1. Exercises that require the most coordination (e.g., Olympic Lifts and Olympic Lifting Variations),

2. Free weight lifting exercises that involve the whole body (e.g., squats, dead lifts),

3. Exercises that involve larger muscles (e.g., bench press),

4. Exercises involving smaller muscles (e.g., wrist curls) or are performed on machines that target specific muscles using single joint actions (e.g., knee extensions).

You may make some adjustments depending upon your goals, but those lifts that place greater skill demands and stress on the body should usually come before you are fatigued.

Lifting when you are tired can cause your lifting technique to deteriorate. This may result in patterning incorrect technique, or worse, an injury.

*You may perform wrist curls without affecting your energy level for more demanding, whole body exercises, such as the squat.

*You may prefer to alternate leg, arm, and core exercises to allow one muscle group to recover while you work another muscle group regardless of the size of the muscles involved.

*Your goals may prompt what appears to be a departure from the recommended exercise order, but may be aligned with your purpose for training with weights.

For example, if your goal is to improve muscular endurance, to speed up your "kick" at the end of a distance run, you may want to perform certain explosive or whole body exercises when you are tired, as you would in a race. However, you would not likely be lifting heavy weights, so there's little chance of an injury. In any case, use good judgment--safety is always a priority.

*If you are performing Olympic lifts, you would typically perform those lifts that require the most coordination first (e.g., power clean).

However, if your goal is to improve your pull from the floor, you may perform targeted exercises for that specific phase first.

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