Mini-Article: Pre- and Post-Fatigue Methods
by Christian Thibaudeau

The post-fatigue method consists of adding a less complex movement (an isolation exercise) after your main movement (a compound exercise) to fully stimulate and fatigue the targeted muscle group. These two exercises are done with no pause in between them.

The logic behind this method is that in complex (multi-joint) movements, the weaker muscle groups will always fail first, leaving the prime movers under-stimulated. For example, in the bench press the triceps or deltoids are likely to fail before the stronger pectorals, thus leaving the pectorals under-stimulated.

By adding an isolation exercise for the pectorals (like flyes) right after your set of bench presses, you'll be able to fully fatigue and stimulate your pecs. The more stimulation you put on your muscles, the more protein degradation occurs, and the higher the anabolic response.


When using this method, the number of reps can vary a lot. Use anywhere from 5 to 15 reps For the first exercise of the superset (the compound movement), depending on your objective. Use slightly higher reps for the second exercise (the isolation movement); 10 to 20 reps is adequate.

While you could perform as many as five sets of such a superset, only two to three sets should be used most of the time in order to preserve the CNS.

Next up, pre-fatigue. The objective of the pre-fatigue method is somewhat similar to the post-fatigue method in that the goal is to fatigue a specific muscle group that might not get fully stimulated from a complex exercise.

As I've mentioned, the strongest muscle involved in a movement will rarely be fully stimulated because the weaker muscles will fail first. However, if you fatigue this muscle before you perform the main exercise, then you'll be able to fully stimulate it when you do the main exercise. For example, perform flyes before you do a barbell bench press.

This technique is very effective at stimulating hypertrophy in a specific body part (the body part for which you do the isolation exercise). However, it isn't as good for developing overall hypertrophy as the post-fatigue method because it's possible that you won't be able to use as much weight on the main exercise due to the pre-fatigue set.

Because of this characteristic, the main use of this method is to improve a weak body part. If you have an underdeveloped chest compared to your shoulders and arms, use a pre-fatigue set for the chest. If your back is lagging behind your arms and shoulders, use a pre-fatigue set for the back. The variables (sets and reps) are similar to the post-fatigue method.