When it comes to designing your workout program, how many times have you made room for lifts such as bicep curls, tricep extensions, lateral raises, leg extensions, and so on?

Chances are fairly high that you've been on such a program at one point or another. The common thought is that if you want these muscles to grow and really get definition showing, you need to nail them hard with movements that are directly going to target them. Now, while you definitely do want to be working these muscles, you may want to rethink how you go about doing so.

Are your biceps not worked when you do a bent over row?

And, are your triceps not hit when you're doing a heavy bench press?

Add to that fact, aren't your quads completely exhausted after a good couple of sets of heavy squatting?

You bet they are. These compound movements are going to target those smaller movements while you're doing that lift. And, what's more, are you going to lift more weight when doing a bench press, bent over row, or squat compared with a bicep curl, tricep kickback, or leg extension?

You better believe you are (unless you've got one killer bicep curl going on there). And, is the route to generating the most strength and burning the highest number of calories from your sessions lifting as heavy of a weight while working as many muscles as possible.

Right again.

So, why are you doing those isolation exercises?

Keep in mind that the body only has so much in its reserve bank for recovery. Once you deplete that, you're out of that gym for a while resting. If you use up your reserves on smaller exercises what's left to really progress with?

Not a whole heck of a lot. You're far better off using your current supply of energy and really working the big lifts that are going to give you the best results possible. That is the key to building muscle, getting stronger, and seeing remarkable changes in your body over time.