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Fitness influencer Sean Nalewanyj provided a unique perspective on isolation exercises. The bodybuilder explained that people doing isolation exercises often make three mistakes. However, none of the issues he listed were related to exercise selection or having the correct form. Instead, Nalewanyj pointed out fundamental problems with the approach to isolation exercises.

Sean Nalewanyj is a popular fitness influencer known for his no-nonsense fitness-related videos. Nalewanyj’s short videos are crammed with information. He helps his followers with everything from exercise execution to diet advice and points out potential mistakes they might be making. In his recent short video, Nalewanyj not only named the three mistakes but also explained why people are “definitely leaving gains on the table,” by making them.

Having a wrong approach to the right exercises

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The mistake Sean Nalewanyj highlighted was people thinking they needed to do “higher reps” while performing isolation exercises. The Fitness influencer explained that if some preferred doing higher reps it’s a subjective choice, but otherwise doing lower reps is fine. “As long as your technique remains solid and your joints feel okay,” using lower reps is not an issue.

 

In fact, doing lower reps might allow people to use heavier weights, which would be another approach toward hypertrophy. Instead of the regular 8 to 12 reps, you might consider doing 5 to 7 reps with “single joint” movements. The second mistake Nalewanyj pointed out was “obsessing over feeling the muscle.” While forming a mind-muscle connection is crucial, people often give it too much priority.

“Isolation exercises are all about the squeezing,” is a common misconception. The fitness influencer explained that people get obsessed over squeezing the muscle so much during isolation movements that they often ignore the execution of the exercise. While the muscle “sensation” during exercise is “one metric” to gauge effectiveness, it’s not the only one.

People should prioritize “quality exercise selection and execution,” before worrying about sesnastion. While the third mistake isn’t exclusive to isolation exercises it’s certainly more of a hassle.

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Don’t forget to keep track

The fitness influencer explained that the third mistake is “failing to track progressive overload.” Nalewanyj said that people often fail to track how much weight they’re lifting across different exercises. While compound movement movements might be slightly easier to track, people perform too many isolation movements to remember everything.

Hence, failing to track how much a person lifts throws off their progressive overload pattern. Progressively overloading how much you lift is essential for muscle growth. Nalewanjy explained that maintaining a log book is an easy solution.

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Although a person might be following the right exercise plan, these mistakes could hamper the fitness journey. Are you making any of the mistakes Nalewanyj mentioned?