drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
When doing full body splits, it’s important to perform lower body exercises before upper body exercises. We see evidence of this importance in studies showing that performing upper body exercises to fatigue can impair your ability to maximally activate lower body muscles. This is likely evidence of CNS fatigue which may be more severe in lower body muscles since they are typically larger and contain more motor units. If you cannot achieve maximal activation in these muscles, your training volume and gains can be affected drastically. For full body days, always start with lower body exercises as doing lower body first doesn't appear to impair upper body muscles the same way.
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Source: Aboodarda, S. J., Copithorne, D. B., Power, K. E., Drinkwater, E., & Behm, D. G. (2015). Elbow flexor fatigue modulates central excitability of the knee extensors. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 40(9), 924-930.
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Further Reading: Halperin, I., Chapman, D. W., & Behm, D. G. (2015). Non-local muscle fatigue: effects and possible mechanisms. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 115(10), 2031-2048.
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Source: Aboodarda, S. J., Copithorne, D. B., Power, K. E., Drinkwater, E., & Behm, D. G. (2015). Elbow flexor fatigue modulates central excitability of the knee extensors. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 40(9), 924-930.-
Further Reading: Halperin, I., Chapman, D. W., & Behm, D. G. (2015). Non-local muscle fatigue: effects and possible mechanisms. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 115(10), 2031-2048.
