COMPOUND EXERCISES OR ISOLATION EXERCISES, WHICH IS BETTER?

WHAT ARE COMPOUND EXERCISES ?
Compound Exercises, sometimes referred to as functional exercises,are those movements that work more than one muscle group at once, hence the name - compound. Compound exercises are multi joint movements that involve the use of more than one muscle. These exercises target one major muscle group but typically recruit a large number of muscle fibers when worked. 

 A great example of a compound exercise is the squat exercise,which engages many muscles in the lower body and core,including the quadriceps,the hamstrings,the calves,the glutes,the lower back and the core.

WHY USE COMPOUND EXERCISES  ?

 There are many reasons to use compound exercises during your workout,

including the following.......

Using more Muscle Groups.....

# Increase in calories burned during and after exercise.

# Stimulates real-world movements and activities.

# Improves coordination,reaction time and balance.

#Improves joints stability and improves muscle balance across joints.

#Keeps your heart rate up and provides cardiovascular benefits.

#Decrease the risk of injury during sports.

EXAMPLES OF COMPOUND EXERCISES :

* Squat

* Lunges

* Chest Press

* Deadlift

* Pull Ups (or Rows)

*Standing Military Press 

WHAT ARE ISOLATION EXERCISES ?

Isolation exercises are single joint movementsin which only one muscle group is trained alone and result in stimulation of much smaller number of muscle fibers. These exercises "isolate" single muscle group with minimal involvement from other supporting muscles.

WHY USE ISOLATION EXERCISES  ?

Isolation exercises are often recommended to correct muscle imbalance or weakness that often occurs after an injury. Isolating a specific muscle is sometimes necessary to get it to activate and increase its strength. Often after an injury, a muscle become weak and other muscles compensate for that weakness. if you never retrain the injured muscles to fire properly again, it may set up a biomechanical imbalance that is difficult to correct.

Isolation exercises allow you to really focus your attention on a single muscle at a time, leading to better target muscle development.

EXAMPLES OF ISOLATION EXERCISES :

*Bicep curls

*Leg extensions

*Hamstring curls

*Calf raises

*Lateral raises

*Front raises

*Tricep kickbacks

The Bottom Line

There are three main kinds of strength curves - Ascending,Descending and bell shaped. Every exercise has what is called a strength curve that creates more or less resistance at different points of the movement. to maximally stimulate a muscle its best to train it through all points of the strength curve.

The only way to effectively train all muscles through different points of the strength curve is by using a combination of isolation and compound exercises.

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