When working out, compound exercises and movements should be your main focus if you want to increase your muscle mass and strength. A compound exercise is a movement that forces you to engage multiple muscle groups, while movements that only require one major muscle group are known as isolated movements.
Talk to any muscle-bound gym fanatic, and they’ll quickly tell you how vital compound exercises are for adding muscle size and strength. Compound exercises recruit more muscles than isolated movements, meaning you get to lift heavier weights, which leads to more muscle growth.
This article will examine some of the most effective compound exercises that should make up the bulk of your workout routine if you want to lose weight.
Ten Compound Exercises That Will Help You To Increase Muscle Size And Strength
Ready to learn about some of the best compound exercises for adding bulk and strength to your muscles? Let’s jump right into our lifts:
1) Deadlifts
Deadlifts should make up a solid portion of your workout routine if you’re serious about increasing the size and strength of your muscles. Deadlifts are the king of compound exercises since you’re forced to engage all the major muscle groups all over your body while performing your reps.
Deadlifts are among the most effective exercises for improving muscle mass and strength. The exercise also does wonders for your posture, helping keep your body aligned by strengthening your posterior chain.
To perform deadlifts:
- Position a loaded barbell in front of you on the ground. Start with lighter plates if you’re new to the exercise since it is crucial to learn the correct form to avoid putting unnecessary stress on your spine.
- Keep your feet shoulder-width apart with half of your feet on each side of the barbell.
- Drop down and grab the barbell with an overhand grip with your arms just outside your shoulders.
- While keeping your back straight, push your heels into the ground to pick the barbell up as you stand upright
- Keep the bar close to your body when pulling it up.
- Lower the weight back to the ground once you’re fully upright to complete a rep. Depending on your goals, aim for a few sets of four to twelve reps. Lower reps with heavier weights are better for adding bulk to your muscles, while higher reps lead to more strength increases.
2) Bench Presses
The bench press is another popular compound exercise that should be a central part of any strength and conditioning program. It’s arguably the most influential movement for developing upper body strength.
The bench press mimics the movement you perform when performing push-ups, but since it is conventionally done with a barbell, you can load up as many plates as you wish, allowing you to progressively increase the load during your workouts, leading to more muscle growth.
Here’s what the exercise looks like:
- Lay your back flat on a bench with your feet flat. Grab the barbell with your hands about shoulder-width apart.
- Inhale as you lower the barbell toward your chest and push it back up once it’s about to hit your chest.
- Don’t lock your hands at the top of the movement to complete a rep. Get the bar as high as possible without locking your arms out. Aim for three sets of four to twelve reps.
3) Squats
Squats are one of the most popular exercises for developing the large muscles in your legs, like your quads. The exercise also helps to improve your flexibility and balance by strengthening your core. Adding squats to your workout routine improves posture and explosive strength in your legs.
Your legs contain some of your body’s largest muscles, so you want to target them with exercises like squats to improve your overall muscle mass.
To perform squats:
- Stand with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing outward slightly.
- Bend at your knees and shift your hips back as you lower yourself to the ground. Keep your core tight and your chest up while lowering yourself.
- Go down until your thighs are parallel to the ground and explosively return to the starting position while you exhale by pressing your heels on the ground.
- Aim for three sets of five to twenty reps. You can use a barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell to make the exercise more challenging.
4) Pull-ups
Pull-ups are a fantastic way to target the muscles in your back, core, and biceps. They are one of the few bodyweight exercises that will take years before you outgrow performing them with nothing more than your body weight.
These days, countless pull-up bar brands can fit in the frame of doorways, so you can easily set up a pull-up station at home.
Here are the steps for performing pull-ups:
- Grab the pull-up bar with an overhand grip so your palms face away from you. Your hands should be a little more than shoulder-width apart.
- Tighten your core as you pull yourself up toward the bar until your chin is above it. Exhale while pulling yourself up. Pause for a second and lower yourself back down to complete a rep.
- Do not let your feet touch the ground once you start your reps. Aim for about three sets of as many reps as you can do.
Pull-ups are one of the most challenging bodyweight exercises, and getting a single rep can be quite challenging if you aren’t in decent shape. You can make the exercise easier by using an assisted pull-up machine or resistance bands to lighten the load on your muscles. Consider using some assistance if you can’t get at least four clean reps on your own.
You can make pull-ups more challenging by using a weighted vest or tying plates to a chain wrapped around your torso.
5) Overhead Presses
The overhead press targets muscles in your triceps and shoulders, improving your functional strength and the aesthetics of your upper body. Strengthening the muscles in your upper shoulders and triceps will allow you to carry heavier weights when performing other exercises like the bench press, leading to more gains.
