Should I do compound or isolation exercises first in my workout?

A compound exercise works several muscle groups at once. Nikkiey points to squats and deadlifts, which hit the quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, upper back and traps. Isolation work focuses on one smaller muscle. Her example of getting the order wrong: exhaust your triceps on a machine, then try pushups or a chest press. Your chest and shoulders can't be trained well because one tired small muscle is holding everything back. She says she notices a big difference when she puts compound lifts first, because that's when she has the most energy, strength and focus, so she can push more weight and get more quality reps.

The mistake Nikkiey says she sees all the time is women moving from machine to machine at random, doing a little legs, a little arms, whatever is open. You're technically working out, but with no structure it's hard to progress, and you leave feeling like you did something without making progress. If your workouts haven't been changing your body, it may not be effort you're missing. It may simply be the order. A planned structure, repeated until it becomes second nature, is what lets you keep progressing.