stress to a minimum—avoid exaggerated arching—and be sure that your
back is adequately rested before squatting and/or deadlifting.. In the same cycle, you cannot productively use many exercises that heav-
ily work your lower back. But the degree to which any exercise affects the
lower back varies among individuals. Technique and leverage differences can
greatly influence the degree of impact the same exercises have among differ-
ent people. Experiment rationally to find what works best for you.. Putting the overlapping exercises into the same workout gives you greater
control over the recovery period between working the same body part. But it
delivers a greater pounding at a single session to that body part, thus requir-
ing you to rest more between workouts relative to the other approach. Some
trainees prefer to do the smaller amount of work for a given body part twice
a week, whereas others prefer the bigger amount of work (from two or three
exercises that overlap) once a week.. During the early stage of a cycle when it is exercise form and getting a gain-
ing momentum going that are the priorities, it probably does not matter
which way you handle overlapping exercises. But later on in the cycle when
the training is intensive, how you handle overlapping exercises may affect
your rate of progress.. If you find squatting and deadlifting with your top poundages on different
days each week means that your lower back is overtrained and ripe for injury,
put both exercises into the same workout. Alternatively you could train the
deadlift less often. As another option you could work both exercises in the
same cycle, but stop the non-focus lift at a maximum of of your previ-
ous same-rep best, so as to concentrate on getting the focus lift to well over
your previous best. Next cycle, reverse the focus.Another aspect of overlapping exercises
. is concerns the timing of a minor exercise relative to a major exercise. For
example, if you perform arm work before chest and back work in the same
workout, the latter will suffer. is would only be acceptable during an arm
specialization program.. If you do accessory exercises on say Wednesday, including work for your
shoulder external rotators, and then bench press on Friday, you could risk
injuring your rotator muscles. is is because the rotator muscles are heavily
stressed during the bench press, especially during the final rep. If the rotator