In strength-training there's only two movements used for everything we do: a push or a pull. That's it. You're either pushing a weight or you're pulling a weight. There can at times be grey lines between the two when certain movements appear to contain elements of both but that's okay. Not everything needs to be black and white, this or that. Live a little. Just know we either push or pull and sometimes, hell, sometimes we even hold.
Pretty exciting stuff, I know.
Next, we either use compound exercises or isolation exercises in our work-out routines. A compound exercise is one that recruits a broad range of musculature as opposed to an isolation exercise that uses far less musculature. The theory with isolation exercises is you're isolating a specific muscle so as to work the bejesus out of it whereas compound exercises still hit said muscle but also recruit the surrounding muscles to "lend a hand" as it were. Let me explain further.
When we squat we're using our legs, core and shoulders. When I say "legs" I mean your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves. When I say "core" I mean stabilizers front and rear, abdominals, obliques, lats and upper and lower back. When I say "shoulders" I mean deltoids and traps. Even though quads are the focus here, a lot of other musculature is dragged in to "lend a hand" as well, which makes this a compound exercise.
When we curl a weight we're basically isolating the bicep muscle. Sure our forearm muscles play a role -- we are gripping the bar after all -- and yeah, our shoulders (or at least the front of the shoulder or "anterior head") plays a role, but essentially it's an isolation movement. Whilst there is no true "isolation" exercise per se because our body works in conjunction with other parts, I hope you see the difference between the two.
...so what's the point?
The point is that we push and pull using compound and isolation movements.
WHY COMPOUND MOVEMENTS?
I exclusively use compound movements these days precisely because they recruit more musculature giving more bang for your buck. I'd also rather use movements that impact an entire region of the body in less time as opposed to isolating various muscles within said region which would necessitate a longer work-out. Time is precious and I'm not a bodybuilder. I want to get shit done and get on with my life.
If you visited the Body basics page from the menu (and if you haven't you should) you'll know we can break the body into several basic areas: neck, traps, shoulders, chest, back, arms and legs. By using compound lifts you can target more than one area at the same time, as shown above in my short spiel about squats. Do you have to work out this way? Nah. You can work out anyway you like, mate.
COMPOUND MOVEMENTS: The basics of every lifter's routine bar none
What compound movements should you do? I'll be honest with you: there's a fair few of the buggers and no, I'm not going to list them all here. Instead I'm going to list the only ones you'll need which I also use, though don't let that limit you from looking elsewhere at other options. The following six exercises, done correctly, will build a strong and muscular physique. Drop any you don't like but these six really are all you'll need.
- Shoulder press: main focus is the shoulders/deltoids but also targets traps, upper chest and triceps. Whether in front of the body or behind the back (if your mobility allows it), standing or seated, the shoulder press is a great upper body strength developer...(online example)
- Benchpress: main focus is the chest but also targets triceps, shoulders, back (possibly more lats-focused), forearms and biceps to some degree. It could be argued that by driving through the legs and keeping "tight" you're hitting other areas of your body as well but I tend to think that's all a bit wanky...(online example)
- Bent over rows: main focus is the latissimus dorsi or "lats" but also targets the upper back (tremendously so) and biceps. The secret is to use your hands as "hooks" and pull the bar up and back by driving upwards with your elbows. I know it sounds weird but visualizing it makes it easier to do and thus normalise...(online example)
- Squats: main focus are the quadriceps (front of the upper leg) but also targets glutes, hamstrings and calves. Glutes -- aka your buttocks -- are a vitally important muscle group that do an enormous range of work from walking to standing to running to squatting to kicking, you bloody name it. Strong glutes are important for good mobility and posture, believe it or not...(online example)
- RDLs (Romanian Deadlifts): main focus are the hamstrings but because of your body positioning you'll also be targeting the lower back, core, shoulders, traps and to a lesser degree arms...(online example)
- Deadlifts: main focus is the hamstrings but this phenomenal exercise also targets your neck, traps, shoulders, abdominals, obliques, the entire back, glutes, calves and forearms. In all likelihood even though the squat is called the "king of all exercises" due to the amount of musculature it recruits and the growth that can result from its use, the deadlift probably deserves the title more...(online example)
Often lifters will bring in isolation movements for those parts of their body which don't grow through compound exercises. These body parts are typically the neck, forearms, deltoids, calves, biceps and abdominals. Do you want to get bogged down in that? No. Nail the compound lifts first -- for at least six months -- and then consider other isolation movements because they can have their place. Visit the How-to basics page for indepth tips on each of the above movements.
△
© www.ironkiwi.nz