Isolation vs. Compound

These are two terms that get thrown around a lot in the gym but to a beginner, it might as well be another language. So today we are going to be breaking what these two terms mean and how you can use them to help build a better workout program. Let’s begin!

Compound exercise

The word compound means something which is made up of two or more components so if we relate this to exercise a compound exercise works two or more muscles at the same time. This occurs as multiple joints take action to perform the exercise and a good example of this would be a back squat as the quads, glutes, and hamstrings are all worked throughout the movement.

Other compound movements include:

⁃ Barbell row

⁃ Shoulder press

⁃ Bench press

⁃ Deadlift

⁃ Hip thrust

Benefits of compound exercises

Compound exercises make up the bulk of your training as they target multiple muscles in the same movement. This makes them great for that gym goer and will help you develop more overall strength and size.

A lot of great compound exercises can be performed using machines that keep you in a fixed plane of motion which lowers the risk of injury making it great if you’re a beginner. So kids skip your compounds even though they are hard.

The downside:

Due to compounds being large movements the body can become very fatigued if they are not programmed correctly and you are slacking in the recovery department so as long you ain’t doing one rep maxes every week and sleeping and eating enough compounds will always be a vital part of any workout.

When to use them:

When incorporating compound movements into your workout aim to do your largest lifts in the beginning as they require the most energy. This is particularly true if you are training with the primary focus on building strength.

Volume on the other hand should be on the side of two exercises per muscle for 3 sets for muscle growth with 8-10 reps per set. Due to more muscles being involved in the exercises, we can go heavier as we have more support throughout.

Conclusion things to remember for compound movements:

⁃ Two exercises per muscle

⁃ Three sets of 8-10 reps for muscle building ( not including warm-up sets)

⁃ Mixture of barbell and machine work

Isolation exercise:

When you hear the word isolation what do you think of? If the answer is being singled out then you’re halfway there. An isolation exercise focuses on working an individual muscle through the use of a single joint. An easy example of this if you’re finding it hard to imagine is a bicep curl, the bicep is the only muscle being worked through the flexion of the elbow.

Other isolation exercises include

⁃ Hamstring curl

⁃ Leg curl

⁃ Lateral raise

⁃ Chest flyes

⁃ Shrugs

Anytime a single joint action occurs it is classified as an isolation exercise.

Benefits of using isolation:

Isolation exercises are a great tool to have in your toolbox as they are ideal to use for targeting lagging body parts and help build a better more balanced physique. These are great for beginners as most exercises that fall in the isolation category have easy form though I would recommend you watch a video on lateral raises because many beginners struggle with this one so good luck.

The downside:

Bang for your buck because you are focusing on individual muscles rather than multiple sessions will take longer to perform so make sure to consider that. Other than longer workouts isolation exercises are a must for all programs.

When to use them:

Now that we have spoke about what an isolation exercise is and the different pros and cons we can now get to the fun part when actually to use them. Due to them being single muscle exercises, I would recommend doing them after your bigger lifts which work the same muscles as if you performed isolation first they can pre-fatigue you and affect the lift.

In terms of volume, you should do no more than two exercises per muscle group so an example would be two compounds and one to two isolation. I recommend doing 3 sets of 10-12 reps as you have less support around a single joint so going super heavy has a larger risk of injury compared to a compound lift.

Conclusion: things to remember about isolation exercises

⁃ Compound performed first then isolation

⁃ 10 to 12 reps per set rather than 8 and below

⁃ Use to build up lagging body parts