What is a compound exercise?

Strength training exercises can be split into two categories - compound exercises and isolated exercises.

Compound exercises are movements that require you to use more than one group of muscles and more than one joint. This is unlike isolated movements that use a single muscle and one joint.

If you want to grow muscle and gain strength, you need to include  compound exercises in your workout routine. They’re the ones that give you the most ‘bang for your buck’. This can be particularly helpful if you’re short on time, but you still want to squeeze in a great workout.  They also increase your heart rate and promote total body coordination.

So, if you’re looking to include more compound movements in your workout routine, what are the best exercises to focus on?

For your upper body

• Bench press
• Pull-up
• Shoulder press
• Barbell row or dumbbell row
• Lat pulldown machine
• Seated row machine
• Cable wide grip pulldown

For your lower body

• Barbell squat or dumbbell squat
• Deadlift
• Hip thrusts
• Glute bridge
• Front lunge or reverse lunge

Focus on targeting each muscle group with a variety of compound exercises two or three times a week. This will maximize your chances of achieving an increase in muscle strength and growth. You could alternate between upper body and lower body workouts, or you could choose to do multiple total body workouts each week.