When it comes to train a body part, you have several options. But, there are basically two ways of thinking this. You can either do variety of exercises for a single body part or you can do just one big exercise for that body part. Now, here's the problem, which is better, and what should you do?
This is a common question that every lifter asks himself/herself and to other people as well. Some would say do this exercise or do that exercise for gaining that muscle, some says do one big compound movement to get all the muscles trained in one go. Now, everyone who you encounter and ask this question will have different opinions. Powerlifters, will prefer to use mostly compound lifting approach and they will tell you the same, but a bodybuilder will tell you to use isolation exercises to target a specific muscle.
Powerlifters will argue that compound lifts are great for functional training as well as gaining muscle mass, and you should be doing the main exercises like Squats, Bench Press, Overhead Presses and Deadlift.
Oh the other hand, bodybuilders will most likely prefer isolation work and using variety of exercises per body part. They will consider that using compound lifts can lead to injury (which is kind of true if you don't perform them well). Also, it is better to have variety of exercises to hit muscle for every angle.
So, who is correct?
The answer to this question is that both are correct and no one is wrong. Compound movements like squats, bench press and deadlifts are considered to be the basic exercises that everyone should perform at least once in their fitness journey. However, it doesn't matter in the end how you achieved your physique. If you did exercises other than these three compound moves, and attained a very good physique, you did the right thing. The opposite of this is also true as it's just the matter of achieving a great physique.
So, why is there a hype of compound lifts over other exercises? Why most of fitness experts nowadays prefer doing compound lifts more than any other exercise? The reason is that these exercises work. Even, I do and recommend people to follow workout based on these three big lifts; Squats, Bench Press and Deadlift.
When I started lifting back in 2014 for the first time, I had no idea about it. I watched few YouTube videos and followed some online fitness magazines. The workout guidance given in them were based mostly on isolation. They were claiming to do 'n' number of exercises per body part to gain muscle. So, that was what I did, and failed terribly.
If I have to answer why I failed, it will be simple because I did not nail down the basics. I started a routine that professionals were doing. Ditching the basics was my huge mistake, and this is a mistake that most of us do. We jump directly into the advance stuff without knowing the basic principles behind them.
The problem with people who are trying to be fit is that they do not want to do anything by themselves other than doing exercises. They do not want to use their brains on learning the basics.
Most people just want to either lose weight or gain muscle, without thinking much about it. They just want someone to just tell them what to do. So, what they do?
They usually take two approaches:
- Go to the gym, pick a body part to train and use all the machines that are designed to train that particular body part.
- Follow advice of someone who looks very muscular or someone who has some fancy photo shoot done on Instagram to lure the public.
This is also obvious. People go for what they see. For example, weight training machines look sophisticated than barbell, and can be performed easily without much brainstorming about them.
Getting advice from a jacked guy confirms most people that he knows everything, and would give the best advice.
This approach is actually superficial. It does not means that if a person looks jacked he has all the knowledge about how to get there. May be he has used some shortcuts to achieve it. How can you know for sure? Even if he is natural, you will not be able to reach his level without nailing down the basics and working you ass out for years consistently.
Nor is asking for advice a bad thing, neither is working out on machines, but not doing any brain work is the primary reason behind the failure of many fitness journies.
Who to use Compound Exercises?
If you are a beginner, you must perform compound exercises as they will build the base for your future training. These exercises not only help you gain good amount of muscle, but will help you gain strength very fast. Going directly into isolation workouts can compromise your ability to lift heavy weights properly later on. For example, if you have never done squats since the beginning of your fitness journey, and you decide to start doing them later on, it will be a disaster. You will find that your strength is not that good on this lift. Moreover, your form will be improper and again you will be back to not doing it or start from the basics. Therefore, it is ideal to begin with basic exercises and build up gradually.
Even you are not a powerlifter, compound exercises can still be more beneficial in longer run. I construct my workout routine around these main lifts as they are key to muscle growth. It does not matter if I am using a strength training routine or hypertrophy routine. I always make sure to have these exercises or their variations in my schedule.
Why to use Isolation Exercises?
