Thought I'd share this great bit of info with you from Mr Poliquin:

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Remember the seven levels of muscle activation. One of the keys in strength training is to choose the right exercise, what I [Charles Poliquin] refer as the “most bang for your buck” exercise.

The following is a modification of Dietmar Schmidtbleicher’s chart on levels of activation. A Swedish colleague Riccard Nillson and I [Charles Poliquin] added the seventh level. One should devote their training with mostly level 5 and above exercises:

.::. Compound vs isolation exercises (Neuromuscular activity – NMA) .::.

Level 1 – Isolation exercise on variable resistance machine (i.e. Leg extension on cam type machine i.e. Cybex Leg Extension, DAVID Leg curl)

Level 2 – Complex exercise on variable resistance machine (i.e. Leg press on Nautilus machine, LifeFitness Incline Press Machine)

Level 3 – Isolation exercise with constant resistance machine (i.e. Scott pulley curls, Triceps pressdown on pulley machine.)

Level 4 – Complex exercise with constant resistance machine (i.e. Leg press on standard machine)

Level 5 – Isolation exercise with free weights (i.e. Scott barbell curls, lying flyes)

Level 6 – complex exercise with free weights (Snatch pulls, power cleans)

Level 7 – complex exercise with free weights (i.e. Power Snatch, dips on rings, rope climbing)