FORUMS > Strength Training Forum Rules

Love the idea of this workout plan but really don't have many ideas of what would be compound vs. isolation exercises. I am improvising but I think I might be labeling different exercises wrong.

Anyone have compound and isolation exercise suggestions for this program?

Here is a link that has some compound and isolation exercises.

Feel free to post other links and compound/isolation combinations that you like so that others can benefit.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/strengthtraining/a/compound_ex.htm

P90X is fundamentally what compound exercise are about.
There's a place for both, isolation exercises are applied as in rehab.

youtube has many P90Xer's online as is Kettlebell etc.

I have bookmarked this link excellent find. ty.

I actually researched and did a 5 x 5 leg workout today....
These were the exercises in order:

Lunges with weights and leg extension machine
Step ups with weights and leg curl
Leg press machine and calve raises.

Very good I AM SORE but feels great.....

So, I'm gonna give this a try, Never been a lifter, but this seems relatively fool proof.

So...you do 5 sets of each one, for 5 times? Is that right?

For some reason I'm having a bit of a hard time comprehending how you actually do this program.

you try to build 2 supersets. and you do each 5x.
so you do 100 reps.

1 rep x 5 with heavy weight compound movement
1 rep x 5 isolated movement.
break
repeat 4x.

next superset:

same.

At least that is how I understood it.

you are TOAST after this..a spotter is needed if you load up to fail on 5
on many exercises.

Hmmm. In the article, where it says to do back and chest on a Monday, do you think that means one superset of chest exercises and one superset of back exercises?

OR

Two supersets of chest exercises and two supersets of back exercises?

Today seems like a good day to give this a go. I fell of the 12 Week Muscle-Building program last week. In week 11. Bleah. What a disgrace. That was a good workout, but it's exam time and the students are so needy at this time of year! It takes just a bit too much time out of my day.

I designed 2ss for chest and 2 supersets for back. I think you are supposed to do 4 each at least , you would not do less on a regular split.

Thanks Librarian.

I did chest and back together....2 supersets of each. It was a great workout.

I am having a hard time figuring out shoulders. I know dumbbell raises would be a compound exercise, but I can't figure out another compound one.

Can anyone find the original article on the site still? I can't seem to find it.....

Thanks

Great link, thank you silverfox1....................
I too cannot quite figure out the shoulder exercises......i normally have done 4 or 5 different ones, machine and free weights, bar and dumbells.

there must also be other leg exercises as i am bored with the two examples they give. don't think lunges and squats (no barbell) work with this routine??? although lunges especially give my muscles a run for their money.

am a bit of a maverick so i am doing my own combinations just to get the hang of it. as usual i probably do too much. love a challenge and pushing the envelope.

I think rowing standing would qualify for a compound move. that would be compound 2 for shoulders then.

My chest/back routine was:

SS1:
Inclined free bench press,dumb bell fly declined to once hit the upper region more and the lower, I think that's not such a bad idea.

SS2:
Pull ups on one foot( yes I am a girl), Hyperextension with a workout buddy pressing as hard as possible down on you coming up.

SS3:

dumb bell raises on flat bench with real heavy weights, Cable cross kneeling for inner chest

SS4:

Straight arm lat pulldown on cable cross, wide reverse grip pull downs.
I am open for suggestions but this worked quite nice to the point of me dying a bit in the gym ( This IS the 5th time...RIGHT ? NO..crap )

Thank you Librarian you are the MAN. I will steal your workout and attempt Wednesday on Chest/Back day.

Yes I forgot about upright rows as a good compound shoulder exercise.

Rule of thumb-
Compound exercise means utilizing two or more joints.
Isolation exercise means utilizing one joint.

Today is shoulders and here is what I am planning.

Barbell military press/dumb bell lateral raises

Cable upright rows/ shoulder shrugs (I do these on shoulder days but some do on back days)

Military or Arnold dumb bell presses/ Front deltoid Plate raises which you can see at this link though i do them sitting down

http://www.shapefit.com/shoulder-exercises-front-plate-raises.html

I am not completely sure of what makes a good match between a compound and isolation exercise superset....I am kind of trying different combinations.

As always suggestions and comments welcome.

MuscleBudSea saidSo...you do 5 sets of each one, for 5 times? Is that right?

