Compound lifts are an important part of any effective strength training routine. These exercises engage multiple muscle groups, making them efficient and ideal for developing overall strength, muscle mass, and functional fitness.
Whether you're a beginner looking to build foundational strength or an experienced lifter aiming to improve your performance, understanding and incorporating compound lifts can produce real results.
Keep reading to find out everything there is to know about compound lifts.
What Are Compound Lifts?
Compound lifts are multi-joint movements that require several muscle groups to work together.
Unlike isolation exercises that target a single muscle, compound lifts train a chain of muscles, allowing for heavier loads and greater overall strength development.
Exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses fall into this category and are foundational to most training programs.
These movements mimic natural motion patterns, such as lifting, pushing, and pulling, making them practical for real-life physical demands.
For example, a deadlift mirrors the action of picking something heavy off the ground, making it a functional exercise with everyday applications.
Compound lifts also encourage better coordination and stability as they demand engagement from secondary muscles, such as the core, for support and balance.
What Are the Benefits of Compound Lifts?
There are many benefits of compound movements that make them worth doing. Here’s why you might want to try them:
Efficiency
Compound lifts work multiple muscle groups at once, which means you can accomplish more in less time.
For those with busy schedules, incorporating these lifts ensures you target various areas of the body effectively without spending hours in the gym.
Strength and Muscle Gains
By involving several muscle groups, compound lifts allow for heavier loads than isolation exercises. This not only builds muscle mass but also improves overall strength.
For instance, squats and deadlifts are unparalleled for lower body strength, while the bench press excels in upper body development.
Calorie Burning
Since these exercises activate larger muscle groups, they require more energy, leading to a higher calorie burn.
Moreover, the increased demand for energy during and after these workouts helps with weight management and fat loss.
Improved Functional Fitness
Compound lifts closely resemble real-world movements, which enhances overall physical performance.
This can translate to better athleticism, reduced risk of injury, and improved quality of life in daily activities.
Improved Joint Health and Mobility
Regularly performing compound lifts encourages joint movement through a full range of motion.
This promotes better mobility, flexibility, and joint health over time, particularly when exercises are performed with proper form.
Core Stability and Balance
Most compound lifts engage the core muscles to maintain stability. For example, the core must remain tight during squats to protect the spine, while deadlifts require strong engagement to prevent rounding of the back.
Mental Resilience
Compound lifts are challenging, both physically and mentally. Mastering them builds not only strength but also discipline, focus, and perseverance.
Who Should Perform Compound Lifts?
Compound lifts are great for virtually everyone, provided they are performed properly and customized to your specific fitness level.
Beginners should start with lighter loads or even bodyweight versions to perfect form, while advanced lifters can incorporate heavier weights and variations to continue progressing.
Furthermore, athletes often rely on these lifts to improve power, speed, and functional strength for their specific sports.
That being said, individuals with pre-existing injuries or mobility limitations should consult a professional trainer or physical therapist before attempting compound lifts. Proper guidance ensures safety and maximise the benefits of these exercises.
The Best Compound Lifts: Top Ten
Without further ado, here are the top ten compound lifts that you should be doing.
1. Squats
The squat is often referred to as the king of all exercises, and for good reason. This foundational lift primarily targets the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes while also engaging the core, lower back, and stabilizing muscles for support and balance.
To perform a squat, begin by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, keeping your chest upright and your core braced.
Lower your hips back and down as if sitting into an invisible chair, ensuring your knees track over your toes but don’t extend past them. Once your thighs are parallel to the floor (or lower, depending on mobility), drive through your heels to return to the starting position.
Squats are an essential lift for building lower body strength and improving mobility. They’re versatile and can be customized to individual needs with variations such as goblet squats, front squats, or split squats.
Athletes across sports rely on squats for enhanced performance, as the movement increases explosive power and stability, crucial for running, jumping, and tackling. Moreover, squats are excellent for improving joint health and bone density, making them a valuable exercise for people of all ages.
2. Deadlifts
Few exercises can compete with the deadlift in terms of raw strength development and functional application.
This lift primarily targets the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and traps, while heavily engaging the core for stabilization.
To perform a deadlift, stand with your feet hip-width apart and position a loaded barbell over the middle of your feet. Hinge at the hips, maintaining a neutral spine, and grip the barbell just outside your knees.
As you lift the bar, focus on driving through your heels and extending your hips forward, keeping the bar close to your body.
Deadlifts are a cornerstone for anyone looking to improve overall strength and athletic performance. They mimic natural movements like picking up heavy objects, making them highly functional.
Furthermore, deadlifts strengthen the posterior chain, which is essential for improving posture, reducing lower back pain, and preventing injuries.
With variations like sumo deadlifts or Romanian deadlifts, this exercise can be adapted to suit different goals, such as increasing hamstring flexibility or isolating specific muscle groups.
Related Post: Trap Bar Deadlift Muscles Worked
3. Bench Press
The bench press is a go-to lift for developing upper body strength, particularly in the chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Performed by lying on a flat bench with a barbell or dumbbells, the lift involves lowering the weight to your chest and pressing it back up to the starting position.