Isolation exercises are actually very helpful for hypertrophy and must be use by lifters. Doing only compound lifts may not be ideal for a bodybuilder who is looking for an aesthetic physique. If you are not including any kind of isolation exercise in your routine, you are more likely to hinder aesthetic muscle growth. Strength is not always equal to size and shape. To get a good looking muscle shape it is important to use specific type of exercise for that body part to enhance it further. This is the main reason that professionals use variety of exercises to target a specific body part. Therefore, you should be including them to your routine as well.
What ratio of compound to isolation exercises to be used?
There is no specific guidelines about how much compound or how much isolation work one should perform. It mostly depends on individual preference and training style. For example, if you are following a strength training routine, you probably want to use more compound lifts. Around 80% to 90% of your workout should be based on compound lifts. If you are using a hypertrophy routine, you can increase the isolation exercises and may be do 60% compound 40% isolation or 50% of both. However, I would still suggest that main focus should be on compound lifts as they are the major exercises. Do them first and rest later.
Conclusion
Both compound and isolation exercises are equally important for a lifter. It mostly depend on the style of training you do. If you are a powerlifter, you will benefit from compound lifts more and if you are a bodybuilder you would want to use isolation exercises to your routine as well. There is no mandatory exercise that you should be doing to achieve your goals, but you need to understand the basics and grow from there. Using advance training routines followed by professionals are not useful for most of us. We must choose a plan that let us build maximum muscle without troubling our life. This is the reason that using a workout which include both compounds and isolation exercises will be a great way to move forward.
Hope you find this article interesting. Let me know your thoughts on this and other things and I'll try to make a post on it.
Cheers!!
This approach is actually superficial. It does not means that if a person looks jacked he has all the knowledge about how to get there. May be he has used some shortcuts to achieve it. How can you know for sure? Even if he is natural, you will not be able to reach his level without nailing down the basics and working you ass out for years consistently.
Nor is asking for advice a bad thing, neither is working out on machines, but not doing any brain work is the primary reason behind the failure of many fitness journies.
Who to use Compound Exercises?
If you are a beginner, you must perform compound exercises as they will build the base for your future training. These exercises not only help you gain good amount of muscle, but will help you gain strength very fast. Going directly into isolation workouts can compromise your ability to lift heavy weights properly later on. For example, if you have never done squats since the beginning of your fitness journey, and you decide to start doing them later on, it will be a disaster. You will find that your strength is not that good on this lift. Moreover, your form will be improper and again you will be back to not doing it or start from the basics. Therefore, it is ideal to begin with basic exercises and build up gradually.
Even you are not a powerlifter, compound exercises can still be more beneficial in longer run. I construct my workout routine around these main lifts as they are key to muscle growth. It does not matter if I am using a strength training routine or hypertrophy routine. I always make sure to have these exercises or their variations in my schedule.
Why to use Isolation Exercises?
Isolation exercises are actually very helpful for hypertrophy and must be use by lifters. Doing only compound lifts may not be ideal for a bodybuilder who is looking for an aesthetic physique. If you are not including any kind of isolation exercise in your routine, you are more likely to hinder aesthetic muscle growth. Strength is not always equal to size and shape. To get a good looking muscle shape it is important to use specific type of exercise for that body part to enhance it further. This is the main reason that professionals use variety of exercises to target a specific body part. Therefore, you should be including them to your routine as well.
What ratio of compound to isolation exercises to be used?
There is no specific guidelines about how much compound or how much isolation work one should perform. It mostly depends on individual preference and training style. For example, if you are following a strength training routine, you probably want to use more compound lifts. Around 80% to 90% of your workout should be based on compound lifts. If you are using a hypertrophy routine, you can increase the isolation exercises and may be do 60% compound 40% isolation or 50% of both. However, I would still suggest that main focus should be on compound lifts as they are the major exercises. Do them first and rest later.
Conclusion
Both compound and isolation exercises are equally important for a lifter. It mostly depend on the style of training you do. If you are a powerlifter, you will benefit from compound lifts more and if you are a bodybuilder you would want to use isolation exercises to your routine as well. There is no mandatory exercise that you should be doing to achieve your goals, but you need to understand the basics and grow from there. Using advance training routines followed by professionals are not useful for most of us. We must choose a plan that let us build maximum muscle without troubling our life. This is the reason that using a workout which include both compounds and isolation exercises will be a great way to move forward.
Hope you find this article interesting. Let me know your thoughts on this and other things and I'll try to make a post on it.
Cheers!!