For some reason I'm having a bit of a hard time comprehending how you actually do this program.

You're not the only one - I'm soooo cornfused!

Ive been doing the supersets 1 of each, ramping up to 100.




So soooorrreee haha

Aye can anybody direct me on how to get to the page with the 5X5 workout? I deleted da email and now I cant find the page.

Thanks

Thanks again Librarian....
reading the article again and wondering...

How is standing barbell curls a compound exercise? Only joint used is elbow if done correctly.

The bicep compound exercises that I am using for biceps are....

close grip pull ups
seated dumb bell curls with a twist at the end of rep (so that pinky hits chest).

I would not get too hooked up on the 1 joint definition. The workout plan I have mixed together looks like that mainly because I have been doing certain exercises for months. Surely one of the most beneficial exercise for you whole back would be deadlifts as compound move, but I am sick and tired of it for the moment Also I mixed in hyperextensions since they benefit you if you work a lot sitting and I wanted at least one of the 4 to work the lower back, but not more. From the essence of 5x5 as described in the article hyperextensions do not fit in since they do not work the same muscle but focus on the lower back, but I just don't care. If you do not have a workout buddy try good mornings with heavy weight but be careful about your form.


Your question:

Take "Straight arm lat pulldown on cable cross". You only move around one joint..the shoulder. But you have to keep your core steady, if you do not cheat leaning a bit forward, put a lot of tension on your lower arms, even a bit triceps to keep then straight and I definitely had to flex the chest as well as the triceps to keep straight with all the weight. It did work out the upper portion of the back, but also frontal shoulder and the other parts mentioned had to help as well. To me personally this makes it quite effective not just working one part, even though it is only 1 joint, you see where I am going with this. Wide reverse pull downs is using 2 joints but I could feel the strain on the lat more specific than anywhere else following muchmorethanmuscle's advise from another post to imagine the shoulders being stringed up..and definitely not the shoulder or the biceps that much. So I think some exercises work more efficient utilizing different muscles with more strain than others regardless of the 1 joint 2 joint thing. If you really find 2 exercises that you can perform fast as superset and you like how they work you, I do not think it is the end of the world to ignore the compound/isolation rule once..

As for "How is standing barbell curls a compound exercise?"

I am not seeing that one so much either, BUT If you do not cheat and do a clean exercise you definitly need your core and chest and upper back to stabilize yourself vs sitting using a scott machine though.you can try this one on gravity plate that has a ball in the middle, you will do the most perfect curls or else you will fall off A good compound move would be rowing with the barbell bent over forward and supinated grip for example. Turning the pinky gives you a higher tension in your biceps but does not make the movement really that much of a compound move imo.

these are just my 2 cents its not like I am trainer or pro or anything remotely close...

I will post my arm plan later if there is interest.

Librarian said
I will post my arm plan later if there is interest.

Yes there is interest thanks!

How do you follow this plan when it involves using two machines at the gym? Just glancing at the example given, the pull-up machine and lat bar machine are near each other. But even so, the likelihood that I am going to be able to monopolize them to finish these superset in the time prescribed is slim to none. How do you all handle such a problem?

Librarian saidI will post my arm plan later if there is interest.

There's also interest in naked pics...if you are taking requests ...

Caslon7000 saidHow do you follow this plan when it involves using two machines at the gym? Just glancing at the example given, the pull-up machine and lat bar machine are near each other. But even so, the likelihood that I am going to be able to monopolize them to finish these superset in the time prescribed is slim to none. How do you all handle such a problem?

I took the declined bench and carried it next to the free bench press.

I took the flat bench and carried it next to the cable machine...

problem solved


I train at 7am so here is only 3,4 people around. You prepare the right weights and make everything ready where you need it to be. As for monopolizing I just growl and show my fangs..helps, but seriously if you move the equipment together and maybe use a second towl to "claim" it should not be too much of a problem ? I am doing this with a workout buddy anyways to load up as much as possible, then it is a bit easier with the equipment.

I cant pick up the pull-up machine and lat bar machine and move them anywhere.....and I am not sure I can be moving too many benches around in a Golds Gym either ....

One bench at a time Caslon It is not like I pick the whole studio apart and move it into one corner. after each superset I return the equipment...The straight arm cable down can also be done on a decent lat station ( ours is 4 way, 2 seats, one row and one tall free access ), this way you take 3 steps and can do the wide grip reverse pulldowns.
Naked pics, sorry I lost the key to my ironcast chestity lederhosen pants, no can do..