Proper technique involves keeping your feet flat on the floor, your back slightly arched, and your core engaged to provide stability throughout the lift.
This exercise is highly effective for building muscle mass in the upper body, making it a staple in strength training and bodybuilding routines.
Athletes benefit from improved pushing power, which translates to sports that require strong upper body force, such as football or wrestling.
Moreover, the bench press helps strengthen the stabilizing muscles in the shoulders, reducing the risk of injuries during other pressing movements.
Variations such as incline or decline bench presses allow for targeted muscle activation in specific areas of the chest.
4. Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are a bodyweight exercise that are all about upper body strength and control. By gripping a pull-up bar with your palms facing away, you use your lats, traps, biceps, and core to lift your chin above the bar.
Pull-ups are often considered a benchmark for relative strength, as they require you to lift your entire bodyweight.
This exercise is great for building a strong back and improving grip strength, both of which are critical for other compound lifts like deadlifts and rows.
Pull-ups also improve shoulder stability and posture by targeting the upper back.
For beginners, resistance bands can help with progression, while advanced lifters can add weight for increased difficulty.
With variations such as chin-ups or wide-grip pull-ups, this exercise offers multiple ways to challenge and develop the upper body.
Related Post: 6 of the Best Bodyweight Back Exercises
5. Overhead Press
The overhead press is a fantasticexercise for developing shoulder strength and stability. This lift primarily targets the deltoids, triceps, and upper chest while engaging the core and lower back for stabilization.
To perform the overhead press, start with a barbell at shoulder height. Press the bar directly overhead until your arms are fully extended, then lower it back down in a controlled motion.
This lift is particularly beneficial for athletes involved in overhead sports such as basketball or volleyball, as it enhances shoulder mobility and strength.
Also, the overhead press contributes to functional fitness, improving your ability to lift objects overhead in daily life. Variations such as the seated overhead press or dumbbell press allow for customized training based on individual needs and goals.
6. Barbell Rows
Barbell rows are another important exercise for building back strength and improving posture.
To perform a barbell row, hold a barbell with an overhand grip and bend at the hips until your torso is almost parallel to the floor.
From this position, pull the barbell toward your torso, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top, then lower it back down.
This lift primarily targets the lats, traps, rhomboids, and rear deltoids while engaging the core for stability.
Barbell rows are essential for developing a strong, balanced upper body, which is crucial for preventing injuries and improving performance in pressing movements like the bench press.
Variations such as Pendlay rows or single-arm dumbbell rows can help target specific areas or accommodate different training levels.
Related Post: How to Perform Gorilla Rows
7. Lunges
Lunges are a versatile compound movement that targets the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
To perform a lunge, step forward with one leg and lower your body until both knees form 90-degree angles. Push through the heel of your front foot to return to the starting position, then repeat with the other leg.
This exercise is ideal for developing unilateral strength, addressing muscle imbalances, and improving coordination.
Lunges also mimic real-life movements such as climbing stairs or walking uphill, making them functional for daily activities. With variations like walking lunges, reverse lunges, or Bulgarian split squats, this exercise can work for people of varying fitness goals.
Related Post: What Muscles do Side Lunges Target?
8. Clean and Press
The clean and press is a full-body lift that combines explosive power with strength. Starting from a deadlift position, pull a barbell to shoulder height in one swift motion (the clean), then press it overhead (the press). This movement targets the quads, hamstrings, glutes, deltoids, traps, triceps, and core.
This lift is ideal for athletes and advanced lifters, as it improves power output, coordination, and functional strength.
The clean and press also burns a significant number of calories, making it an effective choice for fat loss and conditioning.
While it is a technically demanding exercise, mastering the clean and press can unlock new levels of strength and athleticism.
9. Hip Thrusts
Hip thrusts are a powerful exercise for isolating and strengthening the glutes. With your upper back resting on a bench and a barbell positioned across your hips, drive through your heels to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Slowly lower your hips back down and repeat.
This lift is particularly effective for athletes who rely on explosive hip extension, such as sprinters, jumpers, and weightlifters.
Hip thrusts also improve posture and alleviate lower back pain by strengthening the glutes, which are often underdeveloped in sedentary individuals. Variations like single-leg hip thrusts or resistance band hip thrusts provide additional ways to challenge and engage the glutes.
10. Dips
Dips are a bodyweight exercise that builds upper body strength, focusing on the chest, triceps, and shoulders.
Using parallel bars, lower your body until your elbows reach a 90-degree angle, then push yourself back up. For added difficulty, you can use weighted chains or a dip belt.
This exercise is highly effective for increasing pushing power, which translates to improved performance in lifts like the bench press.
Dips also engage the core for stability, making them a full upper-body workout. With variations such as bench dips or ring dips, this exercise can be modified to suit different fitness levels and goals.
Related Post: How to Get a Thicker Neck
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that compound exercises are a great way to get in shape while wasting very little time. By exercising multiple muscles at once, you can quickly progress, gain size, and become stronger.
