Best Compound Lift Exercises
Which Are The Best Compound Exercise Lifts?
A beautiful thing about working out is that it is can become as versatile and productive as you intend to make it. Whether you are a beginner or a gym pro, you can make the most of a gym session by doing exercises that maximize your time AND work multiple muscle groups in your body. Known as Compound Exercises, this kind of workout target different muscle groups at the same time and gives you a total body workout. Here, we will mainly talk about compound lifts and which are the best ones for you. Read on to know more.
So what are Compound Lifts? They are any set of strengthening exercises that efficiently target more than one muscle group at the same time. Compound lifts allow you to use the heaviest of weights and make you work out in the most efficient way possible. If you are looking to build strength as well as size, these are the exercises for you. Using multiple muscle groups makes your muscles work harder and become more stable, while amassing muscle and becoming flexible.
Below, we have compiled some of the best compound lifts that target different muscle groups in your upper and lower body, giving you a thorough workout.
Targeted Compound Lifts
Areas they work: Biceps, Lower back, Core, Glutes, Hip Flexors, Hamstrings
They are not as easy as the sound. Squats with weights work big muscle groups, force you to stabilize your core, maintain your form and builds ample muscle mass. Best part? You can pile on as much weight as you can take on the squat rack or the barbell. The fact that you do not have to arch or move around much reduces chances of injury. But do not be fooled, this lift is not natural as it sounds, and challenges your lower body to the core (pun intended).
Areas they work: Lower back, Core, Glutes, Hip Flexors, Hamstrings
Target the tricky areas with a deadlift. While it may not seem very versatile, a proper form and technique can really help maximize your workout with a deadlift. Since squats focus more on quads, deadlifts are a great exercise to complement with squats, since they put more pressure on hamstrings and glutes. The most important tip is to keep your back straight and not to use your upper body to do the work. Instead, focus on the glutes and hamstrings to do all the heavy lifting.
Areas they work: Hamstrings, Quads, Glutes, Abs, Back, Shoulders
Dumbbell lunges are a functional, full-body exercise that targets everything from your grip to your shoulders; back, core, legs, you name it. Keep your chin and chest up, and tense your glutes while bracing your core to maintain stability. Adding heavyweights make the standard lunge more challenging and multi-functional.
Areas they work: Hamstrings, Quads, Glutes, Abs, Back, Shoulders
Going against gravity does require serious strength. Though they may seem to only target your upper body; apart from your shoulder and arms, pull-ups also strengthens your back, core, and pelvic floor. It improves postural stabilization, which may seem secondary but is essential for you to spine and pelvic floor muscle strengthening. Needless to say, pull-ups make all muscles in your upper body grow stronger.
Areas they work: Upper chest, Triceps, Deltoids
You will be surprised the difference an incline can make to your workout and force you to use a different set of muscles in the upper body. That’s the beauty of an incline bench press. Since pecs are a big muscle group, flat bench targets only set of pecs. To focus on the second set, raise the bench to an incline suitable to your height and body type. And feel the burn in your upper body. You can alternate between flat and incline bench to target both sets of the pecs equally.
Areas they work: Trapezius, Deltoids, Biceps, Teres Minor
This exercise increases upper back and shoulder mass, as well as neck girth, precisely why football players love it, and women steer clear of it. It helps forms the much sought-after V of your shoulders followed by a narrow waist. Barbell upright row is a crucial move that targets all the prime muscles to sculpt your back. Straight back form and posture is critical; otherwise, the risk of injury increases. Secondary work is on the core which supports your spine as you lift and lower the weight.
Areas they work: Thighs, Hamstrings, Calves
This is a fabulous mass and strength-building exercise for the leg muscles. This exercise requires stability so make sure the foot is fixed on the bench and stable. You can use barbells on your back, or kettlebells in each hand. More than the quads, this workout focuses on glutes and hamstrings and can be particularly challenging. Feeling particularly daring? Add some weighted barbells and climb up!
Areas they work: Pecs, Triceps, Lats, Abdominal muscles
Looking for thick chest and back muscles? Then this is the exercise for you! Wrongly assumed as an isolation exercise, pullovers work chest, arms, and back muscles. The key is to do the movements slowly as a quick jerk can strain back muscles. Start with dumbbells you can work with and increase weight gradually. We recommend more repetitions and low resistance.
Benefits of Compound lifts:
The way multi-tasking gets quite a lot of work done at the same time and makes you more productive. Similarly, compound lifts do the same.
To maximize the benefits of your workout, it is vital that you have a goal and a fitness program to follow. That does not mean you need to spend $$$. Are you looking to bulk up? Do you have a leg day or are you doing upper and lower body workout together? It is essential that you design an exercise that targets your critical muscles in one part of the body and allows the other part to heal and recover. Do not do lifts just to amass your ego at the gym, bulk up the right way!
Compound lifts to train for size:
A lot of people prepare for different reasons. Some are looking to tone and get in shape; others want to bulk up. If your intention is the latter, it is vital that you train heavy and hard and workout your entire body. Since compound exercises help you do that, lift heavy but with fewer repetitions. If you still have energy after doing full body compound lifts, then you are not doing enough.
However, it is equally important to give yourself a rest day at least once a week. Remember, a workout is only valid if your body has had the time to recover.
Diet:
Diet plays a massive role in amassing muscle. All food groups, including protein, fat, and carbohydrates are essential in your diet for bulking up.
Isolation workout vs. Compound Lifts
Isolation movements allow for only one group of muscles or joints to work out. It is suitable for beginners in the gym, or those recovering from injury. Isolation exercises also help you target specific areas, improve balance, or to strengthen particular muscle sets. Examples of isolation lifts include bicep curls, hamstring curls, etc. Most weight machines which you will find in health clubs are suitable for isolation exercises, as they focus on one muscle group before moving on to the next.
Isolation exercises are mostly used to recover muscle strength and balance after injury or surgery. They are used to retrain muscles to resume their normal function. Sometimes we do not realize we have lost muscle strength in a group of muscles are other joints are overcompensating for it. Isolation exercise is useful in such cases.
However, if you are interested in getting a complete and functional head-to-toe workout, then compound exercises are the way to go. A well-designed program consisting of the best compound lifts to suit your goal will give you faster and better results. It will help stimulate muscle fibers in the body, aid in fat loss, increase muscle growth and strength. Get maximum results in minimum time!