Top 9 Result-Driven Compound Exercises for Maximum Strength Gains

Compound exercises are one of the most practical ways to build maximum strength and muscle mass. They employ multiple muscle groups to build strength and improve flexibility. There are many benefits associated with these types of exercises. They include enhanced fitness, strength, ideal body movement, and muscle growth.

Excluding compound exercises in your strength-building routine is like failing to re-rack your weights after your workout. Although isolation exercise is vital, it can’t be compared with compound exercises. This is because compound exercise requires more coordination and balance.

Additionally, they allow you to use bigger weights, include different muscle groups, and practically build the body effectively. Below are some of the most result-driven compound exercises that’ll help you gain maximum strength. 

1. Barbell Squat

Squatting is a productive compound exercise that enhances overall strength and functional movements. This compound exercise can improve your strength regardless of your fitness level.

Barbell squats are one of the most used strength training exercises. This type of exercise involves the ankle joints, knee, and hip. It also compels some lower-body muscle groups and is very efficient in helping you gain muscle and improve your lower-body strength.

The muscle groups involved include

• Quadriceps
• Hamstrings
• Lower back.
• Glutes
• Core
• Calves
• Hips

Here’s how to squat the right way in 7 simple steps: 

1. Stand upright. 
2. Widen your legs, making them wider than your hips. 
3. Raise your arms forward – it should be at your shoulder level. You can also lock your hands, bringing it closer to your mouth. 
4. Slowly bend to the level of your hip, shooting your glutes backward. Here, your lower back, quadriceps, and calves are at work.
5. Stand upright slowly. 
6. On your way up, breathe out and breathe in on your way down.
7. Now, repeat the reps

2. Deadlift

Like barbell squats, deadlifts are compound exercises that improve functional movements such as lifting and carrying objects. The deadlift lets you lift the most heavyweight out of all the compound movements.

A deadlift also helps you build muscular grip strength, bones, and forearms by holding on to the barbell. Without much deliberation, a deadlift is one of your strongest lifts. With deadlifts, you can gain maximum strength and muscle mass in upper and lower body areas.

The muscle groups involved include:

• Quadriceps
• Hamstrings
• Calves
• Legs
• Back
• Glute
• Arms
• Shoulder
• Core

However, the major muscles to target are the quadriceps, hamstrings, back, and glutes.

For an effective deadlift, follow these six simple steps below:

1. Stand upright in front of a barbell. 
2. Ensure your legs are placed at the center of the barbell. 
3. Bend slowly, shooting your glute backward – not reaching your hip level. 
4. Straighten your arms on the barbell, holding it firmly with your hands. 
5. Lift the barbell, bringing it closer to your core. 
6. Drop the barbell and repeat. 

3. Pull-up

Pull-ups are one of the vital compound exercises; they are efficient in helping to strengthen the involved muscle groups. It doesn’t matter if you are a heavy-weight lifter, bodybuilder, powerlifter, crossfitter, or a full-time working mom.

However, most powerlifters ignore the pull-up exercise because they believe it’s not an absolute exercise for strength gains. But in reality, they are missing the juicy part of the strength gain.

If you experience difficulty in standing straight, pull-ups are great exercises to improve your posture and strengthen your bones. Unlike deadlifts, there is no need to lift barbells. Just get two metallic poles joined by a bar at the top of your home and start your pull-up exercises.

The muscle groups involved include:

• Wide back
• Biceps
• Delt
• Upper arm
• Trapezius
• Core

For an effective pull-up exercise, follow these six simple steps below:

1. Stand between the two poles, being at the center of the bar. 
2. Place your arms on the bar, holding it firmly. You can hold the bar with your palms facing backward or forward. 
3. Stick your chest out. That is the starting position. 
4. Lift yourself from the ground until the bar is at chest level. Here, your arms are curved.
5. Breathe out. 
6. Then, slowly lower yourself down. 

Despite what many fitness enthusiasts think, pull-ups are more challenging than anyone could think. Plus, they are very effective in building muscle mass and strength. You can even perform a progressive overload by adding weight to the pull-ups.

4. Lunge

Lunge is a compound exercise that targets the muscles in your leg and numerous other muscles. The target muscles include the hamstrings, calves, gluteal, and quadriceps. For balance and stabilization, the lunge exercise targets the core muscles.

Additionally, lunges improve athletic performances, so it’s safe to say that athletes benefit more from the lunge exercise. They develop the strength of your lower body (such as the core and lower back) and increase the density of your bones.

The muscle groups involved include:  

• Glutes
• Quadriceps
• Hamstrings
• Calf
• Lower Back
• Calf

For effective lunges, follow these simple five steps:  

1. Stand with the feet close to each other.
2. Take a step forward. Here, your legs are in the X position.
3. Lower your body down, using the left kneel to touch the floor. Now, your right knee points forward, replacing itself with your feet touching the floor.  
4. To return to standing, move the upper body on the right foot to raise to the left leg.
5. Repeat by alternating legs.

5. Dumbell Shoulder Press

If you aim to develop strength in your triceps, shoulders, and trapezius in your next workout routine, then the dumbbell shoulder press is for you. It enhances your posture and ensures shoulder stability. This type of compound exercise can help you achieve your specific fitness goals. 

The muscle groups combined include:  

• Deltoids
• Trapezius
• Triceps
• Traps

For a productive dumbbell shoulder press, follow these simple five steps:

1. Grab your dumbbells
2. Get a bench with an (adjustable) upright seat. 
3. Seat on the bench firmly and grab the bells, placing them on your thighs.
4. Lift the bells closer to your chin. Here, your arms are at a 45-degree angle. This is the starting position. 
5. Lift the bells with your arms straight. 
6. Then lower your arms back to 90 degrees 
7. Repeat the 6^th and 7^h steps. 

