One of the most frequently asked questions I get from my clients is "What kind of exercise do you recommend that I do to isolate my (fill-in-the-blank body part).
And I have to tell you, that is a very bad question my friend...
Let me explain...
You see, your body doesn't work well in isolation workouts.
It works far greater with compound exercises which uses a group of your body muscles to perform.
And doing THAT strengthens all the muscles used.
In fact, isolating your muscle is counterproductive because you are creating a movement that isn't natural.
Your body is an well-engineered miracle.
Whenever you do something, like run, lift or throw, you are using groups of muscles to get the most power.
Now...
you tell me in what world would you JUST use your bicep muscles? You can't! It is weird and when you do isolation workouts, you will be more prone to injury.
No joke.
Just don't do it and stop reading those weight lifting magazines...
Compound exercises uses a group of your muscles to perform a task.
You "train" your body to use a set of muscles to strengthen your body.
This is a perfect example of why wrestlers, even gymnastics can kick a bodybuilder's butt who uses "isolation" exercises in tests of strength.
And let's talk more about how isolation training can make you more injury prone.
When you do those exercises, you are performing single-joint exercises which creates an artificial muscle...
So do the compound exercises that train your body to perform multi joint movements so it works as a more powerful and functional unit! Do isolation exercises and you could very well end up with tendinitis, joint problems and excess muscle fat.
It is way smarter to do compound exercises which uses a group of muscles to strengthen it and grow larger.
As a result you burn more calories and become leaner, more muscular and injury free.
Now let's use some real world examples.
NFL football players do compound training for strength.
There is no way in the world a NFL strength coach would let his players do "isolation" training.
The man would be fired when the players get injured more frequently or less stronger...
And if you look at a lot of the football players who play the positions of running backs, linebackers, wide receivers -- they are ripped.
And you can be sure they don't do isolations exercises either...
My point is this...
compound exercises are not only better for you...
they can also develop and tone your muscles just as well or even better than isolation exercises.
My conclusions after pointing out the benefits of compound training vs.
isolation training to my clients is this...
just say no to the B.
S.
of isolation training.
It makes no sense and why in the world would you want to do it unless you like hobbling around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.