Introduction
Are you tired of spending hours in the gym without seeing your desired results? It’s time to upgrade your workout routine and maximize your efficiency with compound exercises. In this article, we’ll show you how to incorporate compound exercises into your fitness regimen and achieve more in less time.
Compound exercises are movements involving multiple muscle groups simultaneously. They engage multiple muscles simultaneously, allowing you to perform fewer exercises to cover your whole body. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gym-goer, compound exercises are here to take your workouts to the next level.
Compound exercises save precious time by working multiple muscle groups in one go. This helps you achieve your fitness goals more efficiently. Say goodbye to long, tedious workouts and hello to a more effective fitness routine.
Get ready to supercharge your fitness routine with the power of compound exercises. Say goodbye to long, boring workouts and hello to a more effective way of achieving your fitness goals. It’s time to start seeing the results you’ve been craving.
Compound exercises vs. isolation exercises
To understand the true value of compound exercises, it’s important to compare them to isolation exercises. As the name suggests, isolation exercises target specific muscles in the body. Examples of isolation exercises include bicep curls, tricep extensions, and leg extensions.
While isolation exercises have their place in a well-rounded fitness routine, they are not as efficient as compound exercises when it comes to maximizing your workout efficiency. This is because isolation exercises only work one muscle group at a time, meaning you must perform multiple exercises to train different muscle groups.
In contrast, compound exercises engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, allowing you to work your entire body in a shorter time. This saves you time and ensures that you are training your muscles functionally and coordinated. Examples of compound exercises are rows, squats, and presses.
Understanding the benefits of compound exercises
Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that engage multiple muscles at once. Instead of isolating specific muscles, these exercises engage more muscle groups simultaneously, improving efficiency as one exercise can replace multiple isolation ones [1].
Efficient use of time
One of the most significant benefits of compound exercises is their efficiency. With compound exercises, you can work multiple muscle groups simultaneously, achieving more in less time. Instead of spending hours at the gym performing isolation exercises, you can condense your workout by incorporating compound movements.
For example, instead of doing separate exercises for your chest, shoulders, and triceps, you can simultaneously fatigue all of those muscles performing a chest press. This allows you to save time while still effectively working these muscles.
Increased cardiovascular benefits
Because multiple muscles are involved in one movement, the cardiac requirements are higher than in isolation movements. This increases the cardiovascular system’s demand, leading to better cardiovascular benefits and improvements [2].
To challenge the cardiovascular system even further, you can perform compound movements one after another without resting in between. This is also known as circuit training. Combining this approach with the one-set-to-failure methodology, you can complete your workouts in as little as 10 minutes while fatiguing the whole musculature and cardiovascular system.
Avoiding dangerous ranges of motion
Regarding safety in the gym, compound exercises have a clear advantage over single-joint movements. Why? Because they naturally avoid the extremes of muscle and joint motion that can put you at risk for injury.
Here’s the deal: Compound exercises engage multiple muscles at once, which means they naturally limit the range of motion of each muscle involved. This built-in control helps prevent you from reaching those dangerous end points where injuries are more likely to occur.
Let’s break it down with an example. Take the bench press versus dumbbell flies. With the bench press, the movement primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps, with the range of motion carefully controlled by the barbell’s position. This controlled movement pattern reduces the risk of overextension and potential injury to the shoulder joint.
Now, contrast that with dumbbell flies. In this exercise, the shoulders are placed in a vulnerable position when fully extended, increasing the risk of strain or injury. Without the built-in control of a compound movement, you’re more susceptible to pushing your muscles beyond their safe limits.
Compound exercises like the bench press are often hailed as safer alternatives to single-joint movements like the fly. Compound exercises help keep you safe while pushing your limits in the gym by naturally limiting the range of motion and avoiding potentially weak positions.
Mitigation of sticking points
Compound movements are like your personal biomechanics coach in the gym, automatically adjusting the load to match your strength throughout each exercise. Here’s how it works:
Imagine you’re doing a bench press. As you lower the barbell to your chest and then push it back up, the leverage changes with each movement phase. At the bottom of the lift, your chest muscles are put under a higher load, but they are also in a strong position from which they can generate force. But as you lift the barbell toward a full extension, the exercise leverage improves, while the chest muscle shortens and is actually becoming less able to generate force.
