If you’ve picked up a dumbbell or any weight, you’ve probably heard the term “isolation exercise” tossed around. In theory, isolation exercises are meant to target one muscle group—in reality, that’s not normally the case. No single muscle truly works in “isolation” because the human body is a complex system, and our muscles are tied together in more ways than imagined. For instance, it would be difficult to isolate a particular exercise when your back is seized up—because almost every movement becomes uncomfortable and other muscles are incorporated to help compensate for the discomfort.
Isolation exercises, however, do hone in on a certain muscle area. For example, wrist curls are a go-to forearm exercise for many people, but to make it happen, in addition to using your forearms, the muscles in your fingers to hold and control the weight, along with your wrist muscles are incorporated as well. Isolation exercises can and should be incorporated into anyone’s routine, from the gym newbie to the advanced strength athlete to help bring up a lagging muscle group.
When programming a workout, isolation exercises should normally follow the heavier compound exercises (two or more muscle groups) in order to make optimal gains. Still, when you have the time and want to improve your performance and looks, isolation exercises do work. And these four isolation exercises we go over should be included in most gymgoers’ routines.
First, let’s go into three reasons for doing them.
Benefits of Isolation Exercises
Besides wanting to bring up a lagging muscle to make it look good, there are other benefits to performing these exercises, including:
For Rehab Purposes: Whether you’re doing PT or have an ouch, strengthening an injured muscle requires targeted isolation exercises. For example, calf raises for a strained calf muscle or Achilles tendon. This supports the injured area and brings healing blood flow to the region for faster healing.
Improved Performance: Sometimes, a weaker muscle group can hold back your performance in the gym or during your weekend warrior activities. For example, if you’re having issues locking out your bench presses, then strengthening the triceps helps. Strengthening the weaker muscle group can lead to lifting more weight overall because you’re only as strong as your weakest leak.
Decreased Injury Risk: A weak muscle is more likely to become painful or injured. This is purely opinion based, and I’m speaking from personal experience from training clients for 13 years. When you are stronger, you’re less likely to suffer from niggling nonserious injuries.
Important Isolation Exercises Tips
When it comes to most isolation exercises creating and maintaining tension is paramount. That doesn’t mean more weight is bad, just not at the cost of losing tension. To vary and progress the exercises below, besides adding more weight and reps, you can.
Pause in the top or extended position.
Change your body position.
More time under tension. For example, 3 seconds up, 3 seconds down
Perform one side at a time.
The most common mistake with isolation exercises is using too much weight. This usually results in using momentum from other parts of your body and losing muscle-building tension on the targeted muscle. And that’s missing the point of the isolation exercise in the first place. Don’t do that.
4 Essential Isolation Exercises To Add Muscle Strength
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Overhead Triceps Extension
Overhead triceps extensions are performed with various tools in various body positions, with my favorite being the band variation. The band provides more tension at the end when you need it, and it’s easier on your elbows. The band variation gets more difficult as you extend the elbows, which is excellent for building muscle and improving lockout strength.
The beauty of any overhead triceps variation is that it works all three triceps muscles with a focus on the long head. The long head is the biggest of the three triceps, and it pays to show it love and attention.
Overhead Triceps Extension Benefits
You have an increased muscle-building tension throughout a larger range of motion.
It helps improve triceps lockout strength which is essential for all pressing variations.
Easier on the elbow joint because when the band isn’t stretched, it doesn’t load your elbow joint.
How to do it:
Securely attach a band overhead like a squat rack and attach a rope attachment if possible.
Grip both sides of the band and walk out until the band is stretched,
Stagger your stance, duck your head, and extend your elbows until lockout.
Slowly go back to the starting position and reset and repeat.
Sets & Reps: Two to four sets of 12 to 25 reps.
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Mini Band Lateral Walk
The mini band lateral walk strengthens the smaller muscles of your backside (glute mini and med), which are essential for single-leg balance and knee health. These muscles help prevent your knees from bending inward, which can lead to knee aches. The mini-band lateral walk is one of those exercises you don’t do for vanity but for lower body health. Plus, if you’re having trouble feeling your glutes, this exercise is the cure.
Mini Band Lateral Walk Benefits
Wakes up your ‘sleepy’ glutes.
Strengthen the smaller glute muscles necessary for knee health and balance.
This is a simple exercise to do to reduce knee and hip pain.
How to do it:
Place the band carefully around your ankles and get your toes pointed forward and feet hip-width apart.
Bend your knees slightly and take small steps to the side, keeping the band tight at all times.
Do all your reps to the one side and then repeat on the other.
Sets & Reps: Do 15-20 reps on each side as part of your warm-up or for two to three sets as part of your regular workout.
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Weighted Single-Leg Calf Raise
This exercise is like the pot calling the kettle black because many people neglect their calf muscles, including yours truly. You could throw almost any calf raise variation here. But the single-leg calf variation helps prevent muscle imbalances between sides, preventing calf strains and keeping your Achilles healthier longer. Plus, if you want to add muscle here (and who doesn’t), the large range of motion will make you feel the muscle-building burn.
Single leg Calf Raise Benefits
Strengthens imbalances between sides.
It provides a loaded stretch and a bigger range of motion to add size and strength to the calf.
If you can do more reps on one side than the other, you’ll know to strengthen one side to avoid injury.
How to do it
Hold a dumbbell in one hand, secure the other hand, and put the ball of your foot on the raised surface.
Cross your other foot behind the working leg and slowly lower it towards the floor until you feel a deep stretch in your calf muscle. This is the starting position.
Then lift your heel as high as possible, pause, and squeeze at lockout.
Slowly lower down to the starting position ad reset, and repeat.
Sets & Reps: Two to four sets of 12 to 20 reps on each side.
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Lateral Shoulder Raise Variations
There are many lateral raise variations, so you should rarely get bored doing them. Many shoulder compound and iso exercises train the front and posterior deltoid but not the lateral deltoid. Training the lateral delts is a simple way to add size and shape to your shoulders for increased flex appeal. Plus, the shoulders are one muscle that gets weaker as you age, and the lateral raise is an easy way to keep your shoulders strong and shapely.
Lateral Raise Benefits
Strengthens your shoulders laterally, which only a few shoulder exercises do.
An easy exercise to add size to your shoulders while not adding too much extra stress.
It improves your shoulder stability (strength) to help protect it against injury.
How to do it:
Hold a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length by your side with your preferred grip and dumbbell angle.
With your shoulder down and chest up, raise the dumbbells laterally until they reach shoulder height.
Keep a slight bend in your elbows during the concentric contraction.
Lower down with control to the starting position and reset and repeat.
