I have been experimenting with Korte’s 3x3, Bill Starr’s 5x5 and West Side and I find that for the first two, which are full body training programs, by training the lower body first and then the bench, it weakens my bench. Any one else has a similar experience ?
teotjunk
Since no one’s replied, I’ll pitch in.
Basic answer is yes. It’s something to do with CNS fatigue, basically, which ever exercise you do first, you’re going to perform better in than if you performed it last because of the cumulative fatigue your body builds up, especially if you’re doing compound exercises beforehand.
If you want to increase your bench, your squat or deadlift I would get away from a BB’ing type routine. What is your goal? If you are concerned about “taking” away from your bench, it doesn’t really matter to a BB’er, a BB’er works the muscle.
All three of those programs are great if done right. I dunno exactly how Bill Starr’s version of 5x5 is written, or how Korte’s original 3x3 set up is written off the top of my head w/o articles in front of me, but they all work.
I would think that both the programs have days set up where you rotate what lift comes first in the day. That should take care of the majority of problems. But Westside is a good template to follow too(it’s what I’ve been using for years). Basically the answer is yes they all work. Just pick one you like and come back to the others later.