This dynamic load adjustment is key to overcoming sticking points, those frustrating moments when you hit a wall in your lift due to biomechanical limitations. With compound movements, the weight is typically heaviest where you’re strongest—like at the midpoint of the lift—and lighter where leverage is less advantageous, such as at the bottom and top of the movement.
Compound movements help you power through sticking points and keep your gains moving forward by automatically matching the load to your strength throughout the range of motion. It’s like having a built-in spotter, ensuring you’re always lifting safely and effectively.
Increased calorie burn
Compound exercises aren’t just efficient – they’re calorie-burning powerhouses. Here’s why:
When you perform compound exercises, you’re not just targeting one muscle group but engaging multiple muscles at once. This means your body must work harder to stabilize and coordinate the movement, resulting in a higher calorie burn than isolated exercises.
Think about it: With every rep of a compound movement, you’re demanding more from your muscles and metabolism. Your body works overtime to keep up with the complex movement patterns, leading to an increased metabolic demand that translates to more calories burned.
This elevated calorie burn is great for torching fat and improving overall cardiovascular fitness. By pushing your body to work harder during compound exercises, you strengthen your heart and lungs and boost your endurance—all while shedding those extra calories.
Improved muscle coordination and balance
Compound exercises are like the ultimate coordination workout for your muscles. Here’s why:
When you do compound movements, you’re not just working one muscle group but several at once. This teaches your body to move as a team, improving coordination and balance.
Take the deadlift, for example. It targets several muscles, including your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. You’re training your body to use these muscles together by doing deadlifts regularly, spreading the workload evenly.
And here’s the best part: When your muscles learn to work together better, it’s not just about lifting weights. It’s about being more stable and coordinated, from carrying groceries to playing sports.
Versatility and variety
Compound exercises offer various movement variations, providing versatility and variety in workouts without special equipment. You can modify the exercise protocol, range of motion, and repetition speed on many bodyweight exercises to provide adequate resistance and intensity. This can be more challenging for many isolation exercises, except when performing static contractions and no-external load training.
For example, a basic compound exercise like the push-up can be modified to increase or decrease difficulty. To adjust the intensity, you can perform push-ups on an incline or decline or use resistance bands or weights to increase the challenge. This versatility allows you to challenge your muscles and prevent workout plateaus and boredom of performing the same routine.
How to incorporate compound exercises into your workout routine
Now that you understand the benefits and science behind compound exercises, it’s time to learn how to incorporate them into your workout routine. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gym-goer, there are several ways to introduce compound exercises and maximize your workout efficiency.
Compound exercises should be prioritized in your training program. Instead of isolation exercises, begin your workouts with compound movements that target multiple muscle groups. This will ensure that you work your muscles efficiently. Add the end, you can add isolation movements to target specific areas.
When selecting compound exercises, choose those that target the major muscle groups in your body. This includes exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead presses, rows, and pull-ups. Focusing on these compound movements allows you to train your entire body and achieve a well-rounded physique.
Consider incorporating supersets and circuit training into your routine to maximize your workout efficiency further. Supersets involve performing two or more exercises back-to-back without rest, while circuit training involves performing a series of exercises in a circuit format. Both techniques allow you to work different muscle groups consecutively, saving time and increasing the intensity of your workouts.
Best compound exercises
Squats
Squats are a fundamental compound exercise that targets multiple muscle groups, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and core muscles. They are incredibly versatile and can be performed using various equipment, such as barbells, dumbbells, using your body weight or even with static contraction protocol by just holding a deep squat position for as long as you can.
To perform a squat, start with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your chest up, engage your core, and lower your body by bending at the hips and knees. Pushing your buttocks back while simultaneously bending the knees is important to engage more of the posterior. Strive to prevent forward movement of the knees. To limit pressure on the knees, you should actively try to keep them distanced away from your toes.
Once you reach (roughly) parallel position, you slowly reverse the direction of the movement, push through your heels, and slowly return to the starting position.
Deadlifts
Deadlifts are another powerful compound exercise primarily targeting the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. They also engage the core, upper back, and grip strength. Deadlifts can be performed with a barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell, as well as with a towel strap and in a static fashion.
