Single-Joint vs Multi-Joint Exercises: Which builds more muscle?
It’s a debate that has circulated gyms, podcasts, and fitness forums for years:
Should you focus on compound, multi-joint exercises like squats, deadlifts, and presses?
Or are single-joint isolation moves like curls, lateral raises, and leg extensions just as valuable?
The truth, as usual, lies in the context. And the science.
Let’s break down what research actually says about the role of single-joint vs multi-joint exercises for hypertrophy, strength, and smart program design.
What Are Single-Joint and Multi-Joint Exercises?
Single-joint exercises involve movement around one joint and typically target a specific muscle group.
Examples:
Bicep curls
Tricep pushdowns
Leg extensions
Lateral raises
Multi-joint exercises involve movement across two or more joints, allowing for heavier loads and broader muscle group activation.
Examples:
Squats
Deadlifts
Bench press
Pull-ups
Multi-joint exercises are often considered the foundation of strength programs, but that doesn’t mean isolation work is irrelevant.
What the Research Says About Muscle Growth
A 2021 meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine concluded that total training volume and progressive overload are the primary drivers of hypertrophy—not the specific type of exercise performed.
Schoenfeld et al., 2021
Whether you are doing barbell squats or leg extensions, if the volume and mechanical tension are high enough, you can build muscle.
A 2024 SportsRxiv preprint backed this up, showing similar hypertrophy results between groups doing single-joint and multi-joint training when total weekly volume was matched.
SportsRxiv Preprint, 2024
Still, multi-joint lifts tend to be more efficient for training multiple muscle groups in less time.
Strength Gains: A Slight Edge for Compound Lifts
While hypertrophy may be equal under controlled conditions, strength gains tend to favor multi-joint exercises.
This is because:
You can use heavier loads
You involve more total musculature
You generate greater systemic adaptation
One study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that placing multi-joint exercises early in a session led to greater strength improvements—without negatively impacting hypertrophy.
Golas et al., 2020
How to Program Both Effectively
Here is a simple way to think about each tool in your programming toolkit:
Use multi-joint exercises to:
Build foundational strength
Train multiple muscle groups simultaneously
Develop motor coordination and movement efficiency
Use single-joint exercises to:
Bring up lagging muscle groups
Improve mind-muscle connection
Add training volume without overwhelming systemic fatigue
A 2023 meta-regression found that training volume, regardless of whether it came from compound or isolation lifts, was the most important factor for muscle growth.
Haun et al., 2023
Final Takeaways
Here is the big picture:
Both isolation and compound exercises can build muscle.
Compound lifts should be the foundation for strength and efficiency.
Isolation lifts are powerful tools for adding volume with less systemic fatigue and fine-tuning development.
The smartest programs combine both—based on individual goals, needs, and recovery capacity.
Scientific References:
Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D. W., & Plotkin, D. L. (2021). Loading recommendations for muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance: A re-examination of the repetition continuum. Sports, 9(2), 32.
Conlin, L. A., Aguilar, D. T., Rogers, G. E., & Campbell, B. I. (2021). Flexible vs. rigid dieting in resistance-trained individuals seeking to optimize their physiques: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 18(1), 52.
Brandão, L., de Salles Painelli, V., Lasevicius, T., Silva-Batista, C., Brendon, H., Schoenfeld, B. J., Aihara, A. Y., Cardoso, F. N., de Almeida Peres, B., & Teixeira, E. L. (2020). Varying the order of combinations of single- and multi-joint exercises differentially affects resistance training adaptations. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 34(5), 1254–1263.
Pelland, J. C., Remmert, J. F., Robinson, Z. P., Hinson, S., & Zourdos, M. C. (2024). The resistance training dose-response: Meta-regressions exploring the effects of weekly volume and frequency on muscle hypertrophy and strength gain. SportRχiv.
