Anyone with an ectomorphic body type who asks for advice in the gym, online communities, or on forums is typically advised to focus on heavy compound multi-joint exercises such as bench press, deadlifts, squats, and other similar exercises since this training approach has long been considered almost the only and necessary for people with this body type. It is also often suggested that individuals with an ectomorphic body type can ignore isolation exercises, as they are unlikely to be as beneficial for them.
Personally, when I think of a biceps workout, the first exercise that comes to mind is barbell curls, along with the image of Arnold Schwarzenegger performing them.
The might of compound lifts
I agree that compound lifts allow you to train more muscles at some period of time and that the hormonal system responds with more testosterone, growth hormone production, and others. They generally stimulate anabolic processes in muscles and force the body to adapt, increasing muscle and strength. But these factors are not the only ones that are important.
Diversity
After some time of training, muscles become accustomed to doing the same compound exercises and the effectiveness of workouts may decrease to some degree. Variety has always had a positive effect on the training process. Muscles always respond well to new, unfamiliar biomechanics of movements, and isolation exercises broaden the range of variability quite widely.
Symmetry and aesthetics
In fact, if you always do only compound, or they are also called basic, exercises - this style is more like powerlifting. And here we come to another important factor. Since you want to build not only more muscle but have symmetrical muscles and an aesthetic body, then powerlifting is not exactly what you need.
So, continuing to talk about body symmetry and aesthetics, what if a person with an ectomorph body type has very narrow shoulders and wants to target deltas, specifically lateral deltas for visual shoulder widening, thus looking more like V-type, which is a classic male body aesthetic? This is where side raises and their variations will help. The same when it comes to the lagging calf muscles, there are only variations of the calf raises.
Uneven muscle fatigue
Another reason why incorporating isolation exercises in your workout routine can be beneficial is that they allow you to target specific muscle groups that may not be effectively worked out through compound exercises alone. For example, some people may find that when doing bench presses, their triceps fatigue quickly, preventing their chest muscles from being fully engaged. In such cases, adding isolation exercises such as dumbbell flies can help to more effectively work out the chest muscles.
Conclusion
The photo at the beginning of this post shows Frank Zane, a 3-time Mr. Olympia winner, doing dumbbell curls. I chose this photo because Zane is a well-known example of an ectomorph body type. Although he was a great pro bodybuilder, it's important to note that even athletes of his caliber needed isolation exercises.
In conclusion, while compound heavy lifts should be a priority for ectomorphs, it's also wise to use isolation exercises every few weeks for variety or if they are needed to target specific muscles.
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