Start with your feet hip-width apart and the barbell in front of you to perform a deadlift. Bend at your hips and knees, keeping your back straight, and grip the barbell with an overhand or mixed grip.
Drive through your heels and stand up, extending your hips and knees. Lower the barbell back to the floor with control. Similarly to squats, push the buttock backward to put the load on the posterior and avoid pressure on the knees.
Horizontal Chest press
The horizontal chest press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The essence of the horizontal chest press is that you perform the pressing motion in the horizontal direction away from the torso. This is best performed lying on the back, seated, or in the push-up position.
Performing it in a seated or push-up position also engages the core muscles (abdomen and lower back) and the shoulder stabilizers. You can perform the horizontal chest press using a barbell, dumbbell, or bands, with body weight only or with a towel, and leveraging the static contraction protocol.
When performing the horizontal chest press, it is important to pull your shoulder blades down (shoulder depression) and backward (shoulder retraction). Your hands should be slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle while performing the movement. Avoid overstretching your chest and shoulders at the bottom and locking out the elbows at the top of performing the exercises dynamically.
Pull up or pull down
Pull-downs or pull-ups are an effective compound exercise for targeting the back, biceps, and shoulders. They also engage the core and grip strength. Pull-ups can be performed using a pull-up bar or assisted with resistance bands.
To perform a pull-up, grip the bar with your palms facing away, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended. Pull your body up towards the bar, leading with your chest, until your chin is above the bar. Lower yourself back down with control.
Keep your scapula engaged when lowering to the starting position and prevent falling out of the retracted position. This will limit the range of motion and prevent overloading the scapula’s weak stabilizers (weak compared to the bigger muscles of the shoulders, arms, and upper back).
Horizontal Row
The horizontal row is a fundamental strength training exercise that primarily targets the upper back muscles, including the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and middle trapezius while engaging the biceps and rear deltoids to a lesser extent. This exercise can be performed using various equipment, such as a barbell, dumbbells, resistance bands, or a cable machine, as well as statically in a seated position and with a towel.
Start by standing or sitting with a straight back, shoulders pulled back and down in a retracted and depressed position, and core engaged for stability. Grasp the chosen equipment with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, ensuring the wrists remain neutral.
Initiate the movement by pulling the equipment towards the body, driving the elbows back in a controlled manner while keeping the shoulders tucked into the retraction and depression. Focus on squeezing the shoulder blades together at the peak of the contraction to fully engage the target muscles.
Throughout the movement, maintain a neutral spine position, avoiding arching or rounding of the back. Keep the chest lifted and the chin tucked, with the gaze directed forward. Similarly to the pull-up, this limits the range of motion and keeps the tension on the big muscles of the shoulders, arms, and upper back.
Vertical shoulder press
The overhead press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the shoulders and engages the triceps and upper back. It helps improve shoulder strength, stability, and overall upper body power. You can perform the overhead press using a barbell, dumbbell, dedicated machine, or statically with a towel or towing strap.
To perform an overhead press, start with the weights at shoulder height, palms facing forward. Keep your shoulders depressed downwards throughout the movement. It is also important to keep your torso straight and avoid leaning backward. Press the weights directly overhead, but avoid locking out your arms. Lower the weights back down to shoulder height with control. Performing the vertical shoulder press in a standing position more intensely involves the core muscles (abdominal and lower back). However, it does encourage issues and injuries of the lower back due to the tendency to lean backward.
Conclusions
Incorporating compound exercises into your workout routine is a game-changer for maximizing efficiency and achieving your fitness goals. Working multiple muscle groups simultaneously saves time, burns more calories, and builds functional strength. In summary, compound exercises are a powerful tool for maximizing workout efficiency. Incorporating these multi-joint movements into your fitness routine can save time, increase intensity, and improve your workouts’ safety and efficiency. So, why wait? Start incorporating compound exercises into your workouts today and take your fitness journey to new heights!
Literature
[1] S. Knez, “Single-joint versus multi-joint exercise – The big difference,” BrevisFit. Accessed: Apr. 01, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://brevis-fit.com/single-versus-multi-joint-exercise/
[2] S. Knez, “How To Boost Your Heart Health Through Exercise,” BrevisFit. Accessed: Mar. 23, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://brevis-fit.com/how-to-boost-your-heart-health-through-exercise/
