Difference between Isolation and Compound movements

An isolation movement aims to work on a single muscle and is mostly a single-joint movement. In reality is it impossible to isolate and work over a specific muscle and in practice what we try is to maximize the stress on that specific muscle while minimizing it on other muscles. Bicep curl, hammer curl, leg extension, leg curl and tricep extension are examples of isolation movements.

On the other hand, a compound movement works over more than one muscle. It is mostly a multi-joint movement. The squat is a compound movement which involves a group of muscles being trained which includes the hamstrings, quadriceps and lower back muscles. Bench press, squat, clean and press, Dead lift and snatch are examples of compound movements.