Integration vs Isolation
Which is better when trying to get the most bang for your buck with your workout routine? Movements that are integrative in nature or ones that focus on muscular isolation? My primary goal for this article is to educate you on the importance of the choice you make and how it relates to your fitness, health and well-being.
Let’s start off by defining each. According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, to integrate is “to form, coordinate, or blend into a functioning or unified whole.” Conversely, to isolate is “to set apart from others.” With this in mind, I want you to visualize yourself doing an everyday, run-of-the mill movement like picking up a box. When bending over to pick up the box, do you use one specific muscle to perform the lift? Of course not! The lifting of the box is achieved by recruiting several muscles in the body, all of which work in unison to perform the task successfully. Similarly, what happens when you can’t open a jar of jelly or jam? You bring the container in close to your core, tense up your whole body and turn as hard as you possibly can! On both occasions you integrated and did not isolate.
The same can be said for how you design your workout routines. Integrate! Don’t Isolate! Perform compound movements that incorporate several muscles groups in order for the movement to be done successfully. Unless you are a bodybuilder training specifically for bodybuilding, you have no business performing isolation movements. Your workout routines should be designed with the primary goal of increasing functionality for direct application in your life or chosen sport. The most productive and efficient forms of movements to achieve this are integration movements. Below are some integration movements that you can perform as an alternative to some of your existing exercises. Try them; you will be pleasantly surprised with their effectiveness! And once again, remember…Integrate! Integrate! Integrate!
Instead of a Bench Press try a Cable Press
Instead of a Seated Row try a Pull-Up
Instead of a Leg Press try a Lunge
Instead of a Crunch try a Plank
Instead of Leg Extensions try Squats
