by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Working as a fitness professional, there is one
type of question I get all the time that shows that many people are
missing the big picture regarding the benefits of strength training.
This popular question usually goes something like this:

“What exercise can I do to isolate my _______ (insert your muscle of choice – abs, quads, biceps, triceps, etc)?”

It doesn’t matter which muscle someone is asking
about, they always seem to be asking how to ‘isolate’ it. My first
response to this question is always – “Why in the world would you want
to isolate it?”

The first thing I try to teach my clients is that
the body does not work well in muscle isolation. Rather, it works
better in movements along a kinetic chain; that is, large portions of
the body assist other portions of the body in completing a complex
movement. In fact, there really is no such thing as true muscle
isolation. There is almost always a nearby muscle group that will
assist in some way with whatever movement you are doing. However, this
article compares attempting to ‘isolate’ body parts via single-joint
exercises to the much more effective strategy of performing multi-joint
complex movements.

When you attempt to ‘isolate’ muscles by
performing single-joint exercises, you are actually creating a body
that is non-functional and will be more prone to injury. Essentially,
you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of
a powerful, functional unit that works together.

Now if you really want to end up hobbling around
in a body bandaged up with joint problems, tendonitis, and excess body
fat, then by all means, continue trying to ‘isolate’ body parts. On the
other hand, if you would rather have a lean, muscular, injury-free,
functional body that works as a complete powerful unit to perform
complex movements (in athletics or even everyday tasks), then you need
to shift your focus away from muscle isolation.

Believe me, focusing on how well your body
functions will give you the side effect of a body that looks even
better than it would have if you focused on muscle isolation. For
example, take a look at the physiques of any NFL running backs, wide
receivers, or even world class sprinters. Trust me when I say that
these guys pretty much NEVER train for muscle isolation (their strength
coaches wouldn’t be crazy enough to let them), yet they are absolutely
ripped to shreds! Just look at guys like Maurice Green or Terrell Owens
and tell me who wouldn’t want a physique like those guys.

Another benefit to moving away from the ‘muscle
isolation’ mindset to a more ‘complex movement’ mindset is that you
will find it much easier to lose body fat. The reason is that by
focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed to
single-joint muscle isolation, you not only burn a lot more calories
during each workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and
stimulate production of more fat burning and muscle building hormones
like growth hormone and testosterone.

Let’s look at an example. The machine leg
extension is a single joint exercise that works mainly the quadriceps,
can potentially cause knee joint instability in the long run, and
doesn’t even burn that many calories. On the other hand, exercises like
squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts are all multi-joint complex
movements that work hundreds of muscles in the body (including the
quadriceps) as a functional unit, create more stable and strong joints
in the long run (when done properly), and also burn massive quantities
of calories compared to the single-joint exercises.

If you’re interested in discovering more ways to
create a body that looks as good as it functions, pick up a copy of my
innovative book The Truth About Six Pack Abs