Black and white statements can generally be dismissed as ignorant, if not downright stupid. Those making such statements may not be stupid—they may just have been persuaded by stupid individuals to not actually think about what they’re saying (lots of that going around these days).

Isolation exercises are not functional. Possibly one of the stupidest things that’s ever been said. Let’s consider why for a moment.

First, to classify something as functional or not, we better understand what the term functional means: “designed for or capable of a particular function or use,” is how Princeton’s online dictionary defines it. By this definition, anything is functional; for example, supinating dumbbell curls are wholly functional because they were created in order to train both the elbow flexion and forearm rotation functions of the biceps, and do exactly that.

That being said, I do realize that in the context of exercise, people have a different sense of the word in mind. There is a vague notion of “natural” or multi-joint or similar to certain athletic movements. This still makes little sense, considering that many of what would widely be considered functional exercises have no resemblance at all to any natural movement, and that the variety of athletic movements pretty much ensures that something resembling movement for one sport has nothing to do with another sport. This leaves us with a few extremely basic exercises such as squatting, pulling and pressing variations that could be universally considered “functional”.

The point of all this is simply to say that using the functional tag to justify or reject the use of exercises is not particularly… functional. Determining the appropriateness of a given exercise is something that requires knowledge of the athlete who will be using it and for what purpose it will be used. In other words, the question is not, Is this exercise functional? but Is this exercise productive in this case? Anyone who can look you in the eye with a straight face and tell you that with regard to isolation exercises, the answer is always no, is a moron.

Even if you never once in your entire career use or prescribe an isolation exercise, you should be doing so because you’ve determined that in all the cases you’ve encountered, it has not been appropriate—not because you heard on the internet that isolation exercises are only for bodybuilders, and that bodybuilders are unathletic wankers. Neither concept is necessarily true, and more importantly, the mindset that would allow decisions like exercise selection to be made on such absurd pretenses is an enormous handicap for either a coach or athlete.

Since it’s essentially impossible to actually isolate a single muscle short of direct electric stimulation or some kind of brain probing anyway, if it makes you feel better, call them focus exercises rather than isolation exercises—they’re simply a way to ensure a certain muscle group, function, position or movement is receiving adequate training within the program as a whole. I’m not sure why this notion has become so repugnant to so many (actually I know exactly why…).

When and Why

The most obvious situation in which isolation work is potentially useful or even necessary is the case of injury rehabilitation, such as encouraging hypertrophy in a post-injury or surgery atrophied muscle. Another is correcting imbalances that are disrupting proper movement and/or creating opportunity for injury. Finally, there are simply certain muscles and functions that are not trained to a great enough degree for certain individuals using “functional” exercises.

A perfect example of this last point is the neck. For athletes such as football players, wrestlers and other combat athletes, neck strength and stamina is critical not only for success but safety. If, as a trainer or coach, you instruct one of these athletes to not do any neck work, because isolation training is not functional and totally uncool, you are an irresponsible, ignorant wanker who should lose his or her job. I mean that in the nicest, most supportive manner possible. Personally, I think neck training is good for everyone, whether or not they plan on running into large people or trying not to get flattened against a sweaty mat.

Finally, let’s talk about aesthetics. Set aside your puritanical athletic focus for a moment and consider the fact that EVERYONE cares about how they look. Yes, some care more than others and consequently prioritize goals differently. But anyone who says they have absolutely no interest in their appearance is either lying or so enlightened that they have very little time left here on Earth anyway.

There’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, trying desperately to prove to the world that you only care about performance, and that anyone who thinks otherwise is a wanker, is, in my opinion, no less narcissistic than of what these individuals are accusing others. Get over it and move on.

Jay Schroeder made a great point once when asked why his football players did curls. Quite simply, he believed that doing curls made bigger biceps, bigger biceps made the players feel good about their appearance, feeling good about their appearance made the players more confident, and that increased confidence made them play better. From this perspective, curls can be considered completely functional for the football player. If it improves performance, who cares how?

So throw in some curls, calf-raises and shrugs if you feel like it, and don’t take anyone’s shit about it.

Think About It

This article isn’t necessarily meant to encourage everyone to start using a bunch of isolation work in their training—it’s simply to encourage some consideration of why you’re doing what you’re doing… or not doing. If you can honestly evaluate the needs of yourself or your clients and determine there is no reason to include any isolation work, there’s nothing wrong with that. If, however, there is a need or use for it and you refuse to include it, you need to step back and re-evaluate your perspective.

The interwebz is abounding with good (among the bad) information regarding neck training, grip training and other similar elements you may consider employing. Spend some time reading and speaking with other coaches and athletes—with an open mind. Just because you hear or see it doesn’t mean you have to agree with or use it. But if you don’t even give yourself the chance to learn about it, you’re going to have a tough time implementing it.