Whether you’re someone who goes to the gym or not, you’ve likely heard the term “compound exercise”, or compound movement. Especially when talking about certain exercises.
The term compound exercise was something that I knew I needed to become familiar with when I first started going to the gym; these became essential in my journey to grow.
If you’re reading this, there’s a high chance you aren’t familiar with compound exercises. But, no shame in that, I had to learn what they are at the start of my journey, too.
Especially if you’re someone who’s looking to get into the gym, you’re definitely going to want to familiarize yourself with the term.
So let’s get into what I’ve learned so far about compound exercises.
To begin, what are compound exercises?
Compound exercises are exercises that work multiple muscle groups at one time. This means that you won’t be targeting just one muscle when you’re performing these movements, you’ll be targeting multiple.
At the minimum, compound movements will require you to brace your core for stability and strength, along with the other muscles you’re working.
So what are some examples of these exercises?
Examples of compound movements are
1. Squats
2. Deadlifts
3. Standing shoulder presses
4. Lunges
5. Pull-ups
There are many more than these but this list is just to name a few and give you a rough idea.
Let’s take squats for example. You may look at squats and think this would be a great quad exercise.
While you’re not wrong, squats are a good quad exercise and you can certainly switch up your foot positioning to bias different muscles, squats work way more than just your quads.
Squats are a prime example of a compound movement because, you may not notice it entirely, but squats work your quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, and hip abductors. While also engaging your core.
When I’m doing compound movements, it almost feels to me like I’m doing cardio. When I’m squatting or leg pressing I’ll start to sweat like crazy and get out of breadth.
This happens because so many different parts of my body are working as a result of all the different muscle groups engaged to perform the movement.
The benefits of doing compound exercises
Compound exercises are great for building muscle and toning up. This is because they simultaneously work multiple muscle groups.
Generally, compound movements will burn more calories and require more full-body work. Allowing you to reap more benefits from just a single exercise.
Additionally, adding compound exercises can help you condense your workout into less time. Since multiple muscle groups will be working at one time, you can do less and get more out of it.
I recommend heavy loading your compound movements in order to get the most out of them. This means load up as much weight where you can do 4 to 8 reps while keeping good form.
This will help you build the most strength and gain the most muscle.
When should you do compound exercises
Yes, the order you do your exercises when lifting does matter. You’re always going to want to do your compound movements at the beginning of your workout.
The start of your workout is when you’re body has the most energy and your muscles are the strongest. Towards the end of your workout, your muscles will be more fatigued so it’ll be much harder for you to lift heavy.
For example, if you’re doing compound lifts for your legs, the more energy stored in your legs going into your compound lifts will allow you to generate much more power.
You’ll have much more success when performing these movements.
I remember a few times during my lifts when I’d walk into the gym and all the squat racks would be taken. So, naturally, instead of waiting patiently, I decided to do some of my isolation exercises first. This was a bad idea.
By the time I had to squat a few exercises later I could hardly bend my knees and my legs were shaking like crazy. This was because my quads were already so fatigued from my previous exercises.
So, take it from me; if you’re thinking about doing your compound movements AFTER your isolation movements it’s not the best idea.
This is especially crucial if you’re looking to grow as much muscle as possible.
I recommend you use this information and begin implementing compound movements into your workouts ASAP if you want to improve your lifts by a milestone.