ALL ABOUT COMPOUND AND ISOLATION EXERCISES

 What are compound EXERCISES?

A compound exercise is one that uses multiple muscle groups at the same time to perform a movement. You can also do compound exercises that combine two exercises into one move to target even more muscles, for example, a dumbbell squat into a shoulder press.

FACTS

  👉Compound movements are considered superior, as they target multiple muscle groups at the same time, help you improve balance and coordination, and assist you in gaining more muscle mass over time. Moreover, they help you improve joint mobility and stability. Last but not least, they burn more calories and accelerate the heart rate for a strong and healthy heart.

👉You could group the compounds into four different categories: the push, the pull, the knee flexion, and the hip extension.

👉Some examples of Compound exercises: Squats, Lunges, Deadlift, Bench Press, Jumping Rope, Shoulder Press, Barbell Row, Plank Variations.

👉A great addition to your workout are compound movements using only your body weight also known as calisthenics exercises. Some examples would be push-ups, pull-ups, or dips. If you are not strong enough to do them, you can always use an assisting resistance band for support.

Important: Compounds movements are significantly more difficult to perform that's why they always have to be done at the beginning of your workout, after performing a warm-up and 5 to 10 minutes of dynamic stretching.

 What is an isolation exercise?

In comparison to compound movements, that target multiple muscle groups at the same time, isolation exercises target only one specific muscle group and use only one joint. Thus, isolation movements stimulate only one muscle group to grow or become more powerful, depending on how you train it.

FACTS

👉Isolation movements can be a great complementary addition to a workout plan that contains compound movements as they do exhaust a particular muscle group, thus contributing to gains and targeted results.

👉Isolation exercises also limit muscle imbalance and they can be performed during recovery from an injury when you’re trying to avoid TRAINING a specific muscle group.

👉Some examples of isolation exercises:  Seated Cable Chest Flies, Pec Deck Machine, Biceps Curls, Hamstring Curls, Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raises, Cable Push- Down, Barbell Shrugs.

IMPORTANT: They should be performed ideally at the second part of the workout, always after the compound movements. 

Which one is better?

Each of them has its own benefits, so the best option would be incorporating both OF THEM into your workout. An ideal hypertrophy workout should incorporate 2-3 compound movements paired together with isolation movements.