Use compound movements so you can train smarter (and harder) to get the results you want faster.
I’m not going to bury the lede here: YOU NEED TO BE DOING COMPOUND MOVEMENTS.
There.
If you’re already implementing these types of movements in your training, use the time you’d spend reading this to lift, eat, or sleep (you know, the important things).
If you’re not, then you’ll definitely need to read on to see what your missing out on.
Because chances are you’ve seen or heard of these around the gym.
But maybe you’ve never looked into them, or nobody has taken the time to go over their importance with you.
Meanwhile, you’re leaving results on the table.
Looking around, wondering how everyone around you is getting jacked and juicy, and why your elliptical and machine work routine isn’t putting you on a pedestal in the temple of the gods where you belong.
Today, the wondering ends and the learning begins.
Today, we go over the simplest yet most effective ways to train – with compound movements.
What are compound movements?
Simply put, compound movements are anything that use more than one muscle – from small localized groups to nearly full-body-encompassing, global groups of muscles.
Compound movements enable you to create a greater foundation of strength compared to isolated, single muscle movements.
And that foundation starts getting built pretty quickly, especially for beginners.
Think of being on a leg extension machine.
We sit on that bad boy to do what?
Isolate the quadriceps, meaning no other body part is under tension or being worked.
Comparing that to a squat, where the calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, back and abdominals are all under load to varying degrees.
There’s plenty of reasons to do either one of those exercises though, so let’s get into that.
Why would we choose a compound movement over an isolated one anyway?
I’m glad you asked. But I wouldn’t think of it necessarily as choosing one over the other, but making the choice based on goals you have or a program you’re following.
Back to our previous example, say you wanted a bigger squat.
Well, one of the best ways to get a bigger squat is to squat heavy and often.
Another is to breakdown the movement to address weaknesses.
You could do that by doing a single leg squat variation like a pistol or Bulgarian, which would still be compound.
Or you could address weakness through isolation exercises.
Also, larger muscles also have a greater capacity for strength, so you might also choose to isolate certain muscles for the purpose of growing them, and in turn, strengthen your squat.
Another example:
Let’s say you were going into the gym to hit some lower body, but you had the goal of burning the most amount of calories you could while doing so (maybe I’ll make a post later about the pros and cons of this mindset, but bare with me for now).
Barbell squats, working multiple muscles, have a far greater capacity for energy expenditure than their isolating counterparts, making them the obvious choice to be a main focus during your training.
Get the idea?
What other benefits do compound movements provide?
Aside from being the tried-and-true and most efficient way to build strength and burn more calories, compound movements can also:
- improve flexibility
- elevate your heart rate
- improve neuromuscular coordination
- build more muscle mass
- improve bone density
Additionally, they’re highly functional, meaning these are movements that everyone does (or should be doing) in the real world.
Those last three points are huge.
They are the keys to living a long, healthy life, well into old age – where we should undoubtedly be so jacked, our skin will be too tight around our bulging physiques to show any wrinkles.
As close as most will get to becoming immortal.
These four compound movements will take you where you want to go, and further…
There are tons of compound movements, and getting started with them is easy.
As a powerlifter I’m probably a bit biased, but “The Big 4” are enough for most people to implement and start seeing the results they’re striving for.
On top of that, they are incredibly easy to scale for those of you who aren’t ready for barbell work.
And I’m going to throw one more in at the end as a bonus, so be sure to read all the way through.
So let’s get you started on those and some of their scaled, less intimidating variations:
Barbell Back Squat
I know, we’ve covered this a bit already, but I figured I needed to start here.
This movement loads your core, spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, and more.
If you’re not ready for a barbell, try out Air Squats.
Think of everything we did for those barbell back squats – but now without the barbell.
Simple enough, right?
Feet just outside shoulder-width, tight core, hips back, chest up, hips below the knees at the bottom, extend from the knees and hips to stand, maintaining an upright chest throughout the movement.
And of course, from here you can load this movement incrementally with dumbbells or kettlebells, milk jugs or your neighbors cat, whatever!
Barbell Bench Press
Many consider the bench press an upper body movement… which, it is – but it’s so much more than that if you’re doing it correctly. So let’s get into it.
Bench press is going to work the muscles in your chest, triceps, anterior deltoids (front of your shoulder), and even a little bit of core.
If you’re not ready for a barbell, try out Push Ups.
Push ups have the added benefit of being extra scalable for those who aren’t quite proficient in them yet.
Push ups will have you in a plank position on your hands and feet.
You’ll definitely still need to brace your core here, and we want to make sure that the plank position is rock solid – not caving in at the hips, and not hiking the hips up to the sky.
You can still draw the shoulder blades together, even though you’re not stabilizing against a bench it’s still a good way to add stability in the movement.
It’s not required though, as allowing the shoulder blades to separate as you press allows for more flexion in the pecs.
You’ll want to have your hands in a position where the base of your palms will be in line with the bottom of your sternum, and a few inches away from the side of your body. This way you’re not going to be too narrow, and your arms aren’t going to be flared way out to the sides.
Pressing is pretty much the same here, minus the leg-drive – big air, tight core, chest contact, and press.
If you struggle with push ups, you could try doing them from your knees to decrease the amount of resistance (you could even do this as a drop-set technique for normal push ups).
