When it comes to sculpting and shaping our body, the concept of spot (or isolation) training makes sense on paper. Put all of your focus on a single area, and train it constantly until it starts to grow, grow, grow. But are there any drawbacks to this kind of approach? Does it even work? Let’s go over the pros and cons of isolation training and decide if it’s worth doing. Are you ready? Then let’s get started!

Isolation Training- The Good

Let’s start with the pros of isolation training. Isolation training is when target specific part of the body with the goal of either building muscle (spot training) or burning fat (spot reducing). Let’s put a pin on the latter goal and focus solely on muscle building. Say you’re looking to add definition to your shoulders. They’re small, and you want to appear more athletic. So, in theory, isolating that body part with frequent training could work. Now, what are the advantages of this training?

• When Done Right, It Can Work: When you isolate a targeted area, you most certainly can influence its definition and size with the right training. If you know how to activate those muscles with the right exercises, intensity, and consistency (this is a big one), then you can see some improvements. So, if you’re prone to, say, skinny legs and would like to build them up like a dancer’s, then training them more often can help to tone and shape them.
• Brings Up Weaknesses: Even if the goal isn’t about aesthetics, you can still apply isolation training to your weaknesses. Say you have a very strong upper body but a weak lower body. Doing pull-ups and push-ups is a breeze, but squats and lunges are downright intimidating. With isolation training, you get to bring up those lagging, weak areas with (you guessed it) the right intensity and consistency. Over time, they should be getting stronger. You’ll know straight away by how much easier certain exercises become.
• Physical Therapy: On a similar note, if you have any injuries or structural imbalances, then isolation training can work as physical therapy.
• Supports Total Body Exercises: In some instances, isolation training can be used to complement total body exercise. Take a multi-joint exercise like the deadlift. While you’re working your entire body in this exercise, it does require strength from different parts of your body (and not just one); hip flexors, core, and upper back. If those areas aren’t strong enough, then performing the deadlift will be way more challenging. Not only that, you may not be working those areas as effectively if they’re too weak. So, while the deadlift can help to strengthen them, isolation exercises like the kettlebell swing (for the hips) and row (for the core and back) will lead to a more powerful deadlift down the line.

Isolation Training-The Bad

For every pro there is a con. Here are the drawbacks to isolation training.

• It Doesn’t Spot Reduce: In theory, if you can build muscle any place you’d like, then you can do the same with burningfat. Take the belly pooch for example. Many people claim that the rest of their body looks amazing while their stomach, or abs, can’t seem to change. They do hundreds of crunches but can’t seem to get rid of the pooch in their belly. Here’s what’s going on. When it comes to the stomach diet plays a huge role. A million crunches aren’t going to replace a bad diet. And isolation training alone doesn’t work the entirebody. With multi-joint exercises like squats, planks, and overhead presses, you’re activating your core in addition to the rest of your body, which builds strength and burns fat more effectively.
• Overtraining: To build muscle, you need to give them a break after working them. Because when you train a muscle, you’re not building them. You’re breaking them down. It’s in the recovery phase where you build up those tiny, broken fibers into stronger, newer ones. If you want to see results, you need to give your body a chance to recover between workouts. With isolation work, the risk of overtraining is higher because, depending on both intensity and frequency, you could be hindering the recovery process. What happens? Less muscle strength, tone, and risk of injury.
• May Backfire:Everyone responds to exercise differently. But in some people, spot training can backfire. What if your legs tend to bulk up from lots of lower body training? Why would you do spot training if you know it’s going to create even more muscle? More is not always better. And in this case, total body training works because it trains the lower body just enough without overstimulating it. So, with isolation training, you need to be strategic. Don’t use it to train areas that don’t need the extra attention.
• Imbalances:If you’re one of my male readers, then I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “Don’t skip leg day.” In the bodybuilding world, it’s quite common to see guys walking around with massive arms and skinny legs. That’s due to a lack of structure in their training; they prioritize the upper body while neglecting the lower body. Aside from looking silly, they’re also at a risk for creating imbalances. This shouldn’t be ignored; imbalances lead to pain, injury, misalignment, inflexibility, and further weakness in different areas of the body. For instance, did you know that your glutes (booty) supports your lower back? If you’re not working them and happen to have back pain, that too could be one of the culprits. 

Isolation Training- Is It Right for You?

With all things said and done, you might be wondering whether or not isolated training is any good. And the simple answer boils down to your goals and bio-individuality. However, let me list both the right and wrong instances for doing it:

The Pros to Isolation Training…

• Building more muscle or definition in specific areas (shoulders, calves, glutes, etc.)
• Rehabilitation/ Physical Therapy
• Fixing muscle imbalances/weakness

I still recommend you combine isolation training exercise with full-body exercises. Consider using your area of choice as the main focus of a workout without neglecting the rest of your body. In the ZGYM, these would be routines from series like Legs Like a Dancer and Black Diamond Upper Arms & Abs.

The Cons to Isolation Training…

• Certain body parts easily bulk up
• You’re a beginner, in which case you need to start working on your entire body instead of partsof it
• You start ignoring the rest of your body (increases the chances for injuries and visual and strength imbalances)

Alright everyone, hope this settles the debate! As you can see, there’s usually an ‘it depends’ kind of answer.  Not everything is black-and-white. However, I prefer total body training over spot training. It leads to greater muscle response and fat burning. It’s also why the ZGYM-method of training has been around for so long. It’s smart, effective, and efficient. To learn more about this approach, check out the following post about the Importance of Whole Body Training.