just using tri's as an example, the wt you can use for skullcruchers, french press whatever you wanna call them will not even be half of what you could close grip bench press and it gets even worse training from other "angles "pushdowns, overhead extensions etc...your best bet is to train with a variety of movement, rather than angles so you can still keep intensity high such as the exercises listed above

swans05 wrote:just using tri's as an example, the wt you can use for skullcruchers, french press whatever you wanna call them will not even be half of what you could close grip bench press and it gets even worse training from other "angles "pushdowns, overhead extensions etc...

right... but the reason you can move more weight is because you are using other muscles (chest, shoulders, etc.). If I want to fully develop my chest, Im going to incorporate compound movements along with isolation movements. If, like the OP is doing, I am training shoulders and chest along with tris, I will be hitting my tris with many other compound exercises (presses) before I get to working the tris. In that case, I would rather isolate the tricep and focus on a variety of movement.

I get what you are saying about muscle fiber recruitment. Take for example, chest. If my lower/outer pecs are not as developed as my upper pecs, it would make sense that I focus on movements that focus on that area, like wide decline presses. Of course, compound movements should be the base of any routine, but lagging areas can be brought up to par with isolation movements.

you can't "spotincrease" just like you can't spot reduce...bench presses whichever way you do them will work the entire chest muscle, not one side more than the other...this is why simply adding wt to the bar is the best way to get bigger...yes you are using more muscles to get the job done but the body gets bigger as a unit, not muscle by muscle which also why deads and squats are the best muscle building exercises

i haven't down a bi or tri iso for years i think my arms are alright but in the end they don't really have to do anything..they are simply levers coming out from the foundation (torso)

swans05 wrote:you can't "spotincrease" just like you can't spot reduce...bench presses whichever way you do them will work the entire chest muscle, not one side more than the other...this is why simply adding wt to the bar is the best way to get bigger...yes you are using more muscles to get the job done but the body gets bigger as a unit, not muscle by muscle which also why deads and squats are the best muscle building exercises

i haven't down a bi or tri iso for years i think my arms are alright but in the end they don't really have to do anything..they are simply levers coming out from the foundation (torso)

im going to have to respectfully disagree here. when you use the term "spot reduce"... i believe you are refering to fat reduction. i believe what you are saying when you refer to "spot increase" refers to muscle tissue. 2 different cells, muscle and fat. correct, as far as I am concerned you cannot spot reduce fat (without surgery of course). of course you can spot increase muscle! take delts for example... if i do front raises for one year straight (assuming i am adjusting my diet to gain muscle), my anterior delts experience more hypertrophy than my posterior or lateral delts.,.. right?
same goes for other areas... take quads for example. lets say i squat for one year, with a very very wide stance. all i do is squats all year round. i highly doubt that my legs would develop the same way they would if i used an extremely close stance. one movement focises on the inner muscle and one on the outer. There are 4 heads to the quaddricep, so you can focus on movements that may utilize one head more than the other, just like there are 3 for triceps.

i always train heavy compound movements. like say deadlifts, if you want to get big, you need to life heavy ass weights, agreed. but if you have a lagging area, it may need special attention.

we're on the same wave length, just diffeent terminology...where you say muscle i say movement...you might say i need more mid chest development where i'd say use a different exercise but keep it heavy, not having to some pissy ass flies or crosssovers to "shape" (which you can't do)

it's simply a bodybuilders mentality vs a performance trainer's mentality

definitely on point on the flyes. i think its funny when i hear people in the gym say "high reps get you deinition" or "cut you up"... it really has nothing to do w shaping the muscle as it increases muscular endurance.

shape/definition = muscle minus bodyfat

High reps for definiton, yeah, if you want a Lactic Acid burn, because clearly the "Burn", will melt Fat away, as that's why it's called the Burn.

NOT!!!!

Boss wrote:High reps for definiton, yeah, if you want a Lactic Acid burn, because clearly the "Burn", will melt Fat away, as that's why it's called the Burn.

NOT!!!!

lol nice one Boss.


anyway to the OP, heres an article that may help.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bigj5.htm