The Impact of Exercise Order on Velocity Performance in the Bench Press and the Squat: A Comparative Study

Abstract

We analyzed the influence of exercise order using the bench press and squat as the first or second exercise of the session on velocity performance. Ten male trained individuals (20.9 ± 0.7 years) randomly performed two protocols of three sets of six repetitions at 80% of their one-repetition maximum with different exercise sequences: the bench press followed by the squat (BP + S) and the squat followed by the bench press (S + BP). A linear velocity transducer attached to the Smith machine barbell measured the mean propulsive velocity (MPV), peak velocity (PV), and time to peak velocity. Additionally, blood lactate and heart rate were measured. Regarding the bench press, differences were found in the MPV in the first (BP + S: 0.50 ± 0.07 m·s−1 vs. S + BP: 0.42 ± 0.08 m·s−1; p = 0.03, g = 0.72) and second sets (0.50 ± 0.06 m·s−1 vs. 0.42 ± 0.07 m·s−1; p = 0.03, g = 0.73), and in the PV in the second set (0.74 ± 0.09 m·s−1 vs. 0.63 ± 0.09 m·s−1; p = 0.02, g = 0.86). Regarding the squat, although the S + BP sequence tended to show higher velocities, no significant differences were found between protocols. These results showed that squatting first decreased subsequent bench press velocity performance. On the other hand, squat velocity performance was not impaired when preceded by the bench press.