Just be sure not to hike your hips up when doing push ups from the knees.
Alternatively, push ups can be scaled to an elevated surface, like a box, bench, or picnic table. This too will decrease the amount of resistance.
Again, just make sure you stay in a solid plank position and bring your chest all the way down before pressing again.
Barbell Deadlift
“If weakness is the disease, deadlifts are the cure.”
I cannot, for the life of me, find the origin for this quote.
In other words, this is the lift that ‘grows hair on your chest’.
Some people think that the risk-to-reward ratio for deadlifts isn’t great – that the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
I disagree wholeheartedly. I think the risk of not doing them is far greater.
It hits so much, literally the entire body is under tension.
You’ll mainly use your quads, posterior chain muscles (hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, all your upper back muscles), and your forearm muscles, but there are plenty others working here.
If you’re not ready for a barbell, try out Dumbbell or Kettlebell Deadlifts.
Let’s talk about this movement pattern a little. It’s called a hip-hinge.
When performing these, it’s not uncommon to see people either outright folding forward at the hips, or even just squatting.
Folding forward at the hips is going to put whatever weight you’re holding way outside of your center of mass. If it’s light enough, it’s fine – but if it’s heavy, this puts quite the strain on the lower back.
And people thinking “well I don’t want to hurt my back” are the most likely culprits of “squatting” their deadlifts. They take a rigid upright position to limit the amount of load on the spine, but have to compensate by dropping into a squat. This, of course, does nothing to strengthen your posterior chain.
To practice this movement, whether it be with dumbbells, kettlebells, or even just a broom handle, stand at the top of the movement, and shift your weight back slightly so you feel more weight in your heels.
From here, continue reaching back with your hips as you let your chest come forward. While this is happening, allow the weight or broom stick to travel down your legs, pretty much making contact the entire time.
This is going to train you to keep the weight nice and close to your center of mass, which is going to vastly reduce the risk of injury and discomfort to the low back.
If you’re using kettlebells, the movement ends when the weights touch the ground. If you’re using dumbbells or a broom stick, go to about the middle of your shin.
While every body is different, your knees probably shouldn’t have more than about a 110 degree bend to them at the bottom. Some people will have more, some will have less.
Remember, you’re maintaining a neutral spinal position throughout the movement, which may require you to extend through the lumbar spine slightly as you reach the bottom.
From the bottom, extend from the hips and knees, stand straight up and squeeze those glutes at the top.
Perfecto.
Barbell Strict Press
Referred to as either the strict press or overhead press, this movement is truly an exemplary feat of strength.
Being able to press your own body weight over your head is a highly coveted level of strength, and once you attain it, you are eclipsed only by people who can press more than their body weight… for reps…
Seriously – watching someone absolutely send a tremendous amount of weight overhead is not only a sight to behold, but something that will start a burning within you to dig deep and start working on your press.
Like all compound movements, a strong brace in the core carries over tremendously. But this movement primarily targets the shoulder (mostly anterior, but some medial deltoid), triceps, upper traps, and upper pectoralis.
Dialing in your form on this movement does get pretty technical, but the payoff is totally worth it.
Check it out:
If you’re not ready for a barbell, try out Dumbbell Presses.
Dumbbell presses won’t require you to be in a front-rack position, and can be a little easier on people with limited overhead range of motion.
This lowers the barrier to entry and can allow you to start building a foundation not just for the strength, but the mobility required to perform the movement with a barbell.
Aside from that, they’re really performed the same.
But if you wanted more targeted effort on the press without worrying so much about stabilizing through the legs and trunk, you could do these from a seated position.
BONUS – Strict Pull-Ups
This movement is a must in everyone’s arsenal. You should be able to do at least ONE solid pull-up.
That way if you’re ever hanging off the edge of a cliff, you have a decent shot at not dying. The more pull-ups you can do, the better… probably.
These are going to primarily work your posterior deltoids, lats, lower traps, and rhomboids, but also give your biceps and grip a little workout.
If you can’t do strict pull ups, try out these variations:
You could do band-assisted pull-ups one of two ways:
- Loop the band around the bar and set one or both of your feet within the band to give you a boost as you pull
- Set a couple j-hooks about waist-high, then wrap the band around those j-hooks to create a sort of “trampoline” that you can stand on to give you a boost as you pull
You could choose to do kipping pull-ups until you can do them strict.
Or if you need to focus on building that base of strength without the need to dangle on a bar, lat pull downs are a perfectly good scaling variations for pull-ups.
Do not sleep on compound movements
Sure, they may be the most simple.
But surprisingly they’re also the most effective for building strength, putting on mass, and burning calories.
Not to mention improving flexibility, neuromuscular coordination, and bone density.
And like I said earlier, these bad boys are really going to accelerate your results.
In truth there’s no shortcut for your goals. But that’s because no matter what, you have to WORK.
With enough consistency and hard work, these are going to help you CRUSH your goals.
And you might just get there a little faster than you otherwise would have.
Speaking of hard work and crushing your goals, if you want to:
- Lose body fat
- Build muscle
- Get strong as hell
- Dial-in your nutrition
- Look better naked
- Feel fucking amazing
- And put your nose to the grindstone to get it done
Head over to my coaching page to fill out an application.
We can set up a call, and if it seems like we’d be a good fit for each other, then I’d like to help you become the best version of yourself.
