The importance of Isolation exercises?

[radio]

How important or unimportant are isolation movements? I read alot about how beginners should concentrait on the big compound movements to build up basic size and strenght and i agree with that 100% But there comes a point where the progression on these big movements slow and the gains stop. Thats why we try New routines like HST or turn to roids( I done both ). But some people almost totally slate isolation exercises as a waste of time, Fair enough if your a power lifter and dont mind looking like a big fat slob.  
There is a writer whom i cant remember his name who slates compound movements and say bodybuilders should train like bodybuilder and not powerlifters. He says that your better off working in total isolation movements for every muscle. He uses examples like whats the point of going into the gym to train chest and then doing bench press when bench pressing uses so many muscle groups. Youl end up with big front delts and triceps more than chest development. Also that over head press is a waste of time as well your better off doing front raises, side laterals and rear delt raises in a superset.
Whats he says is youl will end up looking like a powerlifter if you train with mostly compound movements but if you train with mostly isolation movements you will end up with a nicely shaped body that others will admire. Now at first i thought this was total crap but as time goes on im starting to see some logic in what he says. I mean iv benched from the very first time i trained yet i dont have a great chest. It lags! Iv done many compounds for it like dips and all forms of benching but i have'nt dont alot of flyes or cables. Im thinking maybe i should use only these for a while and see if i get any developement in my chest. Also i notcied that I probably look more like a light powerlifter than a bodybuilder which also corrisponeds with what he says.
I dunno what do you make of it? Does anyone recognise what im talking about and know the name of the author?

 

[vicious]

Hmm, that writer sounds like Vince Gironda. No, not that Vince (HST in-joke.)

A diet I followed a few years ago (which works great for me) was based on Vince's ideas. And his matrix rep programs influenced some of my wacky ideas on cluster.

Isolation movements are great. They're just used wrong. If you want to read a massive thread on pimping your HST up with isolation movements, check out the Customizing thread.

cheers,
Jules

 

[imported_domineaux]

The Compound exercises give overall body development a jump start.  They help you get a great body shape fast and give you the foundation body to build upon.

Compound exercises are much more efficient. You work more muscles with one exercise and involve a great deal more of your neuro-muscular system.
 
Isolation exercises can make a big difference when you start tweaking your body.  Competitive bodybuilders spend a lot of time posing their bodies finding flaws and doing isolation exercises to tweak.  If you're doing compound exercises and you're not getting the development in a muscle group that you should, then you can add isolation exercises to enhance those muscles.

It's common to see guys in the gym blasting their
arms for an hour and a few upper body exercises. This is totally wrong, but interestingly enough some guys measure being in shape with big arms. So there you have it. Some peoples goals are just different.    

Compound exercise should always be the core of your training, with isolation exercise to enhance specific muscle groups.

IMO  

 

[xahrx]

Also different compounds will put different stress on different muscles. Dips and bench presses will engage the triceps differently, depending on form and range of movement. Good compounds will always be the core of a good workout. Isolation exercises are good for developing individual groups, but if you find one group lagging the first thing I'd say is change up the compound movements before going to isolations.

If you're doing straight leg deads for your hams, do sumos for a while. Pull overs for lats, try pull downs. Triceps extensions for your tris, try a close grip bench. Muscle fibers only contract one way, but different exercises will give you a difference in how the weight is carried by the target and synergistic muscles.

 

[imported_dkm1987]

Quote[/b] (radio @ April 27 2005,1:35)]But there comes a point where the progression on these big movements slow and the gains stop. Thats why we try New routines like HST or turn to roids( I done both ).

Vicious, I don't think it was Vince, he didn't advocate front raise to my knowledge. But anyway.

Just want to point out that the main reason people choose to change up exercises is their lack of knowledge on how muscles grow. The shock and awe theory was, in practice, correct but in principle was the misuse of DOMS and not understanding RBE. With proper SD compound movements will give you continued growth to your genetic limit. Granted there may be lagging parts and symmetry issue that isolation will help, but as everyone stated already compounds should be the core of any program.