Isolation Exercises

Hi all
 
About 5 months ago i took weight training back up after a very very long lay off (3 years of being a lazy slob).
 
Its been a slow process but the strength is coming back and people have noticed some size gains (and fat loss) too.
 
Thing is im very short of time generally, i work long hours, my wife insists on plenty of 'quality' time etc.. so i have to keep my workouts short..literally 30 mins a time.
 
With that in mind i tend to blast through the workout fast, and i stick to big compound exercises, for legs i do squats, for back i do deadlifts / pullups (or chinups) / rows, and i do bench and weighted push ups for chest..and just shoulder press to hit shoulders.
 
But i dont do a single isolation exercise for say..arms the hope being that all the chinups / rows etc will hit biceps and that forearms get hit hard during deadlift day etc.
 
Just wondering- how much do you think im missing out on by NOT doing the isolation work?. Would you consider reducing the compound exercises to fit isolation work in?.
 
Also- in the past when i had much more time to train, id only hit each muscle group twice a week at most, now- because im doing an awful lot less sets i tend to hit each muscle group 3-4 times a week to keep the volume of sets per week reasonable.
 
Do you think this is ok with respect to recovery? i do sometimes still feel soreness when i start a training session but it doesnt seem to inhibit training at all...
 
Thanks

Cheers mate, i appreciate the advice and know ill need to modify things eventually.
 
Its a real bind right now, i can spare 3 hours a week for training, but- its in tiny 30 mins slots so hence why ive struggled to fit in isolation stuff.
 
 

Same reason why I dont train isolations mate, takes up too much time. I tend to keep everything to a minimum. I guess it depends on your goals though. If youre a competitive bodybuilder or planning on becoming one then they may be of use. If your just looking to get in shape, add some mass and strength then to me it seems like a waste of time. Plus im thinking about the long term, curls/extensions dont seem to agree with my elbows and wrists, same with leg curls and extensions on my knees. Shoulder raises never felt to comfortable either.  I cant picture myself doing those for the rest of my life. Plus isolations are a very slow progression. I could cut curls out and concentrate on rows and chins for a year, come back to curls and guarantee I have increased the weight, which would seem that they only increase as your big lifts increase (I could be wrong though).
 
I use the extra time now for stretching, foam rolling, mobility work and I find that of more benefit. But yeah back to the original point i guess it depends on your goals. Since I dropped isolations and put more time and effort into the big lifts ive certainly seen alot of improvement. I dont understand these skinny guys that spend an entire 1 hour session on biceps... I wont be doing isolations ever again.

1. You won't miss them, certainly not at the stage you're at in your training.

2. Grow a pair re your wife...lifting is your hobby, and it's obviously important to you. I'm sure you wouldn't try to limit the time she wanted to spend at Zumba or knitting circles or whatever the f.uck it is women do for hobbies.

CitizenKane


2. Grow a pair re your wife...lifting is your hobby, and it's obviously important to you. I'm sure you wouldn't try to limit the time she wanted to spend at Zumba or knitting circles or whatever the f.uck it is women do for hobbies.

The world dosn't always work like that and without knowing any more info it may be a resonable request on behalf of the OPs wife. I know me and my partner have very little time together with work and kid, and I have had to cut down my training time. Off course Emma still moans on occassion as I don't do quick gym sessions but its never a that serious an issue, as she knows I need to do it!