The Claim
In young, untrained men, performing multi-joint exercises (e.g., bench press) as the first exercise in a training session results in significantly greater hypertrophy of the pectoralis major (9.1–10.6% increase) compared to performing single-joint exercises first (5.6% increase), likely due to reduced fatigue of the target muscle during the primary movement.
What the research says
Supports is higher
Support is ahead, but a single strong opposing study can change this.
These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.
If you're a guy new to lifting and you start your workout with big compound moves like the bench press instead of isolation exercises, your chest muscles grow more—probably because you're not too tired when you do the main exercise.
See the scientific wording
In young, untrained men, performing multi-joint exercises (e.g., bench press) as the first exercise in a session leads to significantly greater pectoralis major hypertrophy (9.1–10.6% increase) compared to performing single-joint exercises first (5.6% increase), likely due to reduced fatigue of the target muscle during the primary movement.
What the research says
1 studyThe study found that doing bench presses (a big chest exercise) at any point in the workout helped the chest grow more than doing only arm isolation exercises — but doing the isolation exercises first didn’t hurt chest growth, which contradicts the claim that bench presses must come first.
Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.