The Diet Logs

We’re so often told that exercise should be part of a good weight loss program, and this sure isn’t anything I’ll argue against. I’m not going to go back here on the benefits of strength-training and building some muscles to help the body burn more energy, and thus make the weight loss “easier”. However, there are still many myths floating around, including the famous “spot-reduction” one. Here’s an article by Michael Geary, about why working body parts separately (vs. complex movements) in strength training isn’t a good choice. Don’t stop at the website’s looks, that may not seem very engaging at first: the article is worth the read, and it’s not the first time I see such facts written (or explained to me at the gym).

It doesn’t matter which muscle someone is asking about, they always seem to be asking how to ‘isolate’ it. My first response to this question is always – “Why in the world would you want to isolate it?�

The first thing I try to teach my clients is that the body does not work well in muscle isolation. Rather, it works better in movements along a kinetic chain; that is, large portions of the body assist other portions of the body in completing a complex movement. In fact, there really is no such thing as true muscle isolation. There is almost always a nearby muscle group that will assist in some way with whatever movement you are doing. However, this article compares attempting to ‘isolate’ body parts via single-joint exercises to the much more effective strategy of performing multi-joint complex movements.

When you attempt to ‘isolate’ muscles by performing single-joint exercises, you are actually creating a body that is non-functional and will be more prone to injury. Essentially, you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of a powerful, functional unit that works together.

I don’t think it requires much capacity of understanding to realize that the body is already conceived to function as a whole. Running mobilizes many, many muscles, including the arms to keeping one’s balance. Lifting heavy things? You may think the back does all the work, but the abds’ role is very important in this too. And so on.

Besides, let’s get honest: wouldn’t it be better, once we’ve shed the extra layer of fat, to be able to show a body that looks nice everywhere, and not only on a few muscles?

Y.G. wrote this on September 4th, 2005 and filed it under Exercise Tips, Working Out |