypertrophy without compromising recovery or for targeting stubborn muscle groups.

Note: These strategies are best reserved for intermediate to advanced lifters with solid movement mechanics.

✅ Practical Exercise Order Framework

Here’s a general sequence you can use when designing sessions:

1. Neurologically Demanding Movements
   → Olympic lifts, cleans, snatches, heavy squats, deadlifts

2. Major Compound Lifts
   → Bench press, rows, RDLs, lunges

3. Isolation Exercises
   → Curls, triceps extensions, lateral raises

4. Core, Stability, or Conditioning Work
   → Anti-rotation drills, loaded carries, sled pushes, aerobic intervals

This progression helps preserve safety, optimise adaptation, and deliver goal-aligned training sessions that clients can execute consistently.

🧠 Final Thought: Match Order to the Individual

Exercise order isn’t just about science—it’s about strategic decision-making based on who is in front of you. While foundational guidelines hold strong, be flexible:

• Prioritise client goals.

• Adjust based on fatigue management and injury history.

• Experiment with sequencing to find what delivers the best results for each individual.

By mastering this underappreciated aspect of program design, you’ll not only improve your clients' outcomes—you’ll separate yourself from coaches who just follow cookie-cutter templates.