There is a fine line when it comes to making gains and failing.
The more complex the movement pattern is the higher concentration of hormones are produced. It is important to know when to use full body exercises and when to use isolated exercises to avoid a spike in cortisol production. Cortisol is the nemesis to muscle metabolism. Once cortisol levels rise too high, growth hormone plummets, weakening the anabolic effect. Knowing what intensity to use, how long the intensity should be sustained, and what exercise variations are beneficial are all important in making gains. Failure to understand the complexity of full body movements will result in 1. Injury, 2. Fat gain, 3. No results!
I see too many people doing too many exercise variations in one training session. This causes a dispersion of blood which will limit gains. In order to maximize the growth of muscle tissue there must be a higher concentration of blood to that area. The blood rush is the wonderful pumped feeling that is achieved in the muscle. More blood in the region will force new growth to the area. When you train multiple body parts at one time you negate the isolated blood pump and end up increasing more of the stress hormones. This will ultimately make the appearance of the body stringy. The younger guys might get lean and defined, because of there high concentration of natural testosterone, but they won’t develop the mass that most guys desire, and they won’t be able to sustain the definition as they age once their testosterone levels wane. You must perform isolated exercises to force a greater amount of blood to the region. That is why bodybuilding styel programs work so well in developing big muscles.
Daryl Conant, M.Ed