The overhead press can be performed with different types of weights, but dumbbells are typically recommended for beginners new to the exercise since they make it easier to master the correct form.
Here’s what the exercise looks like:
- Grab a pair of dumbbells and stand up with your back straight. You can also perform the exercise while seated on an exercise bench, preferably one with support for your back.
- Keep your chest up and tighten your core as you press the weights above your head.
- Keep your elbows close to your body when performing the movement, and slowly bring the weight back down to complete a rep. Go for three sets of four to twelve reps.
6) Rows
Rows are a popular compound exercise that targets muscles in your back, particularly your traps, rhomboids, and lats. Strengthening these muscles will help improve your posture while adding more muscle mass to your frame.
Rows are versatile exercises that can be performed with cable machines, dumbbells, or barbells. There are also rowing machines in most gyms that target the same muscles.
Here’s the proper way to perform rows:
- Get into the starting position by bending at your knees while your feet are a little more than shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your torso forward from your hips until it’s almost parallel to the ground.
- Reach out with both hands and grab the weights you plan to use or the handles of the cable machine.
- Squeeze your back muscles and bring your shoulder blades together as you pull the weight toward you. Make sure your back is straight during the entire movement.
- Pause when the weight is at your chest before lowering it to complete a rep. Look to attempt three sets of eight to twelve reps.
7) Dips
Dips are commonly miscategorized as an isolation exercise for your triceps, but the movement also targets muscles in your shoulders and chest, making it a compound exercise. You’ll need a dipping station or a pair of sturdy parallel bars to perform the exercise.
Here’s what it looks like:
- Stand between the parallel bars and grab the bar on each side with an overhand grip.
- While supporting yourself with the bars, lower your body toward the ground until your upper arms and lower arms form 90-degree angles with each other.
- Push yourself back up to the starting position to complete a rep. Keep your head up and body straight throughout the movement.
- Plan for three sets of eight to twelve reps.
8) Planks
Many gym goers don’t think of planks for increasing muscle mass and strength, but it’s one of the exercises that should be a core part of any serious lifting program. Planks are one of the best compound exercises for your core. Your core holds your lower body and upper body together, so strengthening it carries over into all of your major lifts.
Muscles like your obliques, abs, glutes, spinal erectors, quads, chest, triceps, and shoulders are all engaged via isometric contraction when performing planks. It also helps to build the deep muscles in your trunks.
To perform planks:
- Get into the high plank position you would use for push-ups, with your hands shoulder-width apart.
- Lower your forearms to the ground so they now serve as your base.
- Hold the position for 30 to 60 seconds before taking a break. Try to get three rounds and increase the duration of your holds as your body grows stronger.
9) Lunges
Lunges are often overlooked when targeting the lower body, but they give your quads and glutes a thorough workout. Unlike squats, lunges allow you to work your legs unilaterally, ensuring each leg carries the same load.
You can make lunges more demanding with a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells once performing them with only your body weight is no longer a challenge. A barbell is typically the preferred option since it allows you to load up as much weight as you can handle.
Here’s what the exercise looks like:
- Get into the starting position with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
- Lunge forward with one foot and drop into a lunge while keeping your torso upright. Go down until your back knee is a few inches away from the floor while your front knee forms a 90-degree angle.
- Pause at the bottom for a second before pressing your heel into the floor to return to the starting position.
- Move your foot back once you’re back up, and repeat the movement with your other leg to complete a rep. Look to complete about three sets of eight to twelve reps.
10) Chin-ups
Chin-ups are another effective way to target muscles in your upper back. Performing chin-ups involves using a supinated grip, meaning your palms are facing you instead of facing away, as with pull-ups.
This tiny difference leads to greater engagement of your biceps, forcing them to help carry the load of your body. Chin-ups are one of the best compound exercises for increasing muscle bulk in your biceps.
Some of the muscles engaged when performing chin-ups include the rotator cuffs, forearm flexors, rear deltoids, lats, and biceps.
To perform the exercise:
- Grab onto a pull-up bar with an underhand grip and your arms about shoulder-width apart.
- Pull yourself up toward the bar until your chin is over it. Pause for a second before slowly lowering your body to complete a rep.
- About three sets of as many reps as you can do should be your target.
These Exercises Will Get You In The Best Shape Of Your Life
The ten exercises on our list are enough to get you the dream physique you want. Look to work on each muscle group at least once a week, ensure you’re getting enough protein to repair your muscles after your workouts and get lots of rest since that’s the only time muscle building occurs.
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