What is the “Compound Approach” to youth mentoring about?
Let’s explain this concept in body-building terms.
Body-builders get big arms doing heavy arm curls, right?
Wrong! Arm curls develop the biceps. 2/3rds of the size of the upper arm is the triceps muscle.
OK. So then, body builders get big arms doing heavy triceps exercises, right?
Wrong! Both arm curls and triceps extensions are isolation exercises. They only work the main target muscle. As a finishing exercise these are of great importance but they are no good for building massive size, usable strength and power. That is because, when you are working the smaller muscles (like biceps and triceps), you can only load them to a certain extent. The result is that these isolation exercises are not completed with maximum poundage, therefore maximum intensity is not achieved (and gaining bulk muscle mass/strength/power is all about training at the very highest intensity).
The best method to build massive muscle mass/strength/power is to use compound exercises. These exercises use other muscles to assist, which means that much heavier weights can be employed. Heavier weight equals higher intensity. Higher intensity equals bulk muscle/strength/power gain.
The Compound approach to youth mentoring (for life skills) is all about using all of the tools (all of the muscles in the body) to create maximum effect (maximum poundage). This is our metaphor for the basic grounding required to start a successful life. To begin with, it is merely a constant transfusion of faith in youth, until youth have the capacity to generate faith in them-selves. Then comes the motivation, the goal setting, and the effort of pursuit.
In body building you still need the isolation exercises to finish, refine, and define the individual muscles. This is where bicep curls and triceps extension exercises are needed. This is our metaphor for specialisation sought at some point down the career path for youth. This is where the most valuable skills are honed.
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