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Articles » Health & Fitness » Muscle Building » Are Isolation Weight Training Exercises A Waste Of Time For Maximum Muscle Gain?
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- Article Views: 766
- Word Count: 752
- Date Contributed: Feb 26, 2009
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| Are Isolation Weight Training Exercises A Waste Of Time For Maximum Muscle Gain? |
A widely held bodybuilding notion asserts the superiority of compound weight training exercises as compared with isolation movements; supporters claim that the most effective method of muscle gain involves choosing weight training workout plans that utilize the most muscle fibers. Moreover, those who follow this type of weight training believe that because the amount of weight used in compound exercise is larger than isolation movements, total muscle gain will also be far superior, and therefore a workout session should center around compound exercises as its foundation. But many will push this concept further, eliminating isolation exercises from their workout routine, focusing solely on compound workouts alone, with the feeling that this will offer the most substantial muscle mass gains.
As usual with bodybuilding folklore, the truth is somewhat different from the magazine claims, as although compound weight training exercises are extremely potent, and should become a part of any effective weight training workout plan, specific isolation exercises are also a necessity for any weight lifter who wishes to produce the most dramatic muscle growth, and those who avoid isolation exercise can begin to produce a disproportional physique, with certain muscle groups, such as the arms, becoming much less impressive as the back and chest regions begin to explode with muscularity, and this disparity stems from avoiding correct isolation techniques.
Arms are one muscle group where this is very common, with many claiming that heavy compound back exercises are sufficient to promote complete biceps development, and consistent compound chest and shoulder exercises will provide the triceps with large amounts of muscle mass, all without isolation exercises to target these specific areas. Obviously, performing heavy compound weight training movements will certainly help the smaller muscles such as the biceps to grow, but the emphasis of the workout set when performing a compound weight training movement such as seated rows is the back, with the biceps, in this example, used for support in completing this exercise. The goal is to fatigue the back muscles during seated row, and by this very definition, the arms will not receive considerable overload since the back muscles are to experience maximum emphasis, which means that the biceps are only trained to a small percentage of their possible capacity. This same idea applies to triceps during the bench press, where the goal is to overload the pecs, and the triceps are not to fail before the chest in order for the weight training movement to function as intended, therefore, the triceps only experience a fraction of the necessary overload.
Because of this, isolation exercises targeting smaller muscle groups become critical if those areas are to experience their genetic potential for muscle growth, which means that isolation weight training exercises shunned by many bodybuilders, such as curls, side laterals, and triceps dips become essential in providing sufficient overload to reach failure for smaller muscle groups, as a bodybuilder, with these additional exercises, is then able to propel those isolated muscles to total failure, and therefore lead to the greatest possible muscle growth.
There is no doubt that an effective weight training workout regimen cannot be built upon isolation exercises alone, and certain bodybuilders on the other extreme unfortunately become obsessed with performing every possible weight training variation of a particular exercise, extending their workout length to a point of emotional breakdown. Therefore, the proper pairing of compound and isolation movements are necessary for those who wish to achieve the most impressive gains in muscle size, without bypassing any specific muscle group. The error many make is to either surround their weight training workout plans with insufficient isolation exercises, where certain muscle groups neglected, or they alternatively perform such a substantial quantity of isolation exercises that their weight training workouts lack intensity, which harms the potential for maximum muscle gains.
Remember that the most effective bodybuilding techniques involve a proper blend of both compound and isolation weight training exercises to dodge any of these possible pitfalls. If you currently sense that smaller muscle groups such as the forearms, triceps and biceps are lagging in size when compared with other muscles (chest, back, quads, etc), then you should strongly consider implementing some isolation exercises for these specific muscle groups so that they can improve to their maximum genetic potential.
Francesco Castano authors the  www.MuscleNOW.com web site, which is a diet and weight training program teaching the exact techniques for muscle gain without supplements or drugs. He also owns the www.IncrediBody.com online fitness superstore, selling exercise equipment at guaranteed lowest prices.
Article Source: UnArchived Articles
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