Weight training is essential when it comes to building lean muscle and losing body fat. It is the main area of exercising that every man should focus on when going to the gym. Weight training increases your resting metabolic rate meaning you burn more calories, even after your workout. I am going to explain the different types of weight training exercises and why one is better than the other for faster results!
There are two common weight training exercises:
- Multi-joint exercises (compound lifts)
- Single joint exercises (isolation lifts)
Compound lifts work larger muscle groups with one lift whereas isolation lifts tend to only work one particular set of muscles with one lift. Examples of exercises that are compound and isolation lifts are as follows.
Compound Exercises And Isolation Exercises
Compound lifts – Deadlifts, squats, swings, snatches, bench presses, shoulder presses, lat pull downs, pull ups, clean and press, bent over rows, push ups, chin ups, dips.
Isolation Lifts – barbell curls, dumbbell curls, shoulder lateral raises, pectoral flyes, legs curls, leg extensions, triceps extensions.
Compound lifts are better as you are working a larger amount of muscle. Due to this you burn a higher amount of calories per lift compared to isolation exercises and release higher amounts of fat burning and muscle building hormones. Although isolation lifts do have some benefits, your workout routines should mainly focus on compound exercises to build lean muscle.
Here’s an Example
I am going to explain and show you an example that will hopefully convince you that multi-joint exercises are better than single joint exercises.
Your work rate = W
The amount of weight in pounds moved in the exercise = F
The distance in feet you moved the weight = D
Therefore the amount of work achieved in any given exercise is:
W = F x D
I am now going to show you two examples of very different workouts and calculate the amount of work achieved in each workout routine.
Workout #1
Pectoral Flyes, 45 lbs x 3 sets x 10 reps
Barbell Bicep Curls, 90lbs x 3 sets x 12 reps
Shoulder Shrugs, 275lbs x 4 sets x 10 reps
Calf Machine Presses, 315lbs x 3 sets x 15 reps
Workout #1 Results
Pectoral Flyes:
Distance moved during each rep = 2 feet
Work = 45 x 3 x 10 x 2 = 2,700 lbs/ft
Barbell Bicep Curls:
Distance moved during each rep = 2 feet
Work = 90 x 3 x 12 x 2 = 6,480 lbs/ft
Shoulder Shrugs:
Distance moved during each rep = 0.5 feet
Work = 275 x 4 x 10 x 0.5 = 5,500 lbs/ft
Calf Machine Press:
Distance moved during each rep = 0.42 feet
Work = 315 x 3 x 15 x 0.42 = 5,954 lbs/ft
Total work completed in workout #1 = 20,634 lbs/ft
Workout #2
Barbell Squats, 175lbs x 5 sets x 5 reps
Barbell Deadlift, 200lbs x 4 sets x 5 reps
Barbell Clean and Press, 150lbs x 5 sets x 4 reps
Barbell Bench Press, 115lbs x 4 sets x 5 reps
Workout #2 Results
Barbell Squats:
Distance moved during each rep = 2 feet
Work = 175 x 5 x 5 x 2 = 8,750 lbs/ft
Barbell Deadlift:
Distance moved during each rep = 3 feet
Work = 200 x 4 x 5 x 3 = 12,000 lbs/ft
Barbell Clean and Press:
Distance moved during each rep = 7 feet
Work = 150 x 5 x 4 x 7 = 21,000 lbs/ft
Barbell Bench Press:
Distance moved during each rep = 4 feet
Work = 115 x 4 x 5 x 4 = 9,200 lbs/ft
Total work completed in workout #2 = 50,950 lbs/ft
As you can see workout #2 completes over double the amount of work compared to workout #1 within roughly the same amount of time. The intensity of workout #2 is greater meaning you will burn more calories, increase your metabolic rate and have a greater hormonal response. If you haven’t already noticed, workout #1 consists of single joint exercises and workout #2 is comprised of multi-joint exercises. Notice that the distance moved in workout #2 is far greater compared to workout #1 meaning you have to work harder to complete one rep.
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Ready To Build Lean Muscle?
If you want to build lean muscle and ripped then I would concentrate more on multi-joint exercises mixed with High Intensity Interval Training instead of single joint exercises. You will see faster results and won’t be wasting hours down the gym.
To Your Success!
Steve Harold
