- Time-efficient: Compound exercises save time from having to complete individual exercises for each muscle group.
- Higher muscle fiber recruitment: Utilizing free weights and heavy weights enables clients to recruit more type II muscle fibers.
- Higher calorie burns The more muscle groups used in a weight lifting exercise the more energy needed.
- Muscle and strength gain: The higher potential of muscle growth and strength when using a heavier load.
- Avoid building imbalances: Isolation exercises can create imbalances through unilateral training. Compound training uses mainly bilateral movements.
- Improved RHR: Compound exercises involve many muscles and joints so much that an increase in heart rate provides a cardio benefit.
- Better flexibility: Compound exercises mimic real-life movements. Think of it as stretching with extra weight. They help improve the range of motion.
- Requires less equipment: For compound movements, all you need is a barbell, rack, and plate weights. Barbells and free weights are much more effective than machines.
- Improved neuromuscular coordination: The ability to control muscles during multi-joint movements is improved through central nervous system adaptations.
Working Safely Through Compound Exercises
Compound weight lifting includes moving heavyweights, which can lead to a higher risk of injury. It is important to take all safety precautions to reduce the risk of clients getting injured. Here are some safety tips to advise clients on.
- Warm-up: Always warm up the movement pattern your client will be performing with lighter weight first. Include dynamic warm-ups that target the muscles you will be using.
- Technique and form: Practice building proper form before increasing the load.
- Rest: Ample rest is important between sets. Strength training with compound exercises should include resting up to four minutes in between sets.
- Spot: Always provide a spot or ensure clients have a spotter when going heavy.
- Rest days: Having days off is important to give the nervous system a break from the stress compound lifting induces. Take 48 hours in between intense and heavy workouts before working the same movement or muscles.
- Prescribe splits: Splits ensure maximum intensity and volume with adequate rest. Two popular workout splits are performing upper body and lower body two times per week. Total of four days per week. Or three full-body workouts per week.
- Cooldown: Always cool down after a workout to improve blood circulation and heart rate recovery.
Isolation Exercises vs Compound Exercises
Isolation movements occur at one joint and do not recruit as many muscle fibers as compound lifts. Programs that consist of isolation movements require spending more time in the gym. Clients work more and harder for less of a return.
Most isolated exercises can only increase in weight so much. This places a limit on clients’ potential results. Include isolation lifts, like bicep curls, toward the end of a workout. They can help add more volume but are not necessary for strength gains.
For optimal results, incorporate a combination of both compound and isolation exercises. They allow you to work smarter and less with a greater return.
Compound exercises require less equipment and are more time-efficient. They produce great results without running the risk of building imbalances. Plus, they help improve functional fitness and prevent injuries by using the entire body. Compound lifts get clients the most bang for their buck.
Check out this study that supports the use of multi-joint exercise for strength increases in the lower body.
Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the top compound exercises to help your clients get more out of their workouts.
The Best Compound Exercises
The benefits of compound exercises are a result of them being multi-joint movements. When multiple joints are used, major muscle groups work at the same time.
Barbell Back Squat
Squats are a compound exercise or multi-joint movement. The squat movement pattern works many leg muscles, including the hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes. The hips, knees, and ankles are all joints involved in the workout, as compared to leg extensions which involve only the knee joint.
Although a leg exercise, the squat incorporates the upper body via different muscle groups. To have good squat form, the barbell must rest on the upper back. One must have good shoulder flexibility and strength to rest in this position. Shoulder width can contribute to the mobility potential and execution of the movement.
This helps keep the body upright and balanced. When the back muscles around the spine are engaged you reduce a client's risk of injury.
At the bottom or end range of the squat, the quadriceps are highly activated. This is due to the degree of bending in the knees. The quads initiate the movement of standing back up.
To stand back up the hips need to extend forward and the posterior chain needs to work even more. The hamstring and glutes are responsible for completing the exercise.
Barbell Deadlift
The deadlift exercise is a hip hinge movement pattern targeting many different muscle groups at once. It is a posterior chain dominant exercise compared to squats.
Deadlifts use multiple joints including the hips, knees, and ankles. Perform this compound movement with an overhand grip. You’ll work the forearms, glutes, hamstrings, calves, lats, traps, and abs.
The upper body involvement of the back and core helps stabilize the body and keep the spine neutral during the lift. When lowering the barbell in a deadlift, the body flexes at the hip joint and then extends when returning to the standing position. Contract the hamstrings and glutes to complete the deadlift.
Barbell Bench Press
The barbell bench press is considered one of the best upper body compound exercises. It helps build strength and muscle in the chest, triceps, and shoulders. With three major muscle groups working together, the return on investment is high.
The joints used during flat bench presses include the shoulder and elbow joints. The shoulders abduct and adduct while the elbows flex and extend. This recruits many muscle fibers.
Standing Military Press
The military press encompasses the shoulders, upper back, upper chest, and triceps muscles. It even stimulates the core to stabilize the body to remain upright and standing.
To perform the shoulder press, the shoulder and elbow joint must be mobile. The amount of total body activation is what creates the potential for muscle growth and strength gains.
By using a barbell, you enable clients to use free weights and heavy loads. By using heavyweights compared to machines your client can recruit more muscle fibers. This leads to greater growth.
Pull-ups
There are not many bodyweight compound exercises out there, but pull-ups are one of the best. Pull-ups increase arm, back, and grip strength. Muscles used in this compound workout are the pecs, shoulders, lats, and rhomboids. Plus, to keep the body from swinging, the core must be used as well.
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