Is it necessary? YES
If you go all the way back to my early articles on Tnation, you will see I have always placed emphasis on isolation work for beginners, because it teaches them to “feel” the muscle and what each muscle feels like to stretch and contract. Call it neuromuscular coordination, mind–muscle connection or whatever you want.
All I know is, the best lifters, strength athletes and athletes I know have mastered control of their bodies, not just in space but within the ability to contract and relax.
I can take a top bodybuilder and ask them to sit in a chair with their arm resting on their legs. From this position I can ask them, without moving any limb from its position, to contract their right or left bicep, right or left pec, tricep, trap, delt, glute, quad, hamstring, erector, calves, lats and so on, and they can.
This body control makes the training process easier because of the increased awareness but also if they need to use more tricep when they bench, they know what to do, feel and look for.
Movement is all in vogue these days, but let’s not forget the importance of muscle awareness.
One of the best ways to teach and reinforce this is with isolation movements.
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