Compound exercises produce the most dramatic overall anabolic effect on your entire body and they are superior to isolation movements for at least three reasons.1) They stimulate the most total muscle fiber at one time which means that you can work a wide range of muscles by performing only a small number of exercises. For example, the bench press is an awesome compound movement for the chest, but it also stimulates the shoulders and triceps at the same time.

2) Compound exercises allow you to lift the greatest amount of weight. This will result in a total body “spill over” effect, and will allow you to increase the amount of weight that you lift in your smaller isolation exercises at a quicker pace.

3) They increase anabolic hormone production. Muscles do not grow merely by being directly stimulated with weights. Muscle growth also occurs as your body kicks up its production of anabolic muscle-building hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone. The most effective way to increase the production of these hormones is through the use of intense, compound exercises.

Bottom line – Focus on compound exercises for the fastest results. Isolation exercises should still be included in your routine to ensure that you achieve total stimulation for every individual muscle group, but they should be viewed as a supplemental part of the routine rather than the core of it.