Compound Vs Isolation Exercises

When it comes to bodybuilding, efficiency really matters a lot. You've probably got a limited time schedule, and I know you've definitely got limited energy, and when building muscle, its important to carry out only those exercises that will help you build as much muscle as possible, in as little time as possible.

Achieving more in less time is the reason you need to know when to carry out isolation exercises and when to carry out compound exercises.

Compound workouts are the foundation of practically all muscle building exercises, they usually involve working on two or more muscle groups at a time, and using more than one joint. Bench presses, squats, mountain climbers, and deadlifts are a few examples of compound exercises.

Isolation exercises on the other hand (just like their name implies) are the exact opposite of compound exercises, because they involve only one muscle or joint. Triceps extensions, laterals and biceps curls are a few isolation exercises you're probably already carrying out.

There's an appropriate time for each of these muscle building workout methods. What a lot of bodybuilding newbies don't understand is that bodybuilding is a continuous thing. Its a journey not a destination, in bodybuilding you're never "perfect", you're just better than you previously were, and the main aim of bodybuilding is to keep getting better, and better, but a lot of people go into bodybuilding with the sole aim of getting "the perfect body that the girls will drool over" and when they don't see the quick results they're after, they get frustrated and quit.

So the main question you need to be constantly asking yourself is: what improvement have you made? The main goals, that newbies to bodybuilding need to have are far different from those of experienced bodybuilding pro's. Newbie bodybuilders should set priorities, they should have goals for developing the different parts of their body. Quite frankly, there's nothing more embarrassing than seeing guys with linebacker-chests, and pencil-thin legs.

So, when does one carry out isolation exercises?

Simply because people are different, I'm not going to give you any hard and fast rules, but experience and observation have shown that you should start to use isolation exercises to expand your mass building

once you are able to bench-press and squat about 100 pounds more than your body weight. If this sounds like an impossible task to you, well then the point is made, isn't it? Just work on your strength training routine till you are able to bench press and squat a hundred pounds in each workout.

Compound exercises are the basic foundation of practically every workout as I told you before, its how your muscle mass is built, unless you are one of the pro's. If you're not, try keeping your isolation workouts limited to the final 10 - 15 minutes of your muscle building routine, and even then, do only the triceps extension, laterals, and biceps curl.

Follow this simple rule whenever you're in the gym, and very soon you too will be among the elite pro's.