Though it isn't very well-known to the public, there has been quite a bit of research that has been consistently pointing further and further away from the "isolation training" mindset. It's been well-known that no muscle operates in pure isolation, but there has been another element at work in our bodies that we had no idea existed until fairly recently.
This "new" element is, in fact, an organ. It's called Fascia, and it turns out it's an integral part of our musculature. Consider it like the casing of a sausage. It covers our muscles and connects to them in way we're still discovering. The reason it's so new is that until recently researchers would just cut through it on their way to study muscles.
The way it connects our muscles together is intricate and complex, and is even more proof that our bodies are indeed designed to work as a whole unit, instead of working with individual muscles. I've yet to read all the studies, but this new research may very well revolutionize our ideas of functional and movement-based training...possibly even training in its entirety!
We now know that all of our muscles are interconnected through this fascia, so there is truly no such thing as isolation. Thomas Myers' book, Anatomy Trains, is now considered THE text regarding anatomy, including fascia and all its interconnectedness. As I continue to research this area and discover findings on training the fascial system, I will let you know!
Train Smart!
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