Which exercises are more effective, compound movements or isolation?
Question: I’ve always read that compound exercises (such as the bench press & pull up) are more effective than isolation exercises (such as bicep curls, tricep extensions). But in this post it seems that you suggest isolation movements are better for muscle growth. Can you shed any light on this?
Answer: Isolation exercises work one muscle at a single joint. Compound exercises work more than one muscle group across several joints at one time. Isolation exercises can be used to supplement your workouts. They will help build a specific muscle. This is useful for athletes that need specific muscles to be strong. And it can be useful for a body builder in bulking a muscle that perhaps isn’t targeted enough in the compound exercises regularly performed. But research has demonstrated that compound exercises produce the best results.
Compound exercises provide a complete workout, maintaining an elevated heart rate while allowing the lifter to work with a heavier weight load. This is due to the use of multiple muscles exerting the effort as opposed to a single muscle. Working larger muscle groups together can help increase muscle. And the elevated heart rate allows your body to utilize your ATP stores for energy as opposed to Lactic acid which can lead to faster fatigue. Calories are burned at 50% higher rate during compound exercises as compared to isolation movements.
Specificity and isolation movements have an important place in every exercise program. The number of movements dedicated to isolation should be determined individually based on your specific goals. But in general, compound movements using the most muscle groups at once will facilitate faster all over muscle growth, while isolation movements will help improve strength in the targeted muscles.
