Isolation, Compound, or Both?
- Dan
- Jan 28, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 29, 2019
There are a ton of exercise programs floating around the internet and social media claiming a million different things. More frequently than not these exercise programs are designed by guys who use their knowledge in broscience: putting together what “seems” right. Is this the most efficient way to create a workout plan? Probably not, especially since we know a lot about the physiology of exercise. By using our understanding of human anatomy and physiology we can design better work-outs and exercise more efficiently. Single-joint vs multi-joint exercises, also known as isolation vs compound exercises, and their use has long been misunderstood on their individual importance and roll in a workout program.
Personally, I have always done a combination of both for all body parts with the mindset that the compound movements would help with strength while the single-joint movements would help with physique. It always seemed that single joint exercises were required because of the additional movements: hitting the muscle in all its different parts. Be knowns to me the consensus of the research shows that there is no significant need to complement multi-joint exercises with single-joint exercises.
If you think adding single-joint exercises will help you decrease body fat, increase fat free mass, and increase your VO2 max you are absolutely correct. BUT will it help you increase muscle strength and mass when added to a well-rounded multi-joint program? The answer is not any more than the multi-joint exercises alone. Obviously there are a lot of stipulations insofar as everyone is different and the research can only exclude so many variables.
The American College of Sports Medicine currently suggests the inclusion of single and multi-joint exercises in a resistance training program to effectively increase muscle strength. Matheus Barbalho reported in Eur J Transl Myol that there was no significant change in the participants 10 rep max between the multi-joint group and the multi-joint/single-joint group. It does appear, however, that the addition of single joint exercises allows for a greater increase in upper arm circumference at least during the initial training period. Similar results were found in a review in Sports Medicine (Auckland, NZ) by Genitl, P. who reported that the addition of single-joint exercises may only be needed to strengthen lumbar muscles and to correct muscle imbalances.
SO WHAT TO DO WITH THIS INFORMATION?
For the average gym goer who leads a busy life it really comes down to time. How much time do you have to go to the gym? If you have two hours to spend in the gym then go ahead and do all the exercises you want. On the other hand if you have less than an hour to get your gym time in then stick to the multi-joint exercises with the addition of single joint exercises for lower back and muscle imbalances.
Citations:
Barbalho, Matheus et al. 2018. “Does the Addition of Single Joint Exercises to a Resistance Training Program Improve Changes in Performance and Anthropometric Measures in Untrained Men?” European Journal of Translational Myology 28(4). https://www.pagepressjournals.org/index.php/bam/article/view/7827 (January 28, 2019).
Gentil, P., Fisher, J., & Steele, J. (2017). A Review of the Acute Effects and Long-Term Adaptations of Single- and Multi-Joint Exercises during Resistance Training. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 47(5), 843–855. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0627-5
Paoli, A., Gentil, P., Moro, T., Marcolin, G., & Bianco, A. (2017). Resistance Training with Single vs. Multi-joint Exercises at Equal Total Load Volume: Effects on Body Composition, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Muscle Strength. Frontiers in physiology, 8, 1105. doi:10.3389/fphys.2017.01105
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