This is what I plan for arms, I tried each one out to see how it works, again I do not claim I am sure what I am doing

ARMS:

Set 1: Triceps

Compound:
Tight grip benching, multipress flat,.thumb unwrapped.
Isolated:
French press on cable cross kneeling, isolating triceps effectively, especially the long head of the arm extensor ( please forgive my clumsy german-english translation)

Set 2: Biceps/lower arms

Compound:
Dumbbell twist curl set with resistance band. ( I can't come up with anything more compound than that ) The resistance band will provide constant tension and help you not to slack on the downward movement.
Isolated:
Barbell curls 45% using the scott bench with the S bar. .Go down all the way and come back up just not above half, hold for a second go down again ( all the way ). This one is incredible hard and not only works your biceps but puts some focus on the often neglected lower arms.

Set 3: Triceps

Compound:
Dips, whatever floats your boat , the superman version or between 2 benches with without weight, machine.. whatever, only go to 90% on your elbow joints or the maximum effect for the triceps is lost.

Isolated:
Cable pushdowns.

Set 4: Biceps/lower arms

Compound:
As suggested narrow grip chin ups surely qualify for a great compound, but chin ups are already my other set, another example would be the close hammer grip pull down on the lat machine, leaning back takes the demands of the lat and shifts it mainly to the biceps, still working upper back lat and core. So I am gonna go with that one.
Close hammer grip pull down

Isolated:
Negative concentration curls.
Load up 20-30% more than you could curl and help with your free arm just above the elbow on the upwards. On the downwards you are not allowed to help, even with slow tempo.


Edit: So i did it today, bench dips with weight and set 2 is actually a bit way beyond hardcore, I never felt my biceps burn that hard and my lower arms turned into stone, had to switch to a bit lower weight on rep 3 to be able to do the scotts, but overall this worked really really nice for me, negative curls at the end are tough.

I posted this on the article itself, but thought here would be a good place too.

Tried the first day but like a few others, could only get one body part in (chest), in the amount of time I had at the gym. A day later, I'm feeling it. Was a good workout and look forward to the rest. I would like to see a work-up of a couple of complete full-week workouts to choose from though. With my busy schedule, I really don't have the time to research all the exercise choices and plans. I want to be able to look at a plan, like it, print it out and use it (this is the type of thing that WOULD get me to buy a RealJock membership, by the way.)

Tomorrow is Big Arm Day. I am actually planning 5 supersets because I am vain and I want big arms for the Madonna concert Saturday night.

Biceps

dumbell curls with twist at top/hammer curls Hammers work on the length of the bicep
close grip pull ups/2 armed standing cable curls cable handles brought to your ears, and then released only 45% till your forearms are parallel with your body. This will work on the peak of your bicep
Slow full extension concentration curls with light weight/the "Librarian"
Barbell curls 45% using the scott bench with the S bar (see his description in his post above) Works lower bicep.

Triceps
Close grip bench press/rope cable pushdowns

Dip machine with heavy weight/dumbell overhead extensions

I agree with many of the comments above.

This is a tough but rewarding program. I have only done 1 day, yesterday (chest and triceps), but it worked me hard and feel it today.

This is just the change up I needed to move on to the next phase of my workouts. This made it fresh and new, while also laying out a new challenge.

One last thing... I read a few posts that talk about running out of time. Actually, I found that this workout went extremely fast (just another bonus). I was done with my weight workout in under 1 hour when it usually takes me about 1.5 hours.

Keep up the good work guys!!!

Started this last week. Last year I was doing a variation of this routine and it worked great for me. I personally respond better to higher weight/lower reps.

I'll come back with an update in a few weeks.

Very simple-

Day one- Do squats

Day two- Do deadlifts

Day three- Do Bench

No variations of the above. Just do them as hard as you can. As hard as you can. Then call me. When you can do those seriously, we will add exercises. If you do those seriously, and hard, you need no other exercises yet.

Everyone asks, should I do 5 reps or 10? You should not be able to ask. You hit 7, add weight.

Lift heavy. Muscles want stress. That is how they grow.

Always lift heavier than you think you can. Push. Push yourself. Always.