Comments on: Basic Vs. Isolation Exercises, Chisels or Dynamite?

By: Questions and Answers on Building Lean Muscle Mass | Lean Muscle Advice | Bodybuilding Q&A | World Fitness Network

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:33:09 +0000

[...] stop worrying about your biceps! Men tend to focus way too much on their chest and on the biceps. Your workouts will always suck without these basic exercises: squats, deadlifts, bench (the big 3 in my book) plus I’d add in chinups, [...]

By: Building Inner Strength: a Lesson from Tyler Durden | StrongLifts.com

Building Inner Strength: a Lesson from Tyler Durden | StrongLifts.com — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:04:41 +0000

[...] course, Jack’s closest friend, Tyler Durden, is played by the ultra-ripped Brad Pitt. Ironically, Brad undoubtedly had to spend countless hours sweating away in the gym to [...]

By: Jason

Jason — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:59:17 +0000

Sean,

Thanks, and I know what you mean. It’s easy for people to fall into the isolation trap early on. The core movements you just mentioned would work wonders for alot of people out there.

By: Sean

Sean — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:38:37 +0000

Very good read. The metaphor of chisel and dynamite was a very good way to back up your claims. Even though to some the fact that compound movements will stimulate more growth is common sense, there are still many out there slaving away in the gym with unneccesary isolation movements before they have even created a foundation of mass.

It is absolutely necessary to start off with a routine of basic compound movements, and the squat, press, and dead lift should be the core of them. Even when it is time to incorporate some isolation movements the big lifts should still be included.

A lot of people like to use machines for their routines too but what they fail to realize is machines lack the use of stabilizer muscles and hinder the body’s natural movement patterns. Bottom line, heavy, compound, free weight lifts is what is all about. Anyways, good article Jason.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:45:58 +0000

Steve,

I’d have to agree with you about pushups. They’re very versatile and convenient. I had to travel quite a bit for my prior job and found myself doing lots of pushups and some pullups on the clothes rack in the hotel closet (it was a strong rack) :).

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:38:50 +0000

Really great article. I like the whole chisel and dynamite metaphor.

I also do a lot of the compound exercises. It just more efficient and gets you out of the gym quicker.

My personal favorite basic exercise is the push up. It’s so versatile. You can do it anywhere anytime.

There are a ton of variations of it that you can do to work your shoulders, back, arms, chest and even your core muscles.