The Difference Between Isolation and Compound Exercises

A couple of weeks ago I talked about In this post, I would like to go into a little more detail about the difference between isolation (also known as spot targeting) and compound exercises, since knowing the differences can make a tremendous impact on whether you'll successfully burn fat, lose weight, and build/maintain muscle.

Spot targeting (isolation) fat loss in specific areas of your body is not really effective to produce fat loss in that specific area....it primarily only helps tone the muscle UNDER the fat. Now with that said, spot targeting really is an ineffective way to build a properly functioning body. Let me explain...

Spot Targeting From An Exercise Standpoint:

When you do isolation exercises, you are building a body that will be impractical, and you will also be more prone to developing an injury or prolonged pain. If you've been following my blog, you've probably read me mention about how I developed patellar tendinitis with my knees. There were two reasons this developed: 1. Being stubborn and constantly doing hard impact cardio (even while I felt pain). 2. Doing isolated leg exercises such as the leg extension machine which aggravated my joints.

Now, the best type of exercising to do for both fat loss and for a very well functioning body is compound exercising. Compound exercises work extremely well because the body works well with moving along a kinetic chain. What that means is that during a particular compound exercise, a large percentage of your body is assisting another large portion of your body to complete a compound movement. With doing compound exercises, you will have a very well functioning body that works all together.

Examples of compound exercises as mentioned in my other post (you can also see photos of a few of the below exercises on that post):

1. Squats
2. Lunges
3. Dead lifts
4. Bench press
5. Cable rows
6. Dips

With doing exercises like above, instead of you only working a specific muscle with isolation exercising, you are working several muscle groups with every movement!

Another benefit of doing compound exercises is that your workouts will be a whole lot faster since you are working several muscles at the same time. For example, with doing cable rows, I can get a workout on my arms, upper back, and shoulders.....at the same time!

Now, one isolation routine I would recommend is abdominal workouts. BUT, remember, you can't do abdominal exercises thinking that you're going to lose ab fat, you're only toning your abdominal muscles. You have to lose total body fat to reveal six pack abs. Losing total body comes from proper weight training, cardiovascular training, drinking plenty of water, and definitely proper nutrition.

Spot Targeting From A Fat Loss Standpoint:

Now, besides having a better functioning body and more strength from doing compound exercises, you'll also burn fat a whole lot faster. This is because with doing multi-joint compound movements instead of isolated movements, you'll burn way more calories due to the fact you are working several muscles at the same time. Also, by doing compound exercises, you will increase your metabolism and will also stimulate the growth of more muscle building hormone....which will lead to more fat loss.

Remember, the more muscle than fat you have on your body (no matter if you are a man, woman, young, or old), the more fat you'll burn. Muscle requires a ton of calories....which equals a ton of fat loss. Now, I'm not talking about getting monster huge with bodybuilding, just have a basic exercise plan to help you build lean muscle.

Never Forget The Importance Of Nutrition Also:

Always remember that nothing you do will show results without proper nutrition. If you are not eating correctly, it's almost pointless to bust your butt in the gym or working out at home. The results you'll see from bad nutrition coupled with exercise is a very poor functioning body both internally and externally. Since you are exercising, your body is going to need even more nutrients than ever before.

The #1 nutrient you'll need is protein. You must get an adequate amount of protein daily in order for your muscle tissue to develop correctly. You can find a considerable amount of protein in foods such as fish (salmon, tuna), almonds, egg whites, and of course, protein shakes ( I recommend 100% whey protein shakes, and in liquid form). Besides getting plenty of protein daily, you should also make sure you are getting plenty of protein post workout. A whey protein shake is ideal for your post workout protein intake since it will be digested faster.

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