What do you experienced folk think of basic compound only programs?

[UCSMiami]

Have this discussion with acquaintances now and then and it is back to an ongoing one.

Me: From the point of view of building strength there is no need to do isolation only making use of the big lifts.
Them: Isolation work is useful plus the above.
Me: Better off saving that end of session mojo for one more compound push then dissipate it with isolation work.

Example: Rarely curl now. prefer to do rows or pulldowns or pullups at heavy weight. When I do curls I see my biceps and forearms pump but is that strength building or just aesthetics due to blood filling the muscles? Similar with Tricep extension type of work.

I see isolation as for muscle sculpting. But Low BF and heavy lifting achieves a "ripped"? look without having all of the additional workouts. Also without the additional mass.

 

[UncleSarm]

Have this discussion with acquaintances now and then and it is back to an ongoing one.

Me: From the point of view of building strength there is no need to do isolation only making use of the big lifts.
Them: Isolation work is useful plus the above.
Me: Better off saving that end of session mojo for one more compound push then dissipate it with isolation work.

Example: Rarely curl now. prefer to do rows or pulldowns or pullups at heavy weight. When I do curls I see my biceps and forearms pump but is that strength building or just aesthetics due to blood filling the muscles? Similar with Tricep extension type of work.

I see isolation as for muscle sculpting. But Low BF and heavy lifting achieves a "ripped"? look without having all of the additional workouts. Also without the additional mass.

I agree with you. The big lifts are enough. Plus compound movements work the interstitial and stabilizer muscles, so you build a more functional strength.

 

[NotDatGuy9000]

I'm a BB'er and going heavy actually does less for me hitting all muscles in the compound exercise. I do compounds for the utilitarian nature of them, problem is I need to stay light to also hit secondary and triuciary muscles. Going heavy is awesome but I can hit more on compounds with ruthless 3x15 at moderate poundages. I also do giant sets so my workout is as non-stop as possible. I get the most from strength-endurance workouts than heavy training. Everyone is different of course, and Im a little envious those who can just lift heavy to laydown the mass.

I gained mass in the primary movers while on a compound only routine. My side delts, triceps and biceps, and my mid back got little mass. I looked imbalanced so I switched to a BB routine. But once again everyone is different, my levers favor my torso over my arms. I have short arms and long legs. You can guess how Deadlifting for me is. In reality, I still looked good but I looked off. I had small arms and big man boobs.

Edited for being long and nerdy.

 

[Tank999]

Personally I love going heaviyish and higher rep on the compound movements. I also keep the breaks down between sets to 70-90 seconds approximately. This still has a muscle building effect at my age, and I've found over the years that most injuries come from isolation exercises.
Just my personal experience.

 

[kisaj]

I've done almost compound only for about 15 years. Started out my first 6-7 years working in a lot of isolation work and found it to be a pretty big waste of time for anything other than aesthetic reasons. The only isolation work I do is calves and leg extensions as a warm up prior to squats/split squats.

 

[herderdude]

Compound movements for the bulk of the program, isolation movements to bring up weak points in your big lifts and keep balance in your body. Basically like you said use all of your energy on the big lifts and any remainder that you could put toward weak points, fill it in. Its kind of what I do, but I leave a lot of room for isolation to hit lots of areas.

 

[DozerDean]

Just to toss in my two cents on this. Your compound movements are to build your base foundation. Using multiple muscle groups to complete a lift makes for a functional physique or athletic build. Isolation work is the icing on the cake. Like tank999 said isolation work is where many injuries can happen. I still do them but im caution. Ill take functional over huge any day.

 

[polarcat]

I haven't done a compound movement since Nam