Importance of Compound Movements

Two common problems most people face regarding fitness and exercise are time constraints and the type of training. How often do you hear that friend who doesn’t have enough time to exercise or doesn’t know the best type of exercise?

What Are Compound Exercises?

Compound exercises involve multi-joint or multi-muscle groups working simultaneously. For example, deadlifts. They target your back, hamstrings, glutes, core, and upper body, all in one exercise. Isolated exercises work only one muscle, for example, a bicep curl. Whether you want to build muscle and strength or promote fat loss, you need to build your workouts around compound exercises. 

6 Ways Compound Movements Maximize Your Workouts

1. They Are Efficient

By working multiple areas at once, you save time. If you are trying to squeeze in a workout, compound exercises will be your best friend! Try compound resistance training exercises; you can make the most of your time and target multiple muscle groups at once!

2. Allow You To Lift Heavy

Isn’t that something you love to hear!? You can rely on more than one muscle group with compound exercises, meaning you can afford to go heavier. It is crucial to make sure you have good form and proper technique with compound lifting because you are lifting heavier. Don’t forget to warm up, rest between sets, and have a spotter if needed.

3. Expedite Calorie Burn

Think about it; if you are using more than one muscle group, of course, you are going to burn more calories! Making more significant moves that engage more of your body while lifting heavier, all those things contribute to burning more calories. And by taking on more weight, you use more of the glycogen stored in your muscles. Great for using up that pent-up energy!

4. Get Your Heart Rate Up

Strength training can be just as good at getting your heart rate up as cardio-based ones. You are using several muscles simultaneously, so you are also asking them to work just as hard. The more you use your muscles, the more your heart will need to pump blood to those muscles.

5. They Improve Your Motibility

Compound movements require quite a bit of technique. So being able to do them correctly and hit all the right muscles means you will gain a good amount of joint mobility. Ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and wrists will help you build the muscle you want.

6. Can Improve Your Coordination

Compound exercises can help you keep more stable. This is especially important as you start to add more weight to the bar. It might not be the prettiest when you are beginning with compound movements, but keep working on that technique, and you will be hitting all your PRs in no time!

Compound Exercises To Try 

These are three compound exercises that are great for beginners. These might be ones you do every time you go to the gym, but you didn’t think about working for several muscle groups at once.

Squat works your quads, lower back, glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, and core. This is going to probably be where you are going to be able to lift the heaviest. Mainly because the weight is already placed on top of you, so you don’t need to arch or move around to do the exercise. We are not saying that this is an easy exercise. It does take technique to make sure you have good form and are working all the muscles you are supposed to.

Deadlift works your hamstrings, lower back, glutes, hip flexors, and core. This exercise might seem scary at first, but keeping your back straight the whole time will help prevent injuries. Deadlifts are incredibly useful for targeting the weaker areas of your posterior chain and will really help you make great strides towards reaching your goals.

Pull-ups work your lats, delts, traps, biceps, and core. They are a great way to target your back! Taking your entire body weight is ideal for building up your grip strength, too. This is going to help for a full range of lifts. Only 1% of women can do a pull-up. So women, get out there and be a part of the 1%!

Incorporate compound workouts into your routine. It will have you working for multiple muscle groups and is great for those trying to get the most out of a quick workout!