Muscle Isolation Is Outdated—Here’s the Better Way to Train

I know, I might sound like the crazy person. But trust me, when I started working out at 14 years old (#truestory), I trained muscles in isolation. And it wasn’t just a teenage phase I trained this way for almost ten years. Even when I moved toward more integrated forms of training, I still sprinkled in some muscle isolation exercises. I mean, why not? They aren’t “bad,” right?

As I’ve gotten older, though, I’ve really moved away from muscle isolation not as some grand effort to be controversial, but because the more I learn about the body and my own training needs, the less necessary isolation work seems.

Let me say this upfront: you won’t die if you do muscle isolation exercises. But “not dying” wasn’t the reason individuals, sports teams, and major organizations hired me to coach. They wanted the optimal way to achieve their goals whether that meant increasing fitness, improving performance, reducing injuries, or yes, even enhancing aesthetics.

So why do I keep saying muscle isolation isn’t optimal? Maybe it’s best if I share a few things research tells us…

More core activation: This study (PMID: 22580983) concluded that “an integrated routine that incorporates the activation of distal trunk musculature would be optimal in terms of maximizing strength, improving endurance, enhancing stability, reducing injury, and maintaining mobility.”

Translation: core exercises that integrate other areas of the body (like the shoulders and hips) produce better results than core exercises that isolate only the core.

 

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Greater performance outcomes: This study (PMID: 23364296) compared isolated and integrated training to see which improved movement quality, vertical jump height, agility, muscle strength and endurance, and flexibility. The integrated group improved in all areas—far more than the isolated group, which only saw gains in strength and power. So, the idea that you need isolation to “get strong” doesn’t really hold up.

 

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Comparable muscle growth (hypertrophy): This study (PMID: 37461495) compared hip thrusts and back squats for muscle growth. Even though the hip thrust group had both higher EMG (muscle activity) and a stronger “pump” feeling, there was no real difference in muscle growth. This debunks the myth that higher activation or “feeling it” means better muscle development.

So let’s review: If we focus on integrated exercises, we get greater core activation, improved strength, power, endurance, agility, and flexibility—without sacrificing muscle growth. That doesn’t leave much of an argument for isolation training beyond “I just like doing it.”

And when we add in research showing that:

• A rear foot elevated split squat produces the same amount of force as a squat (PMID: 27182408)

• Single-leg squats can produce more force than bilateral squats (PMID: 30276019)

• PNF patterns can improve performance and strength more than popular strength training exercises (PMID: 18802264)

• Single-arm training produces just as much muscle growth as bilateral upper body training (PMID: 39794667)

…it becomes even clearer that isolation training just doesn’t make much sense.

 

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Why spend time, energy, and even risk to your body if it doesn’t lead to superior outcomes? It seems like a very inefficient way to train, doesn’t it?

This point becomes even more glaring when we consider that muscle isolation is simply not how the body was designed to function. Research consistently shows that muscles do not work in isolation in real life (PMID: 17383897, PMID: 27001027). So why train the body in a way it wasn’t designed to operate?

In fact, once we understand that our bodies are much more than just muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones, we can see how much more effective training can be. From the impact of the nervous system to the growing body of literature on fascia, there are simple ways to make training more effective and meaningful.

One of the best steps? Stop worrying about which muscles you’re “hitting,” drop the isolation mindset, and focus instead on movement patterns, planes of motion, and smarter ways to progress exercises.

If you want to find out more, check out our 2-week Coach’s Corner course on fascial training where we do a deep dive on these ideas and so much more. You can save 20% for a limited time with code “coach20” HERE