Sometimes you need to bring different body-parts up to speed so as to maximise them to their fullest potential. For example, having a weak benchpress -- something I'm very familiar with -- obviously encouraged me to seek out ways to improve upon it, one of which was strengthening my triceps (for the record, I'm not Mr Super Tricep Man even today). In all upper-body pushing movements and especially with benchpress, your triceps play a key role, so strengthening them made sense to me.
I researched ways of building up my triceps-slash-tricep-strength and came across Overhead Tricep (OHT) extensions. Now I work out alone at home with the bare basics for gear so for me, I used a loaded dumbbell for OHTs and this is my point: 20kg was heavy and I could never do more than, say, three sets of eight or less before I felt fragged. But. Like all men eager to hit the iron but not necessarily aware of what's what, I kept right on doing OHT extensions when in fact, it wasn't the most optimal exercise for me at the time.
Or even today.
There are lots of great exercises for building up one's triceps and yes, OHT extensions are certainly one of them. But like I said, there are lots of great exercises for building up one's triceps for example, close-grip benchpress (CGBP). I found with CGBP I was starting at 50kg. Which, if you think about it, is a shitload more than a 20kg dumbbell where both arms were being used to extend it overhead behind the neck. I got more bang for buck with CGBP plus I could definitely feel it during and after the exercise more.
My triceps blew up.
...felt like I had two balloons under each arm. I felt fucking hyuuuuge.
I found CGBP much more optimal than OHT extension and no, that doesn't mean I'll never do OHT extensions ever again, it just means that they're not my first go-to for building up my triceps. That's just me though. But wait, there's more: CGBP whilst being tricep-dominant still hits chest, albeit not as much as your standard benchpress (I'm not going to allow myself to get bogged down too much with details here), so you're getting two in one. You're still hitting chest but more inner chest.
Is that such a bad thing?
No. No that it is not such a bad thing.
In fact one could say it is such a good, good thing, kemosabe.
It's exactly this gentlemen (and ladies) I'm focusing on: which exercise is most optimal for building a given body part? Because as I'm trying to show, going with an isolation movement to target specific bodyparts isn't always the best -- not when you can't move maximum weights to illicit the desired response. Plus, as I've also hopefully shown, the spill-over benefits from compound movements on yet other musculature is what makes them such an obvious and awesome choice.
TRICEPS
Clearly then, heavy CGBP is more advantageous than OHT extension at least, that's what I found. Once upon a time I used to do dips which most netspurts espouse as the pre-imminent tricep builder. But. I never really liked dips and still don't. The movement always felt, well, awkward but that's okay; if there's more than one way of doing something -- and there usually is -- and this other way is just as effective and even more comfortable for you, you'd obviously go with that. Right? Which is what I did.
There is still room for the likes of OHT extensions and every other alternative out there -- and which you have access too -- but are these allowing you to move big weights? Are these paying dividends by targeting other musculature as CGBP does? Don't get too caught up in isolation movements for your triceps when other movements give better bang for buck and contribute towards improved form in your usual compound lifts (like benchpress). That is a real plus. Up to you though, kemosabe. Up to you.
BICEPS
Biceps curls are a great exercise but have you noticed shitloads of people say bent-over rows or chin-ups are better for strengthening and growing biceps? Think about it. Pulling yourself up to a bar with your arms means you're pulling your whole body-weight as opposed to curling x-amount on your ezi-bar. Doing a bent-over row at body-weight or more is similar: it's total arm engagement at a heavier, much more intense level. So yeah, these type of compound moves are better.
What's more, they also contribute to surrounding musculature, especially bent-over rows: these are killer for developing big backs. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't curl...it just means movements like chins and rows are more demanding and place a greater challenge on the body. Doing strict bicep curls (which also involve forearms, triceps if using negatives and your anterior delt) alone do far less. If you only ever did bent-over rows or only ever did bicep curls, you'd look bigger all over from the bent-over rows every time. Keep that in mind.
BARBELL SHRUGS
Barbell shrugs (I don't know anything about shrug "machines" but I assume they exist by now) are touted as the go-to exercise for traps. When powerlifting legends like Kroc state that heavy shrugs were their bread and butter for developing big traps, you fucking listen. Of course, you'll need to experiment with different weights to see what works for you because it's easy to end up doing the turkey -- y'know, head going backwards and forwards like you're blowjobbing the invisible man whilst the bar moves an inch a second doing absolutely fuck all for anything -- because of your ego.
But again, bent-over rows also hit the traps. Deadlifts hit the traps. Power cleans and their ilk hit the traps. Hell, overhead pressing hits the traps on the final phase as you "shrug" up. Come to think of it folks, lots of exercises hit the traps. There's a shitload of big, compound moves that will not only develop traps but impact you structurally all over and those are the ones you should be looking at. There is a catch however: you may actually need to do shrugs if your traps simply don't grow through indirect spill-over of other lifts. If you want big traps that is. Am I saying you should do isolation exercises?
WHEN TO DO ISOLATION EXERCISES
The short answer is you can do isolation exercises any time you damn well like but, to be more specific, once you've put on the size you want, you can move towards more of a maintenance program incorporating isolation-type movements. This can be done to "top off" parts that need greater refinement should you need to which isn't a focus for me -- I'm not a bodybuilder -- unless it contributes towards the big three: squats, deadlifts and benchpress (these are my obsessions). I'm dead keen to learn and copy anything that contributes towards these. My delusions of grandeur are very high.
However, it must be said that for some of us, isolation movements will work better for some body parts not growing on compound lifts. I've no idea why. I'm not throwing out anything I've said thus far and yes, I still stand by compound movements being better, but there'll always be exceptions. You might be one of them. You might need to do greater isolation work on a specific body part should it lag behind. Remember this though: all those guys doing isolation movements on youtube whom you follow weekly? All of them put in years of work beforehand incorporating a broad range of compound exercises and not isolation movements.
:: CONCLUSION
Strength and size don't come through isolation movements. They come through compound lifts. More demanding moves illicit greater response in the long run and hey, let's not forget that our bodies are designed to function as complete units, not isolated parts. In the end nothing, nothing is truly isolated, visible or otherwise. That's a loaded statement by the way. Regardless, you won't really know which movements are most optimal if you don't keep looking around, doing your research, and finding advice that is both realistic and helpful. I hope what you've just read here is both of these.
Now if you haven't read my other article Refine your Exercise Choice you need to: it's similar to this and looks at some other common exercises we engage in which aren't optimal. In fact, I guess you could say that whilst there's a lot of blurring between bodybuilding and strength-training, there's also key differences: bodybuilding focuses on size and symmetry whereas strength-training focuses on getting stronger at specific lifts (usually squat, bench and deadlift). In bodybuilding the body is the goal. In strength-training the actual strength output is the goal.
Lastly, take what I've said here with a grain of salt. Why? Because what works for one may well not work for another. If you're aiming for health and longevity then symmetry shouldn't be a focus for you. However, if you're striving for more of a bodybuilder look then yes, you will incorporate more isolation movements to create a well-rounded physique. You should also be looking intensely at your diet plan to reduce body fat; I don't really care too much about that because I like beer and chocolate. Ask yourself this: am I using the most optimal exercises right now? Kia ora mai whanau.