Is muscle isolation a good practice, bad practice or just not the most optimal?
There is no good or bad. It all depends on the situation.
Isolation is a misnomer: muscles all work together, synergy.
I use “isolation techniques” when I am teaching a cleint about certain muscle groups, but mostly as a tool not a technique of fitness.
Isometrics sometimes have to be used if a client has joint issues or mobility problems.
Personally I don’t see the point of isolating a muscle otherwise.
Joanne, some literature call it the Moro reflex and it does exist in adults. A simple explanation is that the body has a built in fight/flight/freeze response, and most of the time a “weak” muscle gets stuck in the “freeze response” and once you unstick it, it returns to normal function, most of the time instantly. The sad part of it Joanne, is that you will never find out how? in the Fitness World, you have to search for it in the Physical Therapy world. Joanne i hope this answers your question? Take care.
Louie, it is great to see your here on the forum again.
Before I respond, I’d like to say that I am forever a work-in-progress. I have no desire to stop increasing my knowledge about the human body and humbly say I don’t know everything. I am knowledgeable in some things but far from an expert.
Louie, please correct me if I am mistaken. Are you referring to the Moro reflex also known at the embrace reflex or the startle reflex?
I’ve included a link so all can know what you are referring to in the case we are on the same page. If I am mistaken, I’d like to be enlightened.
Moro (startle reflex in infants)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2508818082092298520
Moro Reflex (startle) definition
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5864198_startle-response_.html
Louie, if this is what you are referring to, I really don’t see the correlation. Help me out with this please.
Thanks.
N.B. We all know that no muscle group can work in isolation. Agonists, antagonists, stabilizers and neutralizers all work together (among other components to produce movement).
Gus, your question was answerd by more questions? How about a solution? Fixing the startle or withdrawal reflex in the body, will fix the isolation problem so it wont interfere with the chain reaction and the chain reaction wont worry about the isolation, is that simple and it can be done in a matter of seconds. This is what happens when you understand how the human body functions. Hope this helps?