Find Out Why We Love Compound Exercises

We are positive that there have been many times in the gym where you have seen people just using machines for isolation exercises but not really doing the squats, deadlifts and bench pressing exercises, those compound lifts. You will likely also see other people just focusing on those heavy squats and compound lifts yet not doing the isolation exercises like the leg extensions or the pec deck butterfly. So, which is better? We are going to have to vote for compound exercises!

What are compound exercises exactly, you ask? Easy…

Compound exercises in weight training are those that involve more than one joint and muscle group. Examples are squats, deadlifts and chin-ups. For example, the squat involves the joints of the knee, hip and ankle, and the muscles of the upper and lower legs and buttocks.

There truly is an overload of info about the best ways to build exercises and all these ‘new’ exercises to get you ripped. While new routines keep you interested, make sure you are still sticking to what has proven time and time again to produce the best results- compound exercises. Need more proof? Keep reading.

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Compound vs. Isolation

Compound exercises, such as the Bench Press and Squat, involve movements that engage multiple muscle groups and joints. On the other hand, isolation exercises—like Curls and Leg Extensions—involve the movement of a single joint and focus on one muscle group.

When you go into the weight room, most people are probably performing isolation exercises in hopes of building a specific muscle group. The problem with this strategy lies in the definition of isolation exercises: they only improve one muscle group at a time. If you want to build muscle throughout your entire body without spending an inordinate amount of time in the weight room, compound exercises are the way to go. Plus, working multiple large muscle groups releases elevated amounts of human growth hormone, which is essential for muscle growth.’

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To summarize this first part, compound exercises are meant to use multiple muscle groups and joints, while isolation moves just use one muscle group and one joint- it’s a basic concept…If you want to really use your time at the gym wisely, go for compound movements. When you use compound exercises, you are conditioning more than one group at a time AND increasing the levels of human growth hormone in your body- meaning more muscle growth!

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Lower-Body Exercises

If you’re serious about building muscle, lower-body compound exercises should be the feature of your program. Specifically, you should focus on the Squat, Deadlift and their variations. These two exercises engage nearly the entire lower body, including the quads, hamstrings and glutes. They even increase core and back strength.

Single-leg exercises are the next best type of compound movements for building muscle. By strengthening one leg at a time, you build muscle equally on both sides of the body, which is essential for athletes. The two best single-leg exercises are the Bulgarian Squat (Rear-Foot-Elevated Split-Squat) and the Lunge.

Upper-Body Exercises

Upper-body exercises are grouped into two categories: pushing and pulling. Pushing exercises—like Push-Ups, Bench Press and Shoulder Press—focus on the front side of the body, delts and triceps. Pulling exercises, like Pull-Ups and Rows, focus on the traps, lats, biceps and other back muscles.

Since no single exercise targets both sides of the body, you must make a concerted effort to include both pushing and pulling exercises in your workout. The strength you gain from each of them directly impacts the other. For example, if you have a weak back, you will not be able to challenge yourself on the Bench Press without risking injury.

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Follow the workouts above, and your routine is going very well-rounded- you will also get the most out of your time in the gym. Another point here is that no one exercise is going to target both sides of your both, so include pushing and pulling exercises for a complete workout.

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Compound exercises should be the core of your program- do you focus on compound exercises when you are at the gym?

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