I Do Believe, I Do Believe

Recently one of my Body & Soul members "confessed" that she had been adding some exercises at the end of her routine. She'd been doing some Bicep Curls and Tricep Pushdowns because she liked the way they felt, even though she knew I didn't "believe in" doing exercises like that.

Obviously, my stance on the superiority of compound exercises has been misunderstood by some.

It's not that I'm opposed to Bicep Curls or Tricep Pushdowns. (Tricep Kickbacks? Now, that's another story.) Here's what I think...

Most of my members and personal training clients are limited on time and have a primary goal of fat loss. In that case, exercises like Pullups, Rows and Pulldowns are preferable because they work your back and your biceps at the same time and burn more calories. The same is true for triceps; Pushups and Presses work multiple muscles and challenge your body more than isolation work.

Am I saying that no one should ever do isolation exercises? No. In fact, I did some Bicep Curls the other day.

If you have some extra time and you enjoy it, there's no reason not to add some direct bicep and tricep work that day. Or, if your body is pretty much how you want it, go ahead and include some Curls and Pushdowns. And, obviously, if you're a bodybuilder you'll want to perform isolation work.

I still think the main part of your workout should consist of compound exercises; they're more functional - more similar to the way our bodies work in real life. Compound exercises are also more challenging and our muscles and bones need that.

That doesn't mean I "don't believe" in ever performing isolation exercises.