compund/isolated lifts

[nyjetsfan86]

why do people insist on saying do compound or isolated lifts, there is not such thing as isolation in weight lifting you can not isolate a muscle its just not possible if you still believe you can go study your human anatomy and physiology

[UberSteroids]

why do people insist on saying do compound or isolated lifts, there is not such thing as isolation in weight lifting you can not isolate a muscle its just not possible if you still believe you can go study your human anatomy and physiology

Agreed 100%
People say what they hear, and read in the magazines which are most of the time written by people that never studied anatomy or physiology.

[ghostdog128]

people don't understand what compound and isolation mean. Compound simply means multi-joint movement and iso means a single joint movement.

[timtim]

why do people insist on saying do compound or isolated lifts, there is not such thing as isolation in weight lifting you can not isolate a muscle its just not possible if you still believe you can go study your human anatomy and physiology

so concentration curls dont isolate the biceps? so the pec deck doesnt isolate the chest? so cable push downs dont isolate the tris? so kick backs dont isolate the tris? so seated calf raises dont isolate the calf? so hammer curls dont isolate the biceps brachii? so lying leg curls dont isolate the glute/hamstring component?

of course there will be secondary movers which activate to protect joints and complete movements but if you think a leg extension and a squat have anything in common you have no clue. the biggest difference is the total muscle used and calories burned so there are huge differences between isolation and compound exercises. compound are multi joint and activate levels of musculature whereas isolation movements focus stress to one area while other muscle will activate for support, but not necessarily to flex for a movement.

compound exercises increase the level of cns activation alot more than isolation exercises and will require more rest and recovery than an all isolation workout.

there are huge differences between isolation and compound exercises. if your point is that the body cant isolate muscle completely, no kidding. move your toes and the fascia and ligaments/tendons will activate all the way up your back. just because slight nerve and muscle innervation takes place doesnt mean that isolating muscle groups cant happen.

[Grappler13]

why do people insist on saying do compound or isolated lifts, there is not such thing as isolation in weight lifting you can not isolate a muscle its just not possible if you still believe you can go study your human anatomy and physiology

Whilst some people just parrot what they read and some just plain ol' don't know what they are talking about, maybe you should think of an isolation exercise as one that targets one muscle group rather than several. Think preacher curls versus clean and press. Yes, the preacher curls will force the body to recruit fiber from other muscles than the biceps alone but it still, if done correctly, will focus primarily on the biceps. Also, if you are talking about experienced BBers, they do many of their moves so precisely as to almost be a true isolation exercise. I saw a video linked here about proper BB bench pressing technique and the guy was literally doing bench by flexing his pecs. Now, obviously, he was using his tris, forearms, etc...but his experience allowed him to do a more isolated form of bench where the average lifter recruits more muscles from places other than his pecs when he benches.

Don't take the wording about lifting so literally. It's lifting, not surgery, and the body works as a integrated machine.

What about calf raises, that's a pretty isolated exercise although it works the muscles in your feet as well. I don;t think anyone really thinks that isolated exercise means ONLY one muscle.