Which exercise first builds bigger arms and chest?
Varying the Order of Combinations of Single- and Multi-Joint Exercises Differentially Affects Resistance Training Adaptations.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
If you want a bigger chest, do bench press first. If you want the back part of your triceps bigger, do triceps extensions first. The front part of your triceps grows best with bench press. The middle part doesn’t care what you do. Strength doesn’t change based on order if you lift hard enough.
Surprising Findings
The medial head of the triceps showed zero difference in growth regardless of exercise order or type.
Most people assume all muscle heads respond similarly to training—but this head is completely unaffected, suggesting it’s more about joint mechanics than muscle activation.
Practical Takeaways
If your goal is a bigger chest, always do bench press before triceps extensions. If you want the ‘horseshoe’ shape in your arms, do triceps extensions before bench press.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
If you want a bigger chest, do bench press first. If you want the back part of your triceps bigger, do triceps extensions first. The front part of your triceps grows best with bench press. The middle part doesn’t care what you do. Strength doesn’t change based on order if you lift hard enough.
Surprising Findings
The medial head of the triceps showed zero difference in growth regardless of exercise order or type.
Most people assume all muscle heads respond similarly to training—but this head is completely unaffected, suggesting it’s more about joint mechanics than muscle activation.
Practical Takeaways
If your goal is a bigger chest, always do bench press before triceps extensions. If you want the ‘horseshoe’ shape in your arms, do triceps extensions before bench press.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Year
2020
Authors
Lucas Brandão, Vitor de Salles Painelli, T. Lasevicius, C. Silva-Batista, Helderson Brendon, B. Schoenfeld, A. Aihara, F. Cardoso, Bergson de Almeida Peres, E. Teixeira
Related Content
Claims (6)
If you're a young guy who hasn't trained much before, doing exercises that only move your elbow (like lying triceps presses) makes your triceps muscle grow way more than doing exercises like bench presses that use multiple joints at once.
If you're a guy who hasn't trained much before, your triceps muscle in the back of your arm grows about the same no matter if you do push-ups, triceps extensions, or a mix of both — the type of exercise doesn't really matter for this part of the muscle.
If you're a guy who's new to lifting and you do both big compound moves and isolated triceps exercises, your triceps will grow more than if you only do one type — not because the exercises add up, but because they hit different parts of the muscle in different ways.
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.
If you're a young guy who's new to lifting, it doesn't matter whether you do bench press first or triceps press first—your strength gains will be the same as long as you lift heavy (80% of your max) and push each set until you can't do another rep.