6. Barbell Rows

Barbell rows are the best compound exercise to strengthen your arms and back. The main aim of this exercise is to improve your posture and multiply your bone density. 

The barbell row is more practical than the other exercises, especially in building a thick back. Barbel row mainly targets traps, lats, posterior delt, and rhomboids. It also targets your lower back, the biceps, and forearms.

However, it targets the biceps the most, making it easy to tuck your elbows in by your side shoulder. Generally, you can perform a barbell role with an overhand grip. However, you can also use an underhand grip for variation.

Below is the list of the muscle groups included: 

• Trapezium 
• Upper back 
• Biceps
• Forearms

For effective barbell rows, follow these simple seven steps: 

1. Get a barbell 
2. Lift the barbells, placing them in front of your thighs
3. Stick your chest to straighten out your posture
4. Push your hips backwards
5. Lower the barbell, making it closer to your feet
6. Bring it back closer to your core while still maintaining the position of your hips.
7. Repeat lowering the barbell to your feet and returning it to the stomach. 

7. Barbell Bench press

Bench presses are compound exercises that enhance the strength of your chest, triceps, and upper body. Making it the best compound exercise for the chest, it's also safe to say that it will be the most robust upper-body exercise.

When performing this exercise, pushing your arms at a linear angle while lowering them down in the rear end will move your chest in many different movements. This will not only stretch your chest, but it will also make it stronger.

It is an essential exercise to help you gain maximum strength and muscle mass while improving your back posture. In addition, the bench press targets other muscle tissues.

Below are some of the muscle tissues combined:

• Chest (Pectoralis Major)
• Side of the chest (Anterior Deltoids)
• Triceps
• Front of the chest (Serratus Anterior)
• Trapezium

For an effective bench press, follow these simple five steps: 

1. Lie on a flat bench with your feet fixed to the floor. Now, the barbell is over your face
2. Hold it firmly with your hands shoulder-width apart
3. Lift the barbell and bring it closer to your chest. Now, your elbows are at a 45-degree angle. 
4. Raise it with your arms at a 180-degree angle.
5. Lower the barbell back to your chest.

8. Push-ups 

If you want to build your upper body strength quickly, push-up exercises are the best. They build the strength of your chest, triceps, and shoulder. One of the best parts of this compound exercise is that you don’t need any special equipment apart from your body weight. As a result, it can be performed everywhere.

According to research, a barbell bench has the same effectiveness as push-up exercises to build muscle mass and gain maximum strength. Push-ups can also help trigger your core body muscles more than the typical bench press.

However, adding more weight to your push-ups could be difficult once you get bulky and more muscular. To make the exercise easy, perform a kneeling push-up or a more challenging one by utilizing a stretchy band to gain more resistance.

Below is the list of the muscle groups combined: 

• Chest
• Front shoulders
• Back of upper arm 

For effective push-ups, follow these simple five steps: 

1. Lie on the floor 
2. Raise your upper body with your hands (fixed to the ground). Now, your hands are shoulder-width apart, and your body is at a 45-degree angle from the floor.
3. Let your feet be at the level of your hips.
4. Lower the chest to the floor (45-degree angle). 
5. Then, the hands are used to push the chest back up.

9. Military Press

Military press multiplies the strength and muscles in your triceps, shoulders, and upper body. This helps to increase metabolism and burn calories. Military press involves heavy-weight lifts, and the maximum lifts are usually one rep.

You can either stand or sit while doing this exercise. The standing military press can build your shoulders as firm as a rock. Despite being one of the most challenging compound exercises, it’s also one of the best to build stronger arms.

The military press ranks equally as the deadlift, bench press, and barbell squat for general muscle mass and maximum strength gain. These four exercises can serve as a powerful, strength-building package.

Below is a list of the muscle groups involved:

• Shoulders
• Triceps
• Upper back
• Upper arm
• Middle back
• Neck
• Core

For effective standing military press, follow these simple five steps:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
2. Grip the barbell or dumbbells with your palms facing forward
3. Lift the barbell, straightening your arms fully 
4. Bring your arms to a 45-degree angle
5. Lift it again

Key Takeaways

Compound exercises benefit overall health and are among the most effective exercises that target building muscle mass and strength gains. Therefore, you should make it the basis of your workout routine.

If you’re a beginner, keep in mind that you’ll likely experience body pains; it's normal, as your body is still new to the exercise. But don't stop, keep pushing! Compound lifts require discipline and consistency.

So, don’t neglect compound exercises if you are passionate about building your muscular strength, enhancing your functional movements, and improving your quality of life. You can apply these exercises in your daily fitness routine for visible results.

References:

1. Elizabeth, Q. (2024, May 12). How to do push-ups: proper form, variations, and common mistakes. 

https://www.verywellfit.com/the-push-up-exercise-3120574

2. Eric, B. (N.D.). The 10 best compound exercises for strength.

https://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/full-body-exercises/top-10-compound-lifts-maximum-size-and-strength/

3. Garrett, R. (2024, May 06). The 8 main compound exercises & lifts for building muscle & strength.

https://www.setforset.com/blogs/news/

4. Kate, N. (2024, July 05). The best compound exercises to supersize your muscle and strength gains.

https://www.menshealth.com/uk/building-m

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