Strength-training sessions are a must in any fitness regimen. Strong muscles, after all, take care of many variables that can derail the journey — from posture correction to physical performance and avoiding injuries.
But building muscle strength or mass requires a systematic approach incorporating exercises that work the whole body as well as those that target specific muscles.
While making this choice seems easy, finding the sweet spot in the compound vs isolation exercise quandary requires a larger understanding of the exercise physiology involved.
Compound workouts — which consist of exercises which involve more than two joints, and target multiple muscle groups — improve muscle strength and hypertrophy (muscle mass) in a starkly different fashion compared with isolation exercises, which target a single muscle or a group of muscles.
Squats, deadlifts, lunges, pushups and bench presses are among the common compound exercises. Isolation exercises include leg extensions and leg curls, biceps concentration curls, calf raises and hammer curls.
“Assessment of an individual’s physical condition is important before incorporating compound or isolation exercises in the fitness routine,” says Chandigarh-based fitness expert Paramjit Singh, founder of Parambodyfitmind. “Sometimes, people have injuries that restrict them from doing certain exercises. In such a scenario, the individual is put on isolation exercise instead of compound. Then comes the individual’s fitness goals — whether the focus is on strength building or on muscle hypertrophy. The goal will primarily decide which muscle needs to be targeted and what exercises are needed to be done.”
Compound vs isolation exercises for weight loss
For beginners or for those who want to lose weight, loss of calories is essential.
“For someone who is starting new and for those targeting weight loss, compound exercises are recommended,” says Rishi Jethwa, an ACE certified senior fitness trainer from Ahmedabad. “In compound exercises, multiple joints and a greater number of muscles are involved in a single repetition. And involvement of more muscles means burning of more calories.”
Beginners should ideally avoid isolation exercises, adds Jethwa.
Compound vs isolation exercises for strength building
In strength building, most of the exercises are compound.
“Powerlifting exercises — bench presses, squats or deadlifts — are all compound exercises,” says Jethwa. “In terms of lifting heavy weights, multiple muscles are needed to work in coordination with each other and it is essential that appropriate strength and power generation takes place in every muscle involved in the exercise. So, those who seek to improve their strength should focus more on compound exercises.”
What works better for muscle hypertrophy?
While both compound and isolation exercises help in muscle hypertrophy, the latter is more efficient here.
“In terms of muscle hypertrophy, isolation exercises help in targeting muscle groups individually (which helps in their conditioning),” says Singh. “For example, in leg exercises, squats are a compound exercise but leg extension and leg curl exercises isolate the leg muscles and provides them conditioning. This isolation conditioning is important for muscle gain.”
The duration for which a particular muscle group is loaded also decides the increase in size.
“In isolation exercises a specific conditioning is provided to one muscle group,” adds Jethwa. For example, dumbbell concentration curls, where the biceps are exclusively targeted for a particular time and this specific targeting plays an important role in increasing the size of the biceps muscles.
“So, those at intermediate and advanced levels should incorporate isolation exercises into their fitness routine,” he says. “But beginners should not attempt isolation exercises as their muscle are not [ready] for targeted loading, and the foundation for isolation exercise is created by compound exercises.”
Compound vs isolation: one or both?
Both compound and isolation exercises have their unique impact on the muscles.
It is important to incorporate the right mix of both forms based on the goals and the physical condition of the body.
Takeaways
- Compound vs isolation exercise is not an easy debate to solve. It is important to incorporate the proper mix of both forms in the fitness routine.
- Isolation exercises should be attempted only by those who are at an intermediate or advanced level in the fitness journey.
- Isolation exercises are more suited for muscle hypertrophy since conditioning of one muscle group for a certain period has a big say in increasing its size.
- Compound exercises are better for weight loss and strength building.
