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What Are Compound Exercises? - Effective Compound Movements

Here we will go through what compound exercises are, why they are so efficient, and of course give you lots of examples of compound movements to add to your workouts.

What are compound exercises?

Compound exercises are movements that engage multiple muscle groups and involve more than one joint at a time.

Unlike isolation exercises which target a single muscle group, compound exercises work various muscles simultaneously. This makes them highly efficient.

Some examples of compound exercises:

- Push ups (chest, triceps, shoulders, core)

- Burpees (full body)

- Lunges (quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves)

Benefits of including compound movements into your workout routine

There are many positive effects and benefits from doing compound exercises in your workouts.

Here are 5 examples of their benefits:

  • Multiple joints and muscles working together improve coordination and balance

  • Increased Muscle Mass & Strength, through more testosterone and growth hormone release

  • Many compound movements engage the core, which improves your strength and posture.

  • Efficiency because the exercises give you more results in less time by working several muscles at once.

  • Progressive overload friendly – easy to increase weights over time to build more strength. Here you can read more about progressive overload.

Compound Exercises – Full body

Burpees

Muscles: Full body (legs, chest, arms, core)

Mountain Climbers

Muscles: Core, shoulders, legs, chest

Weighted Barbell Back Squat

Muscles: Lower body, core stabilizer and upper back

Compound Exercises – Lower Body

Wall sit

Muscles: Quads, glutes, calves

Bodyweight squat

Muscles: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, core

Barbell Front Squat

Muscles: Quads, glutes and hamstrings, plus core stability and upper body support


Tip: Here you get more squat examples.

Compound Exercises – Upper Body

Dumbbell Bench Press

Muscles: Chest, shoulders and triceps

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Muscles: Deltoids, triceps, traps, and core stabilizers

Bent-Over Barbell Row

Muscles: Lats, rhomboids, rear deltoids